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Samsung has thrown every feature and top-end spec it could at the NX300, and it's paid off. A large, vibrant screen, 20.3 megapixel sensor, 1/6000 sec maximum shutter speed and best focus time of just 0.08 seconds should be enough to satisfy all but a very small number of ultra high-end users.
Image quality is great and colours are accurate, although the kit lens doesn't get the best from the high pixel count, especially if you shoot JPEG images.
Low light performance is good, too, which gives you the freedom to shoot in situations that might otherwise give you pause for thought.
We liked
The overall image quality was hard to fault, and it should be easy for even novices to achieve high quality results thanks to the integral smart shooting modes and the intuitive iFunction lens system.
We disliked
The Samsung NX300, like the Samsung NX210 and Samsung NX200 before it, sits at the larger end of the scale, with a lens that rivals that of a traditional DSLR for bulk and a body that's considerably larger than a compact camera.
Although this is easily accounted for by the larger sensor, we'd love for Samsung to find some way to trim it down just a little to create a truly compact system camera.
Final verdict
It's clear that a lot of consideration has gone into not only what the Samsung NX300 should do, but also how it should do it, since you're never more than a couple of clicks - or screen taps - away from any particular setting.
Samsung's iFunction lens system continues to impress, with the new Lens Priority function opening up the world of attractive short depth of field photography to less experienced users.
Don't assume this means Samsung is dumbing down, though, because this camera will appeal just as much to the professional user as the beginner - and so should the bundled Adobe Photoshop Lightroom software.
On top of all this, it's very keenly priced, which makes it easy to recommend wholeheartedly.
Samsung has formulated the perfect combination of ease of use and great image quality inside an attractive, powerful camera, and packaged it all up with some great bundled software.
