Samsung NV3 Gets Colors (and My Hands-On)

Any time I go on a trip I bring a gaggle of gadgets with me. My current trip to India is no exception. I'm going to enumerate the pile of stuff weighing down my carry on luggage in a future post, but first I want to go over my experiences with the sexy Samsung NV3 that came out last fall. Why now, you might ask. Besides it being one of the first cameras to usher in Samsung's new camera design aesthetic (retro-cool, curvy Leica-esque forms and color), the NV3 is about to come out in two new colors,Silver and Oriental Lacquer (which looks Gold-ish), according to Gizmodo.

I've been meaning to try out this camera for a while, but since it's only 7.2 megapixels—not that there's anything wrong with that—I put it aside in favor of the raft of new 10-megapixel models, including Samsung's own NV10 (more on that another time). At any rate, I brought the original black version with me to India with me because at about an inch thick, it slips easily into any pocket and is perfectly discreet when walking through unfamiliar international cities and crowded areas (which Mumbai/Bombay, where I am now, has in spades—India is a country of 1.2 billion people after all). So, design-wise, this camera is sweet—just make sure you have a nice case for it because I've already scratched the black brushed metal surface up (and all I did was keep it in my pocket and/or backpack).

Like many a Samsung camera and MP3 player, the NV3 has loads of functionality, including an MP3 player, a personal media player (PMP), and text reader, but I haven't tried any of those features out because I haven't wanted to waste the battery. Instead, I've been shooting photo after photo of dilapidated grandiose British Victorian architecture, of which this city is full, as well as videos of relentless and noisy traffic (all of which are stored on a roomy one-gigabyte SD card). My main complaints here: The camera simply isn't fast enough, either for quick shots one after the other or when switching from one camera mode to another (this is especially clumsy and irksome when switching from still to camcorder mode). So there are many shots and videos I did not get. And once, the camera simply froze up on me entirely (I had to take the battery out to get it started again).

In addition, I have to press at least a couple of buttons to get to the scene modes, of which there are too few (only 11). In both the quick draw and scene modes departments, the NV3 is left in the dust by the Olympus Stylus 1000, but I'll get to that camera in the next couple of days.

In terms of images, the NV3 does an okay job, but images look a little dull, to be honest. I've gotten more clarity from simlar Fujifilm and Olympus models.

Still, it's a looker. I hope Samsung continues with the design direction it's going in and works on its cameras' innards a bit more. And leave the other functions to other gadgets. Until battery life improves, I still prefer having a dedicated shooter.

How about you: Do you want/need a music player, text reader, and PMP in your camera?

Related links:

Two Digital Cameras That Beg For Your Touch

Rant: Stupid iPod Craps Out On Other Side of Globe