It was not too long ago when we thoroughly enjoyed testing the Samsung NX20, so it was our pleasure to get the chance to experience the NX30 recently. Like its predecessor back then, the NX30 is currently the top dog of Samsung’s mirrorless interchangeable-lens camera line, harnessing all the advanced features the Korean company could come up with.

The NX30 has a solid build that matches the feel of a small DSLR. It has all the necessary features to emulate a professional camera, such as the two manual control dials, the PASM mode dial with two user-customizable setups, and a drive mode switch. At the back, there’s an articulating 3-inch AMOLED touchscreen, which boasts strong colors and an accurate response to touch gestures. Even more impressive is the tiltable electronic viewfinder; you can pull it out and point it upwards for a clearer view of what you’re shooting. This comes in handy when taking a shot under direct sunlight when it’s difficult to compose on the AMOLED display.

Don’t worry, the EVF emulates the scene perfectly and has little lag. What Samsung has really focused on is the Wi-Fi capabilities of the NX30. With this, you can wirelessly transfer photos to a nearby mobile device or social media site, utilize a smartphone as a remote viewfinder, use the camera as a baby monitor, and even automatically back up files to a cloud server. There’s NFC connectivity as well, so pairing with a compatible device is significantly faster.

The combination of a hybrid autofocus system and Samsung’s latest image processor delivers astonishing speeds in both focusing and processing images. This also allows the NX30 to burst shots at up to nine frames per second at full resolution, which is just enough for capturing high speed sports scenes or hyper kids. The same can be said about video recording, where your movies will rarely skip a beat or show signs of major slowdown.

Despite the flood of features, what the NX30 truly excels at is image quality. The 20.3-megapixel sensor creates gorgeous colors, amazing contrast during daytime, and incredibly sharp imagery even with the bundled kit lens. Noise stays relatively quiet until about ISO 6400, so you won’t have to worry about nighttime shoots. An issue we had with previous NX cameras was the lack of available glass. That isn’t the case with the NX30 anymore, now that Samsung has released several lenses for its mirrorless stable since then, making this NX flagship the most formidable one yet.

AT A GLANCE

SENSOR
APS-C CMOS (20.3MP)
MOUNT
Samsung NX
SHUTTER SPEED
1/8000 to 30 seconds
SENSITIVITY
Auto, ISO 100 – 25600