Small Surfaces

Samsung’s just come out with a couple of cameras in their new NV line that use their “Smart Touch” UI. Instead of the standard hardkeys + navigation key provided on most cameras, the screen has a set of unlabelled buttons to the right and below the screen and a zoom rocker switch. The controls are used as sliders and buttons are to ‘triangulate’ and then select options on the screen.

DPReview wrote: “Virtually all settings can be changed with just two button presses using a system that – once mastered – is incredibly fast and powerful. It’s not perfect, but it’s a big improvement on the pages and pages of menus it replaces.” (see the review for video of the UI in action)

DCRP Review wrote: “This unique user interface sometimes simplifies using the camera, and other times complicates it. Changing things like resolution and metering are easier than ever, while other things (such as deleting a photo) are more of a chore than they would be if the camera had a dedicated button for it. Sometimes the UI was very frustrating. The buttons on the right side of the LCD are right where your thumb rests, making them easy to press accidentally. When playing back photos, the buttons are too sensitive, making it very easy to race past the photo you’re looking for. Other times the buttons aren’t sensitive enough, such as with the playback zoom feature, which is very sluggish.”

PhotographyBLOG wrote: “Initially I found Samsung’s touch sensitive smart button system to be more revolutionary than effective, but once I’d discovered the Hide option and used it for a while, it became a lot more intuitive, making the various menu options much more accessible and speeding up the operation of the camera. It’s a very brave step by Samsung as it may put some buyers off (particularly as it takes some time to get used to), but on the whole it’s also a great idea.”

Link: NV10 (samsungcamera.com)