Samsung NX10 (photos)

Larger and heavier than compacts but with EVF-free designs and smaller than an entry-level dSLRs, the plastic-bodied NX10 feels pretty well constructed and comfortable to grip.

Though the buttons and switches are a little flat with less travel than I'd like, they're laid out intelligently and where point-and-shoot upgraders will expect to find the settings.

The kit lens has image stabilization built in. It's comfortable to shoot with, with smoothly rotating zoom and manual focus rings.

Despite its thinness, the grip is nevertheless thick enough for a comfortable grip.

Samsund laid the NX10's controls out well, with a dedicated movie record button and a mode dial that travels 360 degrees.

While Samsung offers the same handful of scene modes as the rest of the crowd, its Smart Auto delivers a twist. Like others, it automatically picks a scene mode if it can match your shot to its criteria; however, unlike the rest it actually tells you which mode it's chosen, such as macro or portrait. Unfortunately, if it's guessed wrong there's no way to correct it.

Samsung uses a pretty typical display layout for its user interface, although I have to admit I find its occasionally faux-analog aesthetic more appealing than most. From the main display (top) pressing Fn brings you to image settings, autofocus area, flash, color space, tonal correction, and image stabilization settings (middle). The rest of the settings, such as the Picture Wizard image controls (bottom), you pull up via dedicated buttons.

Though its defaults deliver relatively accurate results, Samsung's image controls are as frustrating as those on many entry-level dSLRs; they don't tell you what the inherent settings are for each of the different presets, instead leaving everything zeroed out. And Samsung gives you no indication as to which of the presets will provide the most neutral results.