Features
All the key components of the NX210 are identical to those of the NX200, including the 20.3-million-pixel, APS-C-sized CMOS sensor, which is developed in-house by Samsung.
Of the new features, the first to note is the increase in the maximum shooting rate, which has been raised from 7fps to 8fps.. As the camera relies on contrast-detection focusing, the focus still remains fixed at the first frame. As a compact system camera, the NX210 isn’t designed or suited for sports or action photography, so the increased shooting rate isn’t a major new selling point.
Another minor update that will be welcomed by many is the facility for the NX210 to be used with the new Samsung SR2NX02 wired remote shutter release, via the camera’s Micro USB socket. Unfortunately, it is not backwards compatible with the NX10, NX100 and NX200.
However, as already mentioned, by far the most significant change is the Wi-Fi technology that has been incorporated into the NX210, as it has in all other recent Samsung cameras.
A number of different functions are offered by the Wi-Fi connectivity, but the three that will no doubt prove most popular are Mobile Link, Remote Viewfinder, Email and Social Sharing. The first two require separate apps to be downloaded to a mobile phone or tablet computer. Mobile Link connects the NX210 to a smartphone or tablet, and then allows these devices access to all the images that are saved on the camera’s memory card. Images can then be transferred, either individually or as a batch, from the camera to the mobile device. I transferred images to my iPhone, then edited images using Nik Software’s Snapseed image-editing app, before uploading the edited photos to Instagram’s online image-sharing service. This allowed people to see my images within minutes of taking them.
Remote Viewfinder allows the camera’s shutter to be controlled via a smartphone or tablet, with a live view presented on the screen. While the controls are limited, with only the flash, self-timer and resolution that can be altered, Samsung has promised access to all the shooting features by the end of the year.
When using the Remote Viewfinder application, there is a fraction of a second delay, which I estimated to be around 1/10sec, in the live view update. There is also a similar delay between clicking on the on-screen shutter button and the shutter being fired. However, the feature should still be useful for shooting when the camera is mounted out of reach, or for avoiding camera shake during long exposures. Again, there is the option to upload images to a mobile phone or a tablet for editing or sharing.
The Social Sharing function allows the camera to be connected directly to the internet via a Wi-Fi connection and images to be directly uploaded to an online service. Photobucket, YouTube, Picasa and Facebook are all supported, although Flickr is missing. Images can also be shared via email, uploaded to Sky Drive, backed up to a computer or viewed on a compatible Samsung TV, all via Wi-Fi.
While many photographers may not feel the need to start editing or sending images via a mobile phone, I certainly enjoyed doing this. It was interesting to see how I could edit and crop images while away from my computer. Using the Wi-Fi functions of the NX210 has made me realise that the next time I go away on holiday, I want to take a Wi-Fi-enabled camera with me so I can share some of my images immediately with those back home.
