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Friday, May 30, 2014 | 6:31 PM | 0 comments

Since a very young age, I've been very intrigued by all sorts of cameras. I don't know why, but they just seem to excite me. From old school film-cameras, to compact cameras to a SLR, then a DSLR and more that I probably can't name.

Not that I've superb photography skills, cos I don't, but because of my dad's interest in this field, (and nope, in case you wondering, he's not a photographer) I've a collection of more than 10 different cameras at home.


Isn't it amazing how cameras have evolved over the years? 
Just a fun fact I found online: Alhazen (Ibn Al-Haytham), invented the first pinhole camera, around the1000AD(also called the Camera Obscura.) And the first camera with a true photograph was in 1826 by Joseph Niepce.
Some brands I had my hands on previously are, KODAK, Sony, Nikon, Canon, Olympus, Casio and Samsung. Samsung has gotta be one of my current favourites!

Back to the point of today's post, some of you may have already guessed it....... I'd be sharing about my new camera, the Samsung NXmini today!!! :D 

*Grins*


The Samsung NX Mini: Carry the Style, Capture the Best 

As a blogger, or even as a girl, it's required of me to take pictures most of the time, whether it's for advertorials or just to update my Instagram and it becomes a HUGE problem when there's no one to take my photos for me. 

Sure, we have tripods and even selfie sticks these days, but it's such a hassle to race from your camera to your ideal position and rather unsightly to hold a selfie stick in the middle of (for example) town. Hence, most of the time, I've to take at least 10 photos in order to get one good shot. YOU KNOW HOW SUCKY THAT IS?! I think any girl would be able to relate to that. 

Besides, it's even worse when the camera doesn't have a flip screen and my photo would end up looking ridiculous as hell. Thinking I'm standing in the right position where I fit into the frame, and BAM! *Checks picture* It's either anything but myself, or a super unglamorous picture like...


Anyway, my life was made a lot easier when I was introduced to cameras with swivel screens. Which is exactly the point of this post, cos what's so special about the NXmini if there are so many cameras out there that has this feature as well? With so many people raving about it, and how its features sound soooo promising, is it really as good as it claims to be? You'll find out more today. 


First, it comes in 4 trendy pastel colors such as Mint Green, Pink, White, Brown. And as indecisive as I always am, I had a super hard time picking because the first 3 happens to be my favourite colours, and I thought brown was kinda cool as well because it has a vintage look to it. (Black's not available in S'pore.)


In the end, I went with Mint green cos I felt like it's the most uncommon colour amongst the rest. Pink would've been a good choice too, but I thought it was a little too girly for me... So nah.

Besides how it's obviously extremely slim (22.5mm Body) and light (158g Body) here are some of the things I love about the camera.

1) Auto on with just a quick flip of the display & Beauty Face Mode


You know how at times, you just wanna take an immediate selfie, but even though it's just a button away, it gets a little annoying to wait for the camera to start up?

Well, what the NXmini does is that it switches on automatically once the screen is flipped, it also has a 3 seconds timer function that allows you to kinda prep yourself before the shot is taken, and I LOVE its beauty mode!!!

Then again, almost every camera has a beauty mode today, but I swear it's different!!! I don't know if it's just me, but most cameras with the beauty mode gives this "dreamy" effect and even though it hides my flaws, it looks extremely artificial. However, the NXmini doesn't and the pictures end up looking rather natural.

Here's a picture taken with the camera.


Makes my skin look pretty flawless, doesn't it? Don't be fooled. :P

2) Built-in and external flash.


Not only does it have an internal flash, the product comes with an extra external flash as well. But honestly, with a little help from the ISO and Aperture, the flash lights aren't even necessary. Which is another good point about the camera.

3. Long Battery Life (Up to 530 shots; 2,330mAh) 

4. Tag & Go (Able to transfer photos from NX mini to any NFC-compatible smartphone seamlessly)

6. Bundled with Adobe® Photoshop® Lightroom® 5

3) Touch screen shutter


To your lives a lot easier, you can also take your pictures simply with just a single touch on the screen.

4) Wink and Smile Shot


Super impressed with how these two work. Apparently the camera detects your smile or wink and captures a picture for you, which saves you the extra effort from clicking on the shutter. 

The only downside is that the sensor isn't really sensitive when you've more than one person in the picture, because it loses focus. But well, I prefer using the normal one most of the time though, so it's not much of a problem for me.

5) Interchangeable lens


Comes with a 9-27mm Lens, wide lens (which means that you can capture more of what's around you) or you can get a 9mm pancake lens which makes it extra light and portable. 

It would've been better if it has more bokeh, and not that "flat" though. It's a lot lesser compared to the other Samsung camera (EX2F) I own. (In case you don't have a clue what bokeh is, refer to the pictures below. It is the aesthetic quality of the blur produced in the out-of-focus parts of an image produced by a lens.) However, after all it's just a 9-27mm lens, so it's understandable if it doesn't produce as much of that effect.


Here's the compartment on the side where you charge, insert/remove your card, transfer your pictures etc.

It uses a Micro SD card and unless you've an adapter, it can't be inserted to your computer. To compensate, at least it comes with a cable that allows you to connect to your comp. And what I like is that Samsung cables are compatible with many devices.


The NX mini also comes with some filters you can play around with. And also something extra special: the full version of the Adobe® Photoshop® Lightroom® 5! Exciting news for Photoshop junkies! ☺

6) Wi-fi and Tag&Go function


It has a built-in Wi-fi and NFC which makes it possible to share your photos within seconds and send them to a smartphone or tablet, as well as upload directly to social media sites including Facebook, YouTube and Twitter etc. In addition there is support for uploading to cloud storage, including Dropbox, so that you can quickly and easily backup your photos without having to use a computer.

My other cameras that have the Wi-fi function would usually reduce the size of my photo for quick transfer, but one thing that I'm fond of of the NXmini is that it allows you to send the original image to your smartphones without affecting its resolution and I've tried transferring 30 images previously, which took me only about 3 minutes.


Pull, twist, and turn to unlock the lens.


Switch to manual mode if you wanna adjust your settings to your own preference.


Did I also mention that it provides Full HD 30fps video? So not only can you take chio photos with this, you can start recording your own videos as well. Also, with so many things running, I bet you guys would expect it to run off battery really quickly... To my surprise, it doesn't! It says to last up to 530 shots; 2,330mAh and I guess it's true? Cos I actually used it for three days consecutively, and I still have one bar left! Kudos to that!



It is extremely user-friendly and handy, although it does feel a little flimsy and hard to grip onto due to its really thin body and the plastic material use on the body of the camera gets a little slippery at times too. 

Nonetheless, it is a camera I'd definitely recommend you to invest in if you love taking photos and looking to settle for something that's less complex compared to a DSLR. It may have functions that a variety of cameras can deliver, but how often can you find one that performs as well as how multiple cameras do? So I think you should own one too!


Ending this post with some photos taken with the camera, without filter. You can judge the quality for yourself!





Find out more on the camera (here) and on this video that Jian Hao did: 


This will definitely help you decide whether you wish to get one for yourself or not! :D

Thank you Samsung Asia Pte Ltd for sponsoring me :)

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