Samsung NX10 Field Test: Istana Visit on Labour Day

What's better than to use the camera in a real event? The Istana was open to public on 1 May, and since I have never been there in my life, I proposed to go there by MRT (my current residence is even closer to the MRT station than my previous!).

But after we rushingly left the house with my mum-in-law, wifey and Mayenne, frustration sank in as there are a lot of barang to bring, and wifey commandeered" me to drive there instead. Obviously it's more convenient to drive there, but Mayenne would not be able to ride on the MRT. Still, convenience ranks priority, so we swiftly parked at Plaza Singapura.

(Later, I knew I lost my argument about car vs. train the moment we exited PS. The parking fee deducted from my cashcard: $1.70. Damn, it's cheaper than the 2-way MRT ticket rides for 3 adults!)

Now, despite bringing an extremely compact hybrid camera like the Samsung NX10, I still have to bring my Lowepro bag to store it, because the lens still protrudes out from the body and I don't have any bag small enough to store the camera and the additional 30mm lens. But it's definitely very very light using it. I am laughing at myself that I am able to shoot DSLR-quality images without lugging the mega lenses. After all, you really don't need a large aperture lens under the hot and cloudless day.

The weakest link of the NX10 has got to be the 18-55mm f3.5-5.6 variable aperture kit lens. Keeping the aperture at constant f5.6, I have decided to shoot at higher ISO so that I can capture Mayenne actively running around. The images do not look as sharp even at smaller apertures, and exhibits slight chromatic aberrations under the bright blue day. But it certainly looks superior compared to the compact cams and the colour tones are fascinating. During the outing, I didn't switch over to the 30mm f2 lens because it's not wide enough to capture the panoramic Istana.

In summary, I welcome the compactness of NX10 that delivers DSLR image quality (which is dependent on the lens quality, like every other DSLR). The ability to shoot via the 3" AMOLED screen with speedy AF response means that I can be versatile and quick in capturing my shots. In short, I get an usage experience of a compact cam with an image output of a DSLR. Best of both worlds!

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