Samsung NX2000

  Samsung NX2000, 3 Years Old And Still Worth It

About two months ago, I had a dilemma. I wanted to change camera but it was very hard to find a camera better than my white, small yet superb Samsung NX2000 (gotta admit that white is uncommon for cameras :v) Just for info I only managed to save 7 million Rupiah (about US$ 530), and I bought my NX2000 on February last year for 5,9 million Rupiah (about US$ 450), so finding a camera which could surpass the NX2000 but with only slightly higher price proved to be quite tricky (at least for me).

Don't get me wrong, the NX2000 was a superb camera for its price, let me state some of the greatest strength of it :

• 20,3 Megapixel sensor, bigger is better especially for cropping
• APS-C sensor (crop factor x 1,5 in 35mm format), the same sensor size in most entry to mid level DSLRs, but packed in much smaller body, bigger sensor (usually) means lower noise and better bokeh (blurred background)
• Takes great quality pictures, especially outdoors
• Very fast to focus when there is enough light
• Noise is barely noticeable up to ISO 1600
• Superb quality 3,7 inch LCD with WVGA resolution (840x480 pixels)
• Wi-Fi pairing with smartphone is the best among its rivals

But of course, even the mighty Achilles had his weakness, so these are the most noticeable weaknesses I found after using the NX2000 for more than one year :

• Noise spikes very high above ISO 1600
• Focusing speed decreases dramatically when the condition is a bit dark
• No dial on the body for manual setting (Shutter Speed, ISO, etc)
• No electronic viewfinder
• Lens choice is rather limited and pricey compared to other brands
• Because the camera body is very small and light, pairing it with a bigger lens is like mounting a tank cannon on a small drone, thus doesn't make it feel too comfortable for your right arm when shooting a long time
• Battery life is below average (only about 200 shots maximum for a single charge)

In simple words, NX2000 is a bang for your buck and will be your best partner when you want to travel light but still wanna take good quality pictures. Just remember to bring a powerbank for emergency charging and pair it with smaller lens (Samsung offers many good quality fixed pancake lens) to keep it small, light on your arm, and easy to travel with. Below are the pictures comparison when the NX2000 is paired with the smaller kit lens vs the much bigger telephoto zoom lens.

NX2000 with 20-50mm kit lens

NX2000 with 50-200mm telephoto zoom lens

If you have more budget you can look onto the little brothers of NX2000, the NX3000 or 3300, they have the same 20,3 Mpx APS-C sensor as in NX2000, but they have tiltable screen for easier shooting from difficult angle or selfie (personally I think taking selfies with a camera is very inconvenient compared to smartphones), you traded it with smaller screen though (3 inch vs 3,7 inch). Still, you can take great photos with it as it with NX2000, and the design of the NX3000 & 3300 is more similar to the NX300/500 which is cooler in my opinion.

NX3300's tiltable LCD screen

NX3300 with 16-50mm kit lens