After blogging for a few years, I realized there were things I needed to work on. I was lucky enough to review tons of gadgets, but they were mostly in the mobile field. I never really had much time with cameras, besides the cameras on smartphones. I started with a DSLR which took great pictures. Then I upgraded to the Samsung NX30 mirrorless camera, which was smaller and had Wifi capabilities.
I enjoyed using the Samsung NX30 so much that I looked into their other cameras. I was intrigued by the NXMini. The NX Mini is a small digital camera with interchangeable lens. I’ve had it for a few weeks, check out what I thought about the Samsung NX Mini.
Design
The NX Mini is an interchangeable lens 20 megapixel digital camera. It has a 3 inch flip-up touchscreen LED screen which allows you to take selfies (or us-sies) and allows you to navigate the settings easily. The setup is pretty plain and direct, with most of the menu selections being on-screen and/or multiple clicks in.
The back of the NX Mini, has the 3 inch screen, directional pad with the usual menu buttons (timer, display, and focus settings), and the “OK” center button. Video recording, trash, and review all have separate buttons around the directional pad. The buttons are rather small, but fine for my thin fingers.
The ” Direct Link” (gets the camera ready to share over wifi) , power, and shutter buttons are on the top part of the camera. They are next to the port for an external flash. The microSD card slot, the microUSB charging port, HDMI mini, and battery are on the right side (if you’re looking at the lens) of the camera.
Fave Features
If you’ve read any of my smartphone reviews you know that I am not a professional photographer. This camera is great for those who want to try to learn about some of the things professional cameras can do without getting overwhelmed. I had to do a bit of research to get the hang of a few things, but these are some of the features I love about the NX Mini:
WiFi Sharing / Auto Share:
Let me start by saying that it’s highly unlikely that I’ll buy a small or mid-size camera without Wifi capabilities ever again. In the world we live in and the field that I am in, instant sharing is necessary. One of the main features of this camera is the sharing of pictures via the Samsung MobileLink app. It’s great when you’re with a group of friends, and don’t want to wait till later to share, or you got an awesome pic that you’d like to share ASAP. The app is available for both iOS and Android.
Flip Up Touch Screen:
I admit that I love taking selfies. It’s a great way to say “Look at where I am, wish you were here!” It’s even more fun with friends. The selfie cams (front-facing cameras) on most smartphones aren’t all that great (they save the good stuff for the rear cameras). The flip-up screen on the NX Mini allows you to clearly see who is in the picture and it’s wide enough for a great group pic. The great thing about the flip-up screen is that it works well with the next feature I love!
Smile Shot / Wink Shot
Usually when taking selfies, you use the timer, or pose awkwardly to fit everyone in and get a good shot, with the wink or smile shot, any of the gestures will click the shutter and voila, you got your pic. Some may think it’s gimmicky but it works. I’m better at using smile shot than wink shot.
Battery Life / Battery Port
The 2,330 mah battery on the NX Mini did pretty well.On separate days of testing I could take a few hundred pictures before the camera died on me. The battery charges inside the camera while connected via microUSB (yay). You know that I keep my battery packs around.
Pricing and Availability
There are different bundles you can buy for the NX Mini. The lowest I’ve seen it with the 9mm lens is $269.99, which is a lot lower than when it first came out at $449.99
YOU CAN LEARN MORE AND BUY IT FROM SAMSUNG.COM OR AMAZON.COM
Conclusion
The Samsung NX Mini is an excellent everyday shooter. Great for informal gatherings and good times. For more professional occasions I say upgrade to the Samsung NX30. I love how I can just throw my NXMini in my bag and take it anywhere (and be able to charge it nearly everywhere. In the occasion that the battery is dead, you can charge it with one of your phone cables. Sharing pics is quick and painless. The NX Mini is now at an affordable price range as well. The lenses used on other NX cameras won’t fit on the NX Mini, so you would need to buy a special lens adapter for that. I suggest getting the zoom lens versus the 9mm just for the option of zooming in. I won’t use this as a main camera. If you’re only getting one camera, go for a more professional model. But as a second or third camera, the NX Mini is great.
This article appeared on TechWeLike (check out my other reviews there also)