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Samsung NX2000 touts beefed-up connectivity

Samsung squeezes in another camera in the $150 gap between its just-released NX1100 and NX300, emphasizing the touch-screen and wireless experience.

Lori Grunin Senior Editor / Advice
I've been reviewing hardware and software, devising testing methodology and handed out buying advice for what seems like forever; I'm currently absorbed by computers and gaming hardware, but previously spent many years concentrating on cameras. I've also volunteered with a cat rescue for over 15 years doing adoptions, designing marketing materials, managing volunteers and, of course, photographing cats.
Expertise Photography, PCs and laptops, gaming and gaming accessories
Lori Grunin
4 min read

With a 3.7-inch capacitive touch screen on its back, the NX2000 has little in the way of hard controls. Samsung

Continuing its full-court press in camera connectivity, Samsung introduced the NX2000 interchangeable-lens camera, which features a phone-like touch screen and easy Autoshare toggling.

Shop for Samsung NX2000 (with 20-50mm lens, Black)

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Essentially a slightly more feature-rich version of the NX1100 (which in turn is the NX1000 with Autoshare capability and a bundled version of Adobe Lightroom 4, which also comes with the NX2000). Both are based on the same sensor as the NX210, though the NX2000 has an updated version of the image-processing engine. Samsung says that it results in better image quality and faster performance, and that autofocus performance falls somewhere between the NX1100 and NX300; it's got faster contrast AF, but lacks the phase-detection sensors of the NX300.

I officially dub this color "Powder-room pink" or, alternatively, "Midcentury bathroom pink." It also comes in a more sedate black or black or white.

(Credit: Samsung)

The camera incorporates a new 3.7-inch capacitive touch screen, and its interface mimics that of the Galaxy Camera, albeit without the Android. In addition to using NFC to enable quick Wi-Fi connections, it has a dedicated button to toggle Autoshare -- automatic image transfer directly to a linked device -- though the button can be remapped to send directly to another location.

As you'd expect, there are other operational tweaks, including updates to the scene analysis behind the Smart Mode for better automatic operation.

With this model, Samsung is switching to MicroSD, which is a big pain for people who actually remove their media on a regular basis.

Here's some comparisons:

Canon EOS M Nikon 1 J3 Samsung NX1100 Samsung NX2000 Samsung NX300 Sony Alpha NEX-5R
Sensor (effective resolution) 18mp hybrid CMOS 14.2MP CMOS 20.3MP CMOS 20.3MP CMOS 20.3MP hybrid CMOS 16.1MP Exmor HD CMOS
22.3 x 14.9mm 13.2mm x 8.8mm 23.5mm x 15.7mm 23.5mm x 15.7mm 23.5mm x 15.7mm 23.5 x 15.6mm
Focal-length multiplier 1.6x 2.7x 1.5x 1.5x 1.5x 1.5x
Sensitivity range ISO 100 - ISO 12800/ 25600 (expanded) ISO 160 - ISO 6400 ISO 100 - ISO 12800 ISO 100 - ISO 25600 ISO 100 - ISO 25600 ISO 100 - ISO 25600
Continuous shooting

1.7/1.2fps depending upon lens
(4.3fps with fixed AF)

15fps
22 JPEG/n/a
(60fps or 30fps with fixed AF)
8fps
11 JPEG/8 raw
8fps
n/a
8.6fps
n/a
3fps
11 raw/15 JPEG
(10fps with fixed exposure)
Viewfinder None None None None None Optional
Autofocus 31-point contrast AF 73-point
phase detection, 135-area contrast AF
15-point contrast AF n/a 105-point phase-detection, 247-point contrast AF 99-point phase-detection, 25-area contrast AF
AF sensitivity range n/a n/a n/a n/a n/a 0 - 20 EV
Shutter speed 30-1/4,000 sec; bulb; 1/200 flash sync 30-1/16,000 sec.; 1/160 x-sync 30-1/4,000 sec.; bulb to 4 minutes; 1/180 x-sync 30-1/4,000 sec.; bulb to 4 minutes; 1/180 x-sync 30-1/6,000 sec.; bulb to 4 minutes; 1/180 x-sync 30-1/4,000 sec.; bulb; 1/160 sec x-sync
Metering n/a n/a 221 segment 221 segment 221 segment 1,200 zone
Metering range n/a n/a 0 - 18 EV 0 - 18 EV 0 - 18 EV 0 - 20 EV
Flash Optional
$149.99
Yes Included optional Included optional Included optional Included optional
Image stabilization Optical Optical Optical Optical Optical Optical
Video H.264 QuickTime MOV 1080/30p/ 25p/24p; 720/60p/50p 1080/60i/ 30p, 720/60p H.264 MPEG-4 QuickTime MOV 1080/30p; 1080 x 810/24p; 720/30p H.264 MPEG-4 1080/30p; 1080 x 810/24p; 720/30p H.264 MPEG-4 1080/60p/ 30p; 1080 x 810/24p; 720/30p H.264 MPEG-4 AVCHD 1080/60p @ 28, 24Mbps, 1080/24p @ 24, 17Mbps, 1080/60i @ 17Mbps; H.264 MPEG-4
1440x1080/ 30p @ 12Mbps
Audio Stereo; mic input Stereo Stereo; mic input Stereo; mic input Stereo; mic input Stereo, mic input
LCD size 3-inch articulated touch screen
1.04 megadots
3-inch fixed 920,000 dots 3-inch fixed LCD
614,000 dots
3.7-inch fixed capacitive touch screen
1.152 megadots
3.3-inch tilting AMOLED touch screen
768,000 dots
3-inch tilting touch screen
921,600 dots
Media 1 x SDXC 1 x SDXC 1 x SDXC 1 x Micro SDXC 1 x SDXC 1 x SDXC
Wireless connectivity None Optional
(via WU-1b Wireless Mobile Adapter)
Wi-Fi Wi-Fi, NFC Wi-Fi Wi-Fi
Battery life (CIPA rating) 230 shots 220 shots 320 shots n/a 320 shots 430 shots
Dimensions (inches, WHD) 4.3 x 2.6 x 1.3 4.0 x 2.4 x 1.1 4.6 x 2.5 x 1.4 4.7 x 2.5 x 1.4 4.8 x 2.5 x 1.6 4.4 x 2.4 x 1.6
Body operating weight (ounces) 10.5 (est) 7.5 (est) 9.5 (est) 8.5 (est) 10.9 (est) 9.7 (without flash)
Mfr. price n/a n/a n/a n/a n/a $599.99 (body only)
$599.99 (with 22mm lens) $599.99 (with 10-30mm lens) $599 (with 20-50mm i-Function lens) $649.99 (with 20-50mm i-Function lens) $749.99 (with 20-50mm i-Function lens) $699.99 (with 18-55mm lens)
$549 (est, with 18-55mm lens) n/a n/a n/a n/a n/a
Ship date October 2012 February 2013 April 2013 June 2013 March 2013 October 2012

This brings Samsung's ILC lineup to three cameras priced between $600 and $750, which seems a bit crowded to me. The NX2000 offers a lot more than the NX1100 -- notably a better screen, NFC, and potentially better performance -- for just $50 more. (The NX20 remains in the lineup for now at around $900 to $1,000.)

Samsung tends to deliver the best wireless experience in a camera, and with a decent touch screen that may turn out to be the NX2000's advantage in this crowd; if it can deliver great performance, that will help, too. Most of the cameras in this class produce comparable photos, and it's really coming down to speed, design, and feature execution to differentiate among them.