Samsung Galaxy NX review – Autofocus
Samsung has opted for the same advanced hybrid autofocus system in the Galaxy NX as in the NX300, consisting of 105 phase-detection and 247 contrast-detection points. Samsung claims the phase-detection points that work in the middle portion of the frame are the quickest, while the contrast AF points that work across the entire frame are the most accurate. Theoretically, combining these should result in quick and accurate AF.
In bright conditions, the AF is as quick and as accurate as you would expect from a similarly priced compact system camera. In low-light conditions, the autofocus spends a while hunting for focus, often taking a couple of seconds and on occasion missing completely. The focus assist beam does offer some help in finding focus in low light, but due to its placement on the camera the beam is commonly obstructed when using a larger lens or a lens hood. An alternative placement situated further from the lens mount would solve this problem.
Selecting a point of focus by touching the 4.77in screen makes autofocusing incredibly easy, and it was most certainly my go-to option when using the camera. It’s much faster than finding a focus point manually and offers more control over automatic AF points. Undoubtedly, this is one of the significant benefits of a large touchscreen with 247 focus points.
Also of note is that the Galaxy NX adopts the focus-peaking feature of the NX300. This allows the user to manually focus and preview a highlight around the outline of areas that are brought into focus. This outline varies in intensity to indicate optimum focus and the colour can be set to red, white or green. An on/off controllable feature called MF assist aids in manual focusing by zooming in 5x when the focus ring is moved.
