Samsung NV40 Review

Review Date: May 8th 2008
Author: Mark Goldstein

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Page 1
Introduction / Ease of Use
Page 2
Image Quality
Page 3
Sample Images
Page 4
Design
Page 5
Specifications
Page 6
Conclusion

Image Quality

All of the sample images in this Review were taken using the 10 megapixel Super Fine mode, which gives an average image size of around 4.5Mb.

Noise

There are 7 ISO settings available on the Samsung NV40 which you can select at any time if the camera is in the normal shooting mode. Note that the image resolution is reduced to 3 megapixels for ISO 3200. There is no discernible noise at the slowest settings of ISO 80 and 100, as you would expect, but at ISO 200 noise is already appearing. By ISO 400 it is very obvious, together with coloured artifacts and blurring of detail. ISO 800 is for emergency use only, whilst ISO 1600 is virtually unusable. Here are some 100% crops which show the noise levels for each ISO setting:

ISO 80 (100% crop)

ISO 100 (100% crop)

   

ISO 200 (100% crop)

ISO 400 (100% crop)

   

ISO 800 (100% crop)

ISO 1600 (100% crop)

   

ISO 3200 (100% crop)

 
 

Sharpening

Here are two 100% crops which have been Saved as Web - Quality 50 in Photoshop. The right-hand image has had some sharpening applied in Photoshop. The out-of-the camera images are just a little soft at the default sharpening setting of Normal. You can change the in-camera sharpening level to one of the preset levels (Soft, Normal or Vivid) if you don't like the default look.

Original (100% Crop)

Sharpened (100% Crop)

   
   

File Quality

The Samsung NV40 has 3 different image quality settings available, with Super Fine being the highest quality option. Here are some 100% crops which show the quality of the various options, with the file size shown in brackets.

10M Super Fine (4.29Mb) (100% Crop)
10M Fine (2.26Mb) (100% Crop)
   
10M Normal (1.54Mb) (100% Crop)
 
 
   

Chromatic Aberrations

The Samsung NV40 suffered quite badly from chromatic aberrations during the review. Obvious purple and green fringing was present around the edges of objects in high-contrast situations, and also often in places where you wouldn't really expect it, as shown in the examples below.

Example 1 (100% Crop)
Example 2 (100% Crop)
   

Macro

The Samsung NV40 offers a Macro setting that allows you to focus on a subject that is 5cms away from the camera when the lens is set to wide-angle. The first image shows how close you can get to the subject (in this case a compact flash card). The second image is a 100% crop.

Macro Shot

Macro Shot (100% Crop)

   

Flash

The flash settings on the Samsung NV40 are Auto, Auto & Red-eye reduction, Fill-in flash, Slow sync, Flash off, and Red-eye Fix. These shots of a magnolia coloured wall were taken at a distance of 1.5m.

Flash Off - Wide Angle (34mm)

Auto Flash - Wide Angle (34mm)

ISO 64
ISO 64
   

Flash Off - Telephoto (102mm)

Auto Flash - Telephoto (102mm)
ISO 64
ISO 64
   

And here are some shots of yours truly. As you can see, both the Auto setting and the Red-eye Fix option caused a tiny amount of red-eye.

Auto

Auto (100% Crop)
   

Flash - Red-eye Fix

Flash - Red-eye Fix (100% Crop)
   

Night Shot

The Samsung NV40's maximum shutter speed is 16 seconds, which is good news if you're seriously interested in night photography. The shot below was taken using a shutter speed of 10 seconds, aperture of f/7 at ISO 100. I've included a 100% crop of the image to show what the quality is like.

Night Shot

Night Shot (100% Crop)
   

Anti Shake

The Samsung NV40 has an optical image stabilizer, which allows you to take sharp photos at slower shutter speeds than other digital cameras. To test this, I took 2 handheld shots of the same subject with the same settings. The first shot was taken with anti shake turned off, the second with it turned on. Here is a 100% crop of the image to show the results. As you can see, with anti shake turned on, the images are much sharper than with anti shake turned off. This feature really does seem to make a difference and could mean capturing a successful, sharp shot or missing the opportunity altogether.

Shutter Speed / Focal Length Anti Shake Off (100% crop) Anti Shake On (100% crop)
1/13th sec / 102mm
1/6th sec / 34mm

Overall Image Quality

The Samsung NV40's image quality is average. The Samsung NV40's main drawback in terms of image quality is noise, with the relatively slow speed of ISO 200 showing some noise, particularly in shadow areas. The noise gets progressively worse as you go from ISO 200 to ISO 400 and finally the virtually unusable ISO 800 and 1600 settings. The Samsung NV40 didn't handle chromatic aberrations very well either, with purple and green fringing effects appearing in high contrast situations. The 10 megapixel images were sharp straight out of the camera at the default setting of Normal, and you can also change the in-camera sharpening level if you wish. The night photograph was fine, with the maximum shutter speed of 16 seconds allowing you to capture enough light for most situations. The built-in flash worked well indoors, with a little red-eye and good overall exposure. Macro performance is average, allowing you to focus as close as 5cms away from the subject at the wide-angle lens setting. Anti-shake is a feature that sets this camera apart from its competitors and one that works very well when hand-holding the camera in low-light conditions or when using the telephoto end of the zoom range.

Page 1
Introduction / Ease of Use
Page 2
Image Quality
Page 3
Sample Images
Page 4
Design
Page 5
Specifications
Page 6
Conclusion

DIWAPhotographyBLOG is a member of the DIWA organisation. Our test results for the Samsung NV40 have been submitted to DIWA for comparison with test results for different samples of the same camera model supplied by other DIWA member sites.

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