At long last, the photos taken with the NX10 sprawling in the computer have been arranged neat and tidy. We are ready to share with you the insights and findings of our NX10 field report.
The loan items include the camera body and the three lenses, namely, the 30mm F2.0 pancake, the 18-55mm F3.5–5.6 and the 50-200mm F4.0-5.6 zoom. Regrettably, the flashgun was not available for loan this time.
The NX10 is the latest to join the fold of the so-called EVIL (Electronic Viewfinder, Interchangeable Lens) cameras, a name which is outright bad taste but increasingly widely known and used. We would rather call such cameras serious compacts.
Samsung has unequivocally and seriously proved its agenda of owning the fledging market of serious compacts by offering the system at lower prices with complete choices of photographic paraphernalia. On paper, the NX10 is comparable to, if not superior than, its competitors. So, is Samsung set to succeed with the NX10?
We are not going to, and cannot, make scientific laboratory tests of the camera and the lenses. Instead, as usual, we have field-test them and will give you some afterthoughts about them.
Let's start with the thoughts about the camera body and its ergonomics. As we have been saying all along, the notion of a serious compact being compact is not just for the size's sake. The compact size should come with good, at least not to compromise, ergonomics.
Size-wise, the NX10 measures a wee bit bigger than its competitors, including the MFTs and GXR. But on the hand, it feels much bigger. Unless mounted with the pancake lens, the NX10 with the two zoom lenses doesn't weight 
considerably lighter than the smaller regular DSLRs like Pentax's K-x. The culprits are the hefty zoom lenses.
That said, the weight distribution of the camera body is good. But it is definitely not for single-handed operation which is most possible with the GXR among the competitors. Also, the hand grip leans towards mediocre in giving the user the necessary grip to hold the camera body steady with one hand during operation.
As regards the disposition of the buttons and wheels, they are generally well arranged over the camera body. With a bit of practice, the user can reach the right buttons with the thumb and fingers for the desired functions while looking into the viewfinder.
There is one button which spoils the otherwise perfect design. During the evaluation, occasions of accidentally touching the front button right next to the lens mount were frequent.
That button can be registered to activate either the optical preview (of the DOF) and the manual white balance. If it is registered for the manual white balance function, the accidental activation of it will result in photos being masked by an odd white balance cast. There is no way to turn off the functionality of the button.
(To be continued)
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