Samsung NV7 OPS

If you're upgrading from a basic point-and-shoot or are looking for a digicam that offers more control over your shots, check out the Samsung NV7 OPS. The all-metal, matte-black NV7 OPS looks like a mini-DSLR, with a lens that doesn't retract into the camera, so it won't fit into a pocket. Features include seven-megapixel resolution, a 7X optical zoom, and a bright, 2.5-inch LCD.
 
For the novice, the rows of unlabeled Smart Touch buttons that line the back are daunting. These buttons are left blank because their functions change depending on what you're doing. The top of the NV7 OPS is more clear-cut, with power and shutter buttons, plus a mode dial for selecting the shooting settings.
 
Although you won't find an optical viewfinder on the NV7 OPS, the 2.5-inch screen worked fine both indoors and out. Even in bright light, we were able to frame our shots and review the images we had taken.
 
The NV7 OPS offers 11 modes, including Fireworks, Sunset, Text, and Beach & Snow. In addition to these presets, the camera has a self-timer, a double self-timer, two continuous modes, super macro, six color effects (including sepia, black & white, and negative composite), and manual exposure. You'll find five ISO speeds, ranging from 100 to 1000, and six white-balance settings (to make sure that white objects appear more lifelike). Even the flash has five settings.
 
The NV7 OPS includes a few features to help prevent your photos from looking blurry. Select one of the two antishake choices: Optical Image Stabilization for movement or shaky hands--especially at slower shutter speeds; or Advanced Shake Reduction to combat blurriness caused by low light. While you won't notice any difference in its operation, we found that the image-stabilization features made our shots sharper.
 
Images were decent overall, but as we bumped up the ISO, we experienced increasing noise. At ISO 200, some artifacts began to appear, and at ISO 400 the noise was more apparent. Even when the antishake feature was enabled, we were a little disappointed with some of the shots.
 
On the plus side, the Night and Super Macro modes performed very well, and once we tweaked a few settings, we were able to capture some good photos. The 7X optical zoom is one of the highlights of the NV7 OPS. While it adds to the camera's bulk, it also got us very close to a building across the street without sacrificing quality.
 
Other perks include a photo frame feature for adding borders to your images and a Motion GIF setting that takes up to 50 shots and compiles them into an animated sequence. Just keep in mind that the camera's 19MB of internal memory holds only nine images at the maximum resolution, so you'll want to invest in a substantial SD Card.
 
The NV7 OPS also records VGA videos with sound at either 30 fps or 15 fps. You can zoom in and out while shooting, and the camera produced adequate sound and image quality. Stabilization works for videos as well, so your clips won't look like they were shot on a boat. Video files are saved as AVIs and are perfect for uploading to the Web or for e-mailing to friends and family.
 
Overall, the Samsung NV7 OPS feels solid and produces decent images in most situations, although its interface involves a bit of a learning curve. If you're not quite ready for a DSLR, however, this digicam is worth a look. 

 

Along with taking surprisingly good photos, the Samsung NV3 offers decent playback of MP3 files and video clips.

 

A unique face-detection feature and excellent low-light photos make this compact digicam a top pick.

 

Three notebooks and the most important buying tips you need to buy your next ultraportable.