Samsung NX100

• Its body has the perfect shape and size to fit snugly in your hand. The Sony is designed for the hand of a six-year-old.
• All the manual knobs and controls of a serious camera. The Sony offering is more like a cheap compact’s.
• An intuitive interface that makes good use of the aforementioned controls. The NEX-5 interface is the most poorly designed we’ve seen in ages.\

$949 from Best Denki, #05-01/05 Takashimaya Shopping Centre, 391 Orchard Rd., 6835-2855.
 

Sony NEX-5

• Compatibility with a wide range of lenses from Sony and Minolta. Samsung’s range is very limited.
• Comes with a fiddly external flash you have to screw in. The Samsung doesn’t even have a flash but it does have a standard flash bracket if you want to add one.
• Better low-light shooting capacity thanks to its optical stabilizer and slightly higher max ISO, plus better white balance.

$1,199 from Sony Style, #04-36/37/38 Paragon, 290 Orchard Rd., 6738-7970.

Verdict: The Sony comes out on top in just about every department except handling. Unfortunately, these marginal wins can’t make up for its catastrophic controls: Think Ferrari engine in a Yaris. The Samsung, on the other hand, retains all the controls of a classic camera, so that enthusiasts will get big single-lens reflex sensations (and results) without the bulk. Throw in a 30mm f/2 lens and the Samsung NX100 could be the coolest mirrorless camera since the Leica.