Samsung Digimax NV11 Review

The Samsung Digimax NV11 is a 10 megapixel digital camera with a 5x optical zoom lens. Other key features include manual exposure controls. These will appeal to anyone who is looking for a step up from a typical point and shoot digital camera. The Digimax NV11 is a compact and well made digital camera. Although it is smaller than most digital cameras offering manual controls it is still on the large side for slipping into a pocket.

Outdoor 1 (Medium Zoom)
The most noticeable thing about this photo is just how sharp it is. The Digimax NV11 outperforms almost all its rivals when it comes to focusing with this shot. The level of sharpness remains up to the edges and it is far sharper than many cameras manage to achieve in these areas. There are a couple of points where the photo is less than perfect. First there is a loss of detail on the boats due to sun glare. A lot of cameras have a problem with this, but the Digimax NV11 could do a little better here. The second issue is that there is a slight purple tinge in places. This is not a major problem, but I noticed some of the blue lines on the boats have a purple tinge to them.

Outdoor 2 (No Zoom)
This photo is not as good as the first one. The main problem appears to be that the camera struggles to get enough light into the photo. This leads to problems in the darker areas of the shot under the trees. My guess is that the Digimax NV11 has boosted the ISO settings to try and compensate. This has meant that there is some noise showing in the sky. This means there is an overall loss of clarity and picture quality. This suggests that wide landscape shots may not be a strength of this camera and is something to keep in mind if this is one of the main types of photo you are planning to take.

Outdoor 3 (Maximum Zoom)
With the lens zoomed right in we are back to clear, bright and sharply focused photos. This is one of the sharper photos I have taken recently with the zoom fully extended.

Outdoor Portrait
This is a fairly standard result. There is not a great deal for me to comment on, but I would say you will be able to take decent portrait type shots in good light.

Indoor Portrait with Flash
This is an impressive shot. The flash on the camera is quite powerful, but the Digimax NV11 has controlled the level of flash well and the result is a well focused photo with about the right amount of light.

Indoor Portrait without Flash
Perhaps the indoor portrait photo without flash is a strong on pink, but overall this is a decent result in less than perfect light.

Colours
My test for colours shows that the camera is capable of producing strong colours. I am happy with the colours produced in every test shot and I think Samsung have the balance just about right.

Macro
I am impressed with the result of the close up test. The photo is sharp and the Digimax NV11 has no problems with the lighting or the colours. This is a very good effort.

ISO 400
At ISO 400 noise starts to creep into the photo as you would expect it too. At this level the result is acceptable, but I would only want to use this setting if there was no other way of getting the photo.

ISO 1600
At ISO 1600 picture quality has disappeared. I would suggest only using this setting in an absolute emergency.

Overall
My overall impression is that this is a very good camera. It will deliver high quality images in most situations. I am not particularly concerned about the loss of picture quality at higher ISO levels as it is likely to be rare that you use these settings. Of greater concern is my test with the lens zoomed right out.

I found shutter lag times surprisingly variable in my tests. Sometimes the camera would take longer than at other times to take the shot. Average times to take a single photo were 0.54 seconds for a single photo and 12.25 seconds for five photos. Turning on the flash made little difference to the times with a single photo taking 0.55 seconds and five photos taking 12.72 seconds. You can compare this camera to other models by taking a look at the Shutter Lag Comparison Table.

Samsung have made the Digimax NV11 look a bit different to most digital cameras. It is black with a grip on the right hand side. The lens protrudes from the camera body and does not fold back into the camera when it is turned off.

106.6 x 64.2 x 39mm

195g

Lithium ion (SLB-1137D). Samsung supplies a battery and charging cable with the Digimax NV11.

20mb of storage have been built into the camera. In my tests this was enough for 7 photos. It is also compatible with SD and SDHC cards.

Click here to save money on SD cards.

Average. The menu system used on the Digimax NV11 is a bit different to the type you normally find. Once you get used to it, it does make changing settings quite simple, but it may take you a while to become confident with it.

Sharp photos - looks good - feels good it the hand - large LCD screen - after photo effects

Wide angle photos - shutter lag can be a problem from time to time

There are a lot of points I like about the Samsung Digimax NV11. The photos it takes are eye catching when it comes to sharpness. I also like the colours the camera produces. It also offers manual controls for a reasonable price. If you are looking for a camera with that bit more to offer than a standard digital camera then this one is worth a close look.

Front View

Back View

Top View

Sample Menus

Although every effort is made to ensure the accuracy of the information on this site, please make sure you double check the feature set and specification at the point of purchase.

Samsung Digimax NV11