Samsung Photo 24

London

SAMSUNG 150 photographers 24 hours in London 1 amazing photoshoot

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SAMSUNG PHOTO 24

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WHY photo 24?

Photographers love a challenge. Whether it’s setting the alarm to get up for a stunning sunrise, trying to capture a brilliant image of a bird or animal in its natural habitat or attempting to freeze a fast-moving subject in pinsharp detail, we’re always pushing ourselves to take better images. That, in essence, is what Photo 24 was all about.

Run earlier this year in association with Samsung, we got over 150 photographers together in London to spend 24 hours taking pictures. Aside from the obvious challenge of staying awake for the duration (London’s coffee shops quickly became honeypots for our photographers – especially in the wee small hours), Samsung also put up some fantastic prizes across a range of different categories to keep minds and cameras focused.

Kicking off at 6pm on a Friday evening, we also began the event with the opportunity for participants to get hands-on with the Samsung NX300 by stationing Samsung representatives at key locations around the capital.

Many established DSLR users were quickly won over by the diminutive camera’s considerable charms. It delivers high-quality results from the APS-C-sized sensor, has ISO sensitivity right up to 25,600 – which proved handy for the night-time – and, perhaps most importantly, is both small and light. This latter fact is crucial. At the beginning of a 24-hour photoshoot, a full DSLR kit may be a manageable weight, but come the end, it feels like carrying your house on your back! Not so with the Samsung NX300.

This supplement showcases some of the images taken throughout the event and gives you the chance to read the opinions of a selection of photographers who got their hands on the NX300. You can also read the views of one photographer who used the NX300 for the full 24-hour period.

It proved to be a very enlightening experience, literally and metaphorically.

When we all re-convened at 6pm the following day, it was clear the event had been an unbridled success. The weather had been (mostly) on our side, the Samsung cameras had performed admirably and it was apparent that everyone had thoroughly enjoyed being part of this inaugural event. Will we be doing it again? Yes, absolutely. Make sure you keep an eye on the pages of Advanced Photographer and Digital SLR magazine, as well as their respective websites and social media streams. And if you fancy giving your photography a real challenge, we hope to see you on the event next time.

Will Cheung FRPS, Editor

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samsung nx300

your thoughts

The Samsung NX300 is a great camera, but don’t just take our word for it. We loaned some NX300s to our readers to capture their opinions of this cutting-edge compact system camera

Aaron Russell “I enjoyed trying out the Samsung cameras – I got to spend some time using the NX300, which really surprised me. I’m used to a heavy DLSR and it was refreshing to use kit that was so light, especially when you’re on your feet all day. It seemed really well put-together with a high level of build-quality. One function that I’d never seen before was the Wi-Fi connectivity. I took a shot on the NX300, and before I’d lined up another, the Samsung product demonstrator had Tweeted the image using his phone. All this technology in such a small package is impressive. I tried a few different lenses, and the way the NX300 works as a system has made me think about what I’m using at the moment.”

cheryl meek “I’ve been keen to try the Samsung NX300 for ages as the spec sounded great. First impressions of the camera were good: the screen was a great size, covering the entire back of the camera. I found it felt great in the hand, too – not too small, like a compact, but not overly huge either. The main body was very slim with a lovely hand grip, making it a good fit between a compact and a SLR.”

gavin meek “I was impressed by the Samsung NX300.

It felt good in the hand and as an even smaller package than the NX20, it’s small and portable but with plenty of features. It was very responsive too, with the phase and contrast detection autofocusing swiftly and the screen easy to use. The i-Function button on the lens provided lots of traditional camera controls and made it easy to change settings without having to look at the monitor.”

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best image shot with a samsung mike martin Throughout the event, we ran competitions to scoop Samsung prizes. Mike’s shot of the Lloyd’s building (right) was the best taken using a Samsung product. He said: “I was impressed with how light the NX300 with the standard 18-55mm lens combination was. The grip made it feel more like a SLR than a compact, which I liked. The images on the LCD screen appeared clean and brightly coloured.”

Nigel Cartwright “Having used DSLRs for a good five years now, I was interested to try a compact system camera.

I’m 62 years young and, if I’m honest, carrying a heavy DSLR and my two alternative lenses (a 55200mm and a 10-20mm) is a bit of an effort these days. I found the lightweight NX300 to be a really refreshing change to the DSLR slog and even with extra lenses, the Samsung system seems to weigh less than one of my lenses. I take a lot of pictures at steam railway events and I’m on my feet all day, so I could definitely see myself switching to this system. After taking some test shots, I was impressed with the image quality of my results, which were definitely on a par, if not better, than pictures from my Nikon D5000.”

Norman Smith “I took to the NX300 immediately, as it was a comfortable size and weight in my hand. It’s easy to use, and I was particularly impressed with the section of the display which showed the aperture I had chosen as ‘analogue’ in the manner of a traditional camera aperture ring. The rest of the controls fell readily to hand – or finger! – so I felt at home very quickly. My competition entry was taken at dusk at ISO 800. When I came to process the RAW files I was impressed with the lack of noise.”

Susan Good “The Samsung NX300 is a camera that literally fitted in my coat pocket.

This portability worked perfectly for me as I love taking a camera on days out with the kids but don’t have room for a big DSLR-style camera. One of the stand-out features for me was the Wi-Fi function. Being able to take a photo and then instantly upload it to my Facebook page was great fun and perfect for nights out with the girls.

Initially, I thought it would be hard to navigate around the menu screen, but it’s actually very simple.”

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TAKING TTA AKIN INGG THE THE TH

NX STE STEP ST EP What camera would you choose for a 24-hour photoshoot in London?

Roger Payne travelled light with the Samsung NX300

T

ackling a 24-hour photo challenge requires some serious thought.

Naturally, you need to consider where you’re going to go, what you’re going to photograph and how you’re going to keep yourself awake enough to take decent pictures. But being based in London where 24-hour coffee shops are in plentiful supply, none of these aspects of the Photo 24 challenge were giving me sleepless

nights. Instead, I was fretting about camera gear.

The must-haves on my equipment wishlist read as follows: lightweight, high image quality, lightweight, easy to use, lightweight and versatile.

Did I also mention that I needed it to be lightweight? Having quickly dismissed my standard digital SLR kit, which is bigger,

bulkier and probably heavier than my kitchen sink, I settled on the Samsung NX range of compact system cameras and, more specifically, the NX300. It certainly ticked the boxes in terms of weight; the combination of NX300 body plus 18-55mm, 50-200mm and 30mm lenses tip the scales at less than 1kg.

But the real beauty of the camera only really became apparent as I explored the sights of our capital city. Here’s what I unearthed:

SPEED OF OPERATION As well as being speedy in the focusing department, the NX300 proved itself to be a fast mover in other areas, too. Starting up swiftly whenever I wanted to take a shot, the camera also has a short shutter lag – the time taken between the shutter button being pressed and the image actually being captured. This meant that whenever I wanted to take a quick snap, I was able to power up, frame and shoot while some photographers were still fiddling with their lens caps.

The NX300 also offers an impressively rapid top shutter speed of 1/6000sec and a maximum frame rate of 8.6 frames-per-second. I didn’t push these functions into service on the streets of London, but had I been trying to capture fast-moving action, they would have proved invaluable.

PICTURE QUALITY It may be small and lightweight, but the NX300 doesn’t compromise when it comes to picture quality. That’s because the 20.3-megapixel sensor is APS-C sized; the same as you’ll find in most digital SLRs and bigger than the sensor in many other compact system cameras. Image quality was impressive, whether I was shooting Tower Bridge in bright sunshine or Covent Garden in the middle of the night. ISO settings up to 25,600 are available and while I didn’t go right to the limit, I regularly used ISO 3200 for quick shots in the small hours or in low light conditions indoors. The results were surprisingly noise free.

As well as offering impressive light gathering capabilities and vibrant colours, the larger sensor also has a pictorial benefit. Shoot using wide apertures – something that I did with the 30mm f/2 pancake lens – and you’ll get lovely out-offocus effects that give shots a really professional look; very handy for a ham-fisted amateur like me.

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Useful connectivity With dual-band Wi-Fi built in, it’s easy to share shots with the NX300. There are plenty of free Wi-Fi networks in London which, had I wanted to, would have enabled me to transfer images to my smartphone to share with friends on social media sites. But I preferred instead to use the Auto Backup function.

Here, once connected to a Wi-Fi network, the camera backed up all my shots to my laptop, so I was able to keep shooting safe in the knowledge that my efforts were safely stored.

Ease of use It takes a little while to get used to any camera, but I must admit that I got on famously with the NX300, right from the start. Stylishly designed with a rounded grip that fits nicely into the hand, the camera also benefits from a touchscreen LCD, which makes function selection as easy as using a smartphone. If you don’t want to use the touchscreen, that’s fine – a group of buttons to the right of the LCD will suit those who want to change features in a more conventional manner. For me, though, it was the 3.31-inch touchscreen all the way, which can also be tilted up 90° or down 45°. This versatile functionality is invaluable when you want to take shots at a low angle, on a tripod, or above your head in a crowd – very handy for the street performers in Covent Garden!

On top of the features on the camera body, selected Samsung lenses feature a unique i-Function button. This is ideal for changing features on the fly as you’re taking pictures.

Rather than lowering the camera using the rear LCD to set modes, press the i-Function button and scroll through features as you’re shooting.

When it comes to functions, the NX300 is laden with them! I tended to opt for my favourite aperture-priority mode, but I also dabbled with the Smart Modes where the camera takes away the headache of shooting a range of subjects by setting camera functions for you. This kind of point-and-shoot simplicity comes in extremely handy when you’ve been awake for 24 hours straight!

Focusing accuracy Until now most compact system cameras have relied on contrast detection autofocus systems, rather like a point-and-shoot camera. While such systems are usually accurate, they can be a little slow, often meaning a missed shot. They can also be found wanting in low light and low contrast lighting conditions.

The NX300, however, comes furnished with a hybrid autofocusing system that uses both contrast and phase detection focusing, the latter being more commonly found in digital SLRs. This was good news both for me and my picture taking. The two systems work hand in hand to deliver sharp focus quickly and effectively.

Phase detection focusing instantly calculates the camera-to-subject distance, then the contrast AF system kicks in to fine-tune. This is all done in the blink of an eye, of course, and I found it speeded up my picture taking dramatically.

specs Sensor size/type 23.5x15.7mm CMOS Megapixels 20.3 LCD 3.31-inch touchscreen Shutter speed range 30 seconds to 1/6000sec, plus B ISO range 100-25,600 Raw shooting Yes HD video Full HD (1920x1080 at 30fps) Dimensions (WxHxD) 122x63.7x40.7mm Weight 284g (body only, no battery)

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Capture every detail with a FREE 50-200mm lens worth £249.*

Buy the Samsung NX300 SMART Camera and catch all the action with a FREE 50-200mm lens worth £249.* Everything you need to share life in perfect detail.

• 20.3MP APS-C CMOS sensor for super-sharp images • Compact design • Fast shutter speed for action shots •W iFi for instant sharing Find out more at samsung.com/uk/nx300

The award-winning NX300.

* Free Lens: RRP £249. Purchase from participating retailer required by 31 October 2013. Claims by redemption. Claims must be received by 30 November 2013. See samsung.com/uk/lenspromotion for further information and for full T&Cs. 3 Year Warranty: Purchase from participating retailer required by 31 December 2013. Registration required within 30 days of purchase. See samsung.com/uk/nxwarranty for further information and for full T&Cs.

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