Samsung GX-10 DSLR Digital Camera 

I get to see a range of digital cameras from a variety of manufacturers but few SLR offerings. So the latest Samsung offering was eagerly anticipated. I am told that most resellers will sell this with two lenses so it was a little disappointing to receive it with only one, however should you have any Pentax lenses from whatever vintage of camera they should fit and a trawl round some boot fairs could provide a rich harvest.

So first some dimensions with the supplied D-Xenon 18-55 lens screwed in it is 14x10x15cm the last measurement is with the lens fully extended. The weight is a not insubstantial 1.15kilos.

The first thing to note is that the unit is near waterproof with only the lens somewhat less likely to survive a downpour but a fully waterproof offering is due this year. For instance the SD card is behind a door with seal rather than a latch. The same is true of the rechargeable battery that fits in the base. Somewhat surprisingly it needs to be removed to be recharged in the charge adapter supplied.

See also: Digital SLR

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I am not going to go into the 32 various buttons and dials on the unit lets just say I spent a number of hours studying the 264 page user manual and just learned more about this excellent unit.

This is a 10.75MP (10.2MP actual) offering and while it can take images at 6MP and 2MP it can also at a single press of a button take RAW images instead of the default JPG. There is a near 5x4cm display of the back that you can check your image after taking, however at that resolution only when you get back to the PC can you really enjoy the full quality of the images. Apart from the TFT there is also a two line LCD display on top of the unit to give a multiplicity of information.

I was delighted with the OPS (optical picture stabilization) mode. While this unit does have a pop up flash it also supports an external shoe and images taken in less than perfect light over ten feet away tend to give you two choices either use a tripod or turn on OPS and let the camera do it's best.

I recently attended a gig that took place close to dusk and while I took a range of images most taken with flash were less than perfect when viewed on the TFT however those taken with OPS and no flash were excellent providing the musicians avoided to sudden movements. This brings me to the ability to take 9 images in quick succession at up to 3per second. Multi exposure offers a similar option and it great for fast action.  

I would not recommend this for the novice unless they are a very fast learner. However for someone with a few years experience either from 35mm or digital will salivate at the features that it offers. I did take some images quite successfully using the auto mode and with the shutter half down it was a strange feeling to have the lens rotate by itself to fine tune the subject it did a good job but I feel the whole point of having a quality piece of kit it to get that setting yourself and using the multitude or options available you can achieve that extra wow.

Doing my Internet searches found this still very new camera at a best price of £549.98 and that comes with the 18-55mm lens as I reviewed. Please note no SD card is included but with high speed 1GB offerings now less than £8 that is no great expense.

Anyone serious about photography should consider an SLR (also an external flash) this offering from Samsung is certainly worth serious consideration.

http://www.amazon.co.uk/Samsung-GX10-Digital-18-55mm-Kit/dp/B000LVFW1K

http://www.samsungcamera.com/flash/gx10/en/index.html