Samsung NX30 review – Build and handling
The NX30 is marginally bigger than its predecessor, the Samsung NX20, measuring 127mm x 95.5mm x 41.7mm compared to the NX20’s 122mm x 89.6mm x 39.5mm. However, the main change is in the body shape itself. The front grip of the NX30 is now much bigger and more like the Galaxy NX, while the thumb grip has also been enlarged. The buttons have been rearranged to make the camera easier to use. All these design tweaks mean that the Samsung NX30 is very well balanced, feels secure and is incredibly easy to use. The only real downside is the polycarbonate construction that feels very plasticky and doesn’t have quite the premium build quality we would expect of a camera of this price range.
I found that the controls and the adjustments for the settings are very easy to use. Most of the controls, such as metering, ISO and white balance, can be changed using the function menu. There are several ways to access this menu, using either the i-Function button on the lens, the Fn menu button or via a tab at the bottom left of the touchscreen. Settings can be changed in value by using a swipe gestures on the touchscreen, moving the focus ring of the lens, using the scroll wheel on the topside of the camera or the scroll wheel/D-pad on the back of the camera. With so many ways to change the settings, users will quickly find the method that suits them. The menu is laid out on-screen, making it very easy to check and adjust settings.
My only slight gripe about the handling is the processing time. When shooting raw and JPEG files, it can take a couple of seconds to process them and the camera’s buffer is filled quite quickly.
