Samsung NV3

What will they think up next? I bet this company really does have its employees working overtime, specifically, the guys in their Think Tank. These days it seems like having a device dedicated to one feature it can perform is a rather lame idea. Hence, the Samsung NV3.

Design
Being part of the ultra compact series, the Samsung NV3 is just that - Ultra Compact. Its dark purplish-brown and silver finish gives it a certain elegant styling. Even though it seems a wee bit heavy it really isn’t, weighing in at 155g. When you switch the camera on the little cover clicks back in the blink on an eye revealing the lens.

Now the top appears a bit strange at first and if you get confused as to which are buttons and which aren’t, it’s ok. We had the same problem at our end. But let me ease you into it.

From Left to right – The first round "thing" is, well… nothing! It seems like an overgrown bolt and is of no technical use. Then you have the power key and the Jog Dial followed by the microphone and Shutter Release button. And then to balance it out I'm thinking, there's another one of those odd-doesn’t-serve-any-purpose round "things".

On the side is the 2.5mm earphone socket just above the slot for the camera strap.

The rear panel sports the 2.5-inch 230,000 pixel display. What I’m most pleased about, is the button placement. The delete key is right near the main menu dial. This really makes it easier and a helluva lot quicker for deleting images. Even the zoom key is different from your average digicam. The bottom has of course the battery and MMC card compartment and the propriety cable slot.

Features
The interface is of the NV3 is pretty blah. It’s not as interesting or colorful as many others in this range but it’s not too hard to go through.

The 7.2 megpixels with 3x zoom does help with a certain amount of clarity but I’m not too impressed. But lets talk bout some of the other features like the mp3 player, text viewer and video player. What no FM radio?

The text viewer in a nutshell – only reads files with .TXT extensions but the 2.5 inch screen is utilized quite well in this feature.

The Mp3 player, through the built-in speakers sounds a bit crackly at best but in 3D mode it’s not easy to tell where the sound is coming from, seems like the entire camera emits the sound. Sound quality with the earphones is good with 7 preset EQs to choose from. The video player reads XviD, MPEG4 and AVI formats. Files can be dragged and dropped into respective folders and when the option is selected on the Jog Dial it automatically picks up the files.

For simple point-and-shoot users the Auto mode of the NV3 is the easiest mode to use and quality-wise the pictures aren’t so bad. Scene mode offers you the various options fro shooting like – Night mode, close ups, presets for shooting pictures of children, text, beach and snow and various lighting conditions. The Program mode is best for those who really want the best out of the camera by manually adjusting the various settings. There are very limited features for playing around with the images themselves. The NV3 has just the regular presets of black and white, sepia negative etc. nothing fancy.

The camera can be connected to any pict-bridge compatible printer and cables are provided to connect the camera to a monitor.

Performance
The NV3’s overall performance was just ok for digicam in this range. The pictures are pretty clear in normal view but in full view you’ll notice that it’s not all that appealing.

In normal lighting conditions the pictures are clear but a few details are a bit fuzzy and slight watercolor-like blotches can be noticed. Not all of the details are too crisp. Close ups are clear enough unless you inspect them a little closer, you'll find the colors do tend to fade at the edges.

The colors appear well saturated unless you shoot in bright sunlight, where the saturation ends up in a slight burnt-out effect. The colors also go a bit dark around the edges.

When using the Night mode, it takes at least 25-30 seconds to capture the image and another 25-30 seconds to process it. The outcome may be quite good actually, but who really has so much of time to spend for each shot in the dark.

Close ups are no too bad. The camera picks up the colors quite well but again the detail is compromised a bit.

As a suggestion for those who find a photo op anywhere remove the start up screen and your NV3 will boot in just under 2 seconds. It also takes only a second between shots and in burst mode it’s quick and smooth.

Conclusion
The bottom line - The Samsung NV3 although sleek and equipped to be used a personal media device for music and movies at a price or approximately Rs. 22,000, considering the performance, I’m gonna have to say thanks but I’ll pass. These days almost everyone already has an Mp3 player that plays videos or a mobile phone that does the same. I’d rather buy camera to do exactly what the genius who invented it, designed it for – to take pictures.

Specs

Dimensions	95 x 57 x 18 mm
Weight	155g
Type	Ultra Compact
Connectivity	Pict-Bridge/USB (Propriety)
Storage	Internal/SD/MMC card
Battery Type	Li-Ion
LCD Type	2.5", 230,000 px
View Finder	N/A
Sensor	CCD
Effective Pixels	7.2 Megapixel
ISO Sensitivity	Auto, 80, 100, 200, 400, 800, 1000, Manual
Optical Zoom	3x
Digital Zoom	4x
Shutter Speed	1/2000 sec
Aperture	F3.5 - F4.5
Format	JPEG (EXIF 2.2)
Scene Modes	Text, Landscape, Night scene, Snow, beach, Portrait, close up, sunset, dawn, fireworks, backlight,
White Balance	6 positions, plus manual
Flash	Auto, On, Off, auto red-eye reduction, slow sync
Self Timer	2 - 10 secs
Sound	Yes
Street Price	Rs. 21,990/