Samsung NX200 Performance

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Samsung NX200 Performance

Timing and Performance

Sluggish powerup, cycle times and buffer clearing, but fast burst rates.

Startup/Shutdown
Power on to first shot	~3.6 seconds	Time it takes to turn on and capture a shot. (Without sensor cleaning.)
Shutdown	~1.5 seconds	How long it takes camera to turn off before you can remove the memory card.
Buffer clearing time	10 seconds after 11 large/superfine JPEGs*	Worst case buffer clearing time. -- This is the delay after a set of shots before you can remove the card.
	34 seconds after 8 RAW files*
	43 seconds after 8 RAW+ LSF JPEG files*
*Note: Buffer clearing times measured with a SanDisk Extreme Pro 45MB/sec UHS-I SDHC card. Slower cards will produce correspondingly slower clearing times. Slow cards may also limit length of bursts in continuous mode. ISO sensitivity and noise reduction settings can also affect cycle times and burst mode performance.

Startup time was quite slow for a compact system camera, though shutdown wasn't too bad. Buffer clearing will depend on image size and quality, as well as card speed. Here the Samsung NX200 was very sluggish when RAW files were included, even with a fast card.

Mode Switching
Play to Record, first shot	~0.8 second	Time until first shot is captured.
Record to Play	~2.7 seconds	Time to display a large/superfine JPEG file immediately after capture.
Display recorded image	~0.7 second	Time to display a large/superfine JPEG file already on the memory card.

Mode switching was pretty good for its class, except Record to Play which was very sluggish.

Shutter Response (Lag Time)
Full Autofocus, Single-area AF mode	0.365 second	Time from fully pressing shutter button to image capture, with the lens already at the proper focal distance setting. (All timing performed with Samsung 18-55mm kit lens medium focal length.)
Full Autofocus, Multi-area AF mode	0.415 second	Time from fully pressing shutter button to image capture, with the lens already at the proper focal distance setting.
Full Autofocus, Single-area AF mode Auto flash enabled	0.523 second	Time from fully pressing shutter button to image capture, with the lens already at the proper focal distance setting. Bundled SEF8A flash enabled.
Continuous AF	0.315 second	This mode usually shows no speed increase with our static subject; we have no way to measure performance with moving subjects.
Manual Focus	0.088 second	For most cameras, shutter lag is less in manual focus than autofocus, but usually not as fast as when the camera is "prefocused".
Prefocused	0.084 second	Time to capture, after half-pressing and holding shutter button.

The Samsung NX200 exhibited full-autofocus shutter lag (with the subject at a fixed distance) that ranged from 0.365 second in single-area AF mode to 0.415 second in multi-area AF mode when using the 18-55mm kit lens. This is a little faster than the NX100, but a bit slower than average for a CSC these days. Enabling the bundled flash increased shutter lag to 0.523 second, to account for the preflash metering.

Shutter lag was 0.315 second in continuous mode AF, though the subject may not be in focus in this mode. When manually focused, the Samsung NX200's lag time dropped to 0.088 second, which is quite fast. The NX200's prefocused shutter lag time was similar, at 0.084 second, which while fast is a bit slower than average.

To minimize the effect of different lens' focusing speed, we test AF-active shutter lag with the lens already set to the correct focal distance.

Cycle Time (shot to shot)
Single Shot mode Large/Superfine JPEG	1.26 seconds	Time per shot, averaged over 20 shots, 3 seconds to clear*.
Single Shot mode RAW	1.29 seconds	Time per shot, averaged over 3 shots, 16 seconds to clear*.
Single Shot mode RAW + LSF JPEG	1.28 seconds	Time per shot, averaged over 3 shots, 20 seconds to clear*.
Early shutter penalty?	Yes	Some cameras don't snap another shot if you release and press the shutter too quickly in Single Shot mode, making "No" the preferred answer.
Continuous Hi Mode Large/SuperFine JPEG	0.15 second (6.58 frames per second); 11 frames total; 10 seconds to clear*	Time per shot, averaged over buffer length of 11 shots.
Continuous Hi Mode RAW	0.16 second (6.09 frames per second); 8 frames total; 34 seconds to clear*	Time per shot, averaged over buffer length of 8 frames.
Continuous Hi Mode RAW + LSF JPEG	0.17 second (5.98 frames per second); 8 frames total; 43 seconds to clear*	Time per shot, averaged over buffer length of 8 frames.
Burst Mode 5.0MP JPEG	0.03 second (30.3 frames per second); 30 frames total; 11 seconds to clear*	Time per shot, averaged over buffer length of 30 frames.
Flash Recycling	3.1 seconds	Flash at maximum output.
*Note: Buffer clearing times measured with a SanDisk Extreme Pro 45MB/sec UHS-I SDHC card. Slower cards will produce correspondingly slower clearing times. Slow cards may also limit length of bursts in continuous mode. ISO sensitivity and noise reduction settings can also affect cycle times and burst mode performance.

Single-shot cycle times are on the slow side, ranging from 1.26 seconds for large/superfine JPEGs to 1.29 seconds for RAW files.

Continuous Hi mode at full resolution was well above average for its class, though, at about 6.6 frames-per-second for large/superfine JPEGs, 6.1 fps for RAW, and 6 fps for RAW+LSF JPEGs. Buffer depths were somewhat limited though, at 11 large/superfine JPEGs, and only 8 RAW or RAW + LSF JPEGs, though that's an improvement over the NX100 despite the larger 20-megapixel files. Note that our test target for this is designed to be difficult to compress, so JPEG burst lengths may be longer with typical subjects. The N2X00's Burst mode can capture at up to 30 frames-per-second, but at a reduced resolution of 5 megapixels which is still quite useful. As mentioned previously, buffer clearing is quite slow, though, taking up to 43 seconds to clear after a burst of 8 RAW + LSF JPEG frames, and that's with a pretty fast card.

Flash recycle was good, taking an average of 3.1 seconds after a full power discharge.

Download Speed
Windows Computer, USB 2.0	4,060 KBytes/sec	Typical Values: Less than 600=USB 1.1; 600-769=USB 2.0 Low; Above 770=USB 2.0 High

Download speeds via USB 2.0 were just okay. You may want to consider a separate card reader, especially if you shoot a lot of RAW files or HD videos. (Note that this test was performed with a SanDisk Extreme Pro 45MB/sec UHS-I SDHC: Slower cards would likely show slower transfer times.)

Bottom line, the Samsung NX200 performance is a mixed bag. Startup was quite sluggish, as was single-shot cycle time. Autofocus speeds were a little slower than average compared to recent competitors, but continuous modes were quite good. Buffer clearing however was very slow with RAW files.

Battery

Battery Life
Average battery life for a compact system camera.

Operating Mode	Battery Life
Still Capture, (Samsung standard)	320 shots

The Samsung NX200 uses a custom rechargeable lithium-ion battery pack for power, and comes with both a single battery and charger. Samsung rates battery life at 320 shots per charge. That's about average for a CSC, but we're not sure if the rating includes 50% flash shots (with the bundled flash) as specified by the CIPA standard. While in the lab, the NX200's battery seemed to perform a little better than average. Still, we recommend getting a second battery for your NX200 if you plan any extended outings.

The table above shows the number of shots the camera is capable of (on a fully-charged rechargeable battery), based on CIPA battery-life and/or manufacturer standard test conditions.

(Interested readers can find an English translation of the CIPA DC-002 standards document here. (180K PDF document))