Next on my collection of cameras is this used Samsung NX 3000.
As it turns out, Samsung before the 2020s made cameras and had a whole lineup for them, which is something I wasn’t aware of.
These cameras are rare – other surviving players in the camera industry have had better runs; Sony, Canon, Fujifilm, etc.
The NX 3000 was released in 2014, more details of which I’m not too familiar with. These have the option of interchangeable lens and come in different colors should you want some extra flair.
As seen, the one I picked up is a brown leather finish.
The photo quality is nice albeit the photos are set in Super Fine (highest possible image size), and I had issues getting the right settings for night photos.
Photo quality is fine – it is not the best mirrorless camera in the market. This particular unit has a problem with the rotating dials, meaning it is permanently stuck in shutter mode. This seems to be a common problem with the NX lineup.
The lens fitted is a 16-50 OIS, using digital zoom. It is sufficient with short-range photos, but can struggle when maximizing the zoom.
The menu is less cluttered than the Sony a6400 I use, but it is to be said that Sony has a lot more configurable settings.
Some items that have somewhat big significance like timestamps are buried within the menu via language jargon and settings inside the settings, but most of the basic settings are clear to find.
The UX on the Samsung so far out of my experience with four cameras, has been the most satisfying. Genuinely speaking, the sound design is spot-on but outdated – using sounds that can be related to sounds made by phones of its era.
The UX on the NX 3000 is amongst the best in my limited collection and experiences with cameras. The sound design is spot-on and tactile, the menu is less cluttered than my Sony a6400 (granted there is lesser settings) and physical buttons are nicely weighted. Some specific settings do frustrate such as setting timestamps, and unlike modern cameras, do not automatically set its time after reinserting the battery after prolonged disuse.
As beforementioned, low lighting images are difficult due in part to the mode select being stuck. Fixes vary, from disassembly to using electrical contact cleaner..
For my use case of often doing panning and rolling, the NX 3000 is not a good camera for such use. For amatuer photography, the NX 3000 could very well be an aesthetically pleasing camera with a slightly less modern feel.
~Linus
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