Samsung NX Mini

$499, samsung.com/au

Swappable lenses in a perfect day tripper-sized snapper

This pastel-coloured cam is the only one on test with swappable lenses, which gives it a degree of expandability and adaptability competitors here cannot match. Lacking an APS-C chip, it may be a bit of a weed when put head to head with more challenging compact-system rivals, but its weeny dimensions – at just 158g it’s the lightest interchangeable lens cam ever – make it a great holiday option.

In present company, the 20.5-megapixel resolution and bigger one-inch CMOS sensor provide crisper than average results, which you can choose to capture in highquality, uncompressed Raw format as well as Jpegs. The super-fast autofocus is also a bonus, speeding up shooting times, while a battery life of approximately 650 shots from a full charge is also fantastic for a camera this small.

It’s affordable, too – get it bundled with the fixed focal length 9mm (wide angle 24mm equivalent) f/3.5 pancake lens for the best deal. You will need more than those few saved dollars if you want to invest in a separate zoom lens.

The leather-effect front and rear padding are provided in lieu of any actual handgrip and you get the somewhat faddy addition of a flip-up touchscreen built for better framing your selfies. The “wink shot” option means you don’t even have to press the shutter button, just flirt outrageously with the NX Mini and it fires automatically. For sharing said selfies you have the option of NFC or built-in Wi-Fi that’s easy to navigate via that touchscreen.

This is neither Samsung’s flashiest, nor best, compact system camera. But for those wanting a comfortable middle ground between pricey interchangeablelens cams and more affordable fixed-lens compacts, it offers a lot of very versatile bang for your buck. Love Point and shoot size but with the added bonus of interchangeable lenses Hate Bundled with a fixed lens. CMOS not APS-C T3 Says Affordable and compact, with plenty of potential – and NX-mount lenses to fulfill it