Samsung joins other manufacturers in the 10 megapixel point and shoot market with the latest addition to their NV series of digital cameras. The NV10 features a 2.5" LCD display and a Schneider 3X optical zoom, with a 35 mm equivalent focal length range of 35-105 mm. Let's start out by taking a look at the features chart.

The Specs Chart

Camera Tour

Front view of the Samsung NV10. The built-in flash automatically pops up when the shutter release is depressed half way.

Measuring 3.80" x 2.36" x 1.04" with the lens closed, and weighing just over 5 oz without battery or memory, the NV10 is one of the smallest, lightest compact 10 megapixel cameras on the market. With the two segment lens fully extended, it measures 1.88" thick. Though rated at 10 megapixels (3648x2736) the camera will also shoot at four other resolutions: 7MP (3136x2352), 5MP (2688x2016), 3MP (2240x1650) and 1MP (1024x768). With each resolution, you have a choice of three compression levels: Normal, Fine and Superfine.

Top view of the Samsung NV10 showing the power switch, shutter release and mode dial.

Looking at the top of the NV10, we see a fairly standard mode selector dial. There are six modes for shooting still pictures, a movie mode and a photo gallery mode; we'll talk about each in detail later.

Bottom view of the Samsung NV10

On the bottom of the camera, there's a pop-open door that reveals the battery compartment housing the 800 mAh 3.7V Li-ion battery, a slot for the SD/MMC memory card, a standard tripod mount, and a 24-pin data connector. The NV10 comes with a data cable that plugs into the bottom of the camera; the other end of the cable is terminated with a standard USB connector. You can plug the USB connector into your computer to transfer images or into the supplied AC adapter to charge the battery. When you plug the camera into a Windows XP-based computer, it's recognized as an external storage device and mounts as a removable drive with no driver software is required. A second data cable terminates with standard RCA connectors for video/audio output. The NV10 supports both NTSC and PAL video formats. I connected the NV10 to my TV, and the TV screen essentially became a larger version of the LCD screen. I could play back video and still pictures, and even take pictures using the TV screen instead of the LCD.

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