Product Description

The GX-10's large 10.2 Megapixel CCD (23.5 x 15.7 mm) enables superior out focusing, and vividly detailed pictures are made possible by its unmatched ability to capture light and color. When a picture is taken in dim light or from an unsteady stance, blurry pictures often result. GX-10's OPS system, located within the camera's body, enables you to obtain clear and shake-free pictures, even at slow shutter speeds or with a telephoto lens. Using CCD Shift, GX-10's OPS Mechanism moves the center plate in the opposite direction of any shake or sustained impact, guarantees blur free pictures, even in low light situations such as dusk. Every time a DSLR camera's lens is changed, the CCD is exposed to dust. If dust settles on the CCD, it can manifest itself as a glaring flaw in pictures. In order to prevent this from happening, the GX-10's CCD features a special anti-dust coating that keeps pictures free of unsightly blemishes. Usable Lens Schneider D-XENON Lens Pentaprism, Natural-Bright-Matte Focusing Screen Viewfinder Type Lens Mount Pentax KAF bayonet mount Shooting Modes - AUTO SCN, Normal, Portrait, Landscape, Macro, Moving Object, Night scene Portrait, Flash off, Program AE, Shutter Priority AE, Aperture Priority AE, Manual, Bulb Self-timer - 2 & 12 seconds Storage Media - SD Card, SDHC card File Format - RAW (DNG), JPEG (DCF), EXIF 2.21, DPOF 1.1, PictBridge 1.0 System Requirements - Pentium III 450MHz (Pentium 700MHz recommended), Windows 2000, ME, XP, Minimum 256MB RAM (512MB recommended), 250MB of available hard disk space (1GB recommended), USB port, CD-ROM drive, 1024x768 pixels, 16-bit color display compatible monitor (24-bit color display recommended), Macintosh Power Mac G3 or later, Mac OS 10.2 or later Dimensions - 142x101x71.5mm excluding the projecting parts of the camera Weight - 710 gram (body only, without batteries and card)

Product Details

• Amazon Sales Rank: #49614 in Camera & Photo
• Brand: Samsung
• Model: GX-10
• Released on: 2007-01-15
• Dimensions: 2.66" h x 3.97" w x 5.57" l, 1.74 pounds
• Display size: 2.5

Features

• 10.2-megapixel CCD captures enough detail for photo-quality 18 x 24-inch prints
• 2.5-inch LCD display; in-camera dust-reduction system and image stabilization
• Compatible with the all Pentax KAF2, KAF, and KA mount lenses
• Weather-resistant body protects camera from water, sand, or other potentially harmful materials
• Stores images on SD memory cards; powered by a rechargeable SLB-1674 lithium-ion battery

From the Manufacturer
The GX-10 is a new 10.2-megapixel DSLR designed for advanced amateur and professional photographers. The third model in Samsung's rapidly growing DSLR range, the GX-10 offers a number of new and unique features that will allow users to capture images of uncompromising quality in any environment or setting. With features including Optical Picture Stabilization (OPS), a Penta Prism viewfinder that provides a wide field of view of 95 percent, and a revolutionary new dust-resistant CCD sensor, the GX-10 is sure to build on the success of Samsung's first two DSLR products, introduced earlier this year.

The GX-10 can be used with the all Pentax KAF2, KAF, and KA mount lenses.

Among the technologies employed to help GX-10 users get their best shots is a mechanical OPS stabilization feature that minimizes blur in situations where the camera is unstable or in low-light conditions. Because it resides in the camera body, as opposed to the lens, the OPS feature works with a wide range of lenses, including the Schneider D-XENON lenses to be sold with the body in kits and the full range of Pentax, KAF2, KAF, and KA mount lenses. (The GX-10 can be used with the all Pentax KAF2, KAF, and KA mount lenses.)

A sealed, weatherproof body protects the GX-10 from water, sand, and other elements.

Another of the GX-10's unique features is its intuitive dust-free CCD imaging sensor. To ensure that dust will never pose a problem, Samsung has incorporated an advanced dust-removal system that automatically vibrates the CCD sensor when the GX-10 is powered on. In addition, the GX-10's CCD sensor also features a special dust-resistant coating, further eliminating the possibility of unwanted specs or blemishes ruining an otherwise perfect picture. As if that weren't enough, the GX-10 boasts a specially designed body that was made to stand up to the elements. Every button, gap, and other potentially vulnerable area on the camera's body has been fortified with special seals and silicone to protect against damage from water, sand, and a host of other elements.

Another attractive feature for advanced photographers is the GX-10's superb RAW image format support. The exclusive one-touch RAW shooting button enables users to quickly capture images in RAW format, which can then be quickly be viewed on the 2.5-inch, 210,000-pixel LCD screen and easily converted to jpeg format right on the camera, if the shooter so desires. The GX-10's intuitive and easy to use interface makes even the most advanced tasks such as this easy to accomplish for just about anyone. Its continuous shooting mode is capable of capturing three images per second. Depending on available memory, shooters can capture an unlimited number of jpeg images in continuous shooting mode, and up to nine images in RAW format.

The GX-10 also features an 11-point, wide-area autofocus system, with a choice of AF-single or AF-continuous, providing accurate auto focusing in a variety of shooting conditions. It incorporates a high-precision, three-mode metering system including, 16-segment multi-pattern metering, center-weighted metering and spot metering. With multiple scene modes, an ergonomic design and a "My Set Dial" function that allows users to store their favorite settings in the camera, the GX-10 is highly sophisticated without being intimidating.

Customer Reviews

GX-10 Samsung, terrific DSLR value
This is a great camera. I've been a photographer for over 40 years. I'm taking better pictures than ever before since getting it about a month ago. I have only scratched the surface of the creative control it offers. It is big and heavy enough and has a really solid feeling build.

Battery life is great it took me more than couple of weeks to shoot enough images to need to replace the battery with a fresh one. I instinctively bought three batteries. I like keeping spares on hand for any camera. If you're budget conscious you might consider recharging between shoots with only one battery pack and just keeping the thing topped up. It has plenty of capacity. I found I can remove and replace the SD chip or the battery even without removing the quick mounting plate for my tripod from the bottom of the GX10 body.

At the time of purchase, the fact that this camera is such a great value for money made me worry about quality. That worry was misplaced. It's a great deal and a great camera.

The Kit
Nothing has been disappointing so far, other than the 18-55mm kit lens. It simply is not good enough. I just tried it, printed some proofs and put it back in the box. It sits on the shelf waiting for me to choose it if I decide to take pictures at a riot or during a volcanic eruption. If you actually need this level of quality in a DSLR camera, I suggest you choose a different lens.

The great GX10 body is compatible with pretty much everything in the Pentax K mount family, and so you simply need to buy any of many of the very good to excellent lenses in that huge list. The Anti-shake is in the camera so all of them will have the advantage of that. You need not go to the very top of the Pentax line to assemble a really useable set up. I settled on the F1.4 Pentax 50mm which is a very good, ultra fast, and very inexpensive portrait lens priced way below it's value. I added the Pentax 18-250 and the Sigma 12-24 zooms. I shoot a lot of buildings and interiors and the 12-24 gets a lot of use. These are probably not the absolute ultimate for optical quality on the Pentax and compatible w/ K mount lists, but they are more than good enough. I am printing great images and I'm not even thinking about upgrading anything.

If you're on a budget and need an all-around does everything pretty well one lens setup, get the Pentax 18-250 zoom. It might be a long long time before you need anything else. Pay attention to the manual and learn to use the software controls on the camera. You have a lot of camera control over sharpness, color and contrast to creatively augment and moderate the products of the lens optics and their excellent coatings.

The Body Controls and Software
The controls are logically arranged and comfortable to use. the Software is well documented and settings are made accessible with well placed push button rocker switch and scroll wheel controls that activate logical menu groups. You really can adjust things on the fly while shooting. You need only a few seconds. Changing white balance to fix the color balance to suit the weather or indoor lighting is a very quick fix. Touch the Fn button and a couple of clicks of your thumb. You can switch to effective WB presets for sun ,clouds, cloudy, shade,three variations for flourescents and incandescent plus a few more. It takes much longer for me to type it here than it takes to use it even the first time. Switching shooting modes to fix aperture or speed controlling dept of field or motion blur is also very quick and easy.

As you learn and internalize the controls you just get speedier and able to use more and more of the feature set. I really like using this Camera more and more as time passes.

The RAW feature is easy to use, even one picture at a time. Use it. The GX10's RAW feature offers an important window of added potential that will allow you to make the very best images this camera is capable of.

I would buy the GX-10 again, without the 18-55 lens, with no hesitation.

Great Camera
We purchased this camera as an upgrade for our aged Minolta Dimage 500. The Minolta takes great pictures, but is rather limited as far as creativity and doesn't do well with landscapes. Living in Colorado, my wife and I take a lot of landscape pics and wanted something to accurately capture the beauty we see.
As with most things, I did a lot of research on DSLR's before we made this purchase. I looked at professional and consumer reviews for Canon, Nikon, Olympus, Sony/Minolta and Pentax/Samsung. I was surprised to find the big names didn't do so well in the mid-range catagory (D40, XTi, A100). From everything I read, you would need to move up to the high end models of the big boys (at over $1000) to come close to the quality of the Pentax/Samsung. So, loaded with what I believed to be good information, we purchased the Samsung over all of the competition because it had the features and reported image quality we were looking for. At the time, the Samsung had a lower price than the Pentax version, so we went with it.
WOW!......It's been over 20 years since I used an SLR, so I'm relearning everything as I go, but I must say I'm just blown away by this camera. Straight out of the box, our Minolta will take better pics, but that can be said of just about every SLR on the market. These are not point & shoot cameras even though they do have auto functions. If you want the superior images, you're going to have to work a bit at it. However, if you take the time to learn and apply the proper techniques, you'll be amazed at what you can create.
The Samsung offers seemingly infinite possibilities. I'm having fun just shooting objects over and over again at different settings to learn it's capabilities (one of the great things about digital photography, no wasted film). I've taken it to the mountains to test my new skills and have come away with enlargeable and frameable images like I've never taken before. I've also tried to create situations that others have voiced issues with when using the competition, but have not found any situation that can't be captured beautifully with the right settings.
Compared to a P&S, this camera is an extreme amount of work, it's heavy and a lot more expensive.....I just wish I'd bought it sooner. I'll never go back to a P&S again after experiencing the quality of the Samsung (Pentax).

Samsung GX-10
Samsung GX-10 is an excellent DSLR (if not one of the best)on the market, technologically and value-wise. Based on Pentax technology, this modfied DSLR is full of technical options only available in higher-priced cameras. The solid (sealed construction) feel of the camera should be an added asset. I recommend this camera to anyone, including serious photographers.