In a world where most cameras are sold by the megapixel, it’s refreshing to see a product from Samsung that has three megapixels fewer than the next step down in the range.

We’ve been moaning about the over-emphasis of multi-megapixels and banging on about the importance of optics for years, so it was with a small measure of smugness that we discovered the NV7 is essentially an NV10 with fewer pixels and a whopping lens slapped on the front.

Because the NV7’s lens doesn’t retract into the camera body, it won’t slip into a trouser pocket like an NV10. In fact, when fully extended the lens dwarfs the camera body itself.

Other than that, the design is both aesthetically and functionally very similar to the smaller model.

The NV7, like the NV10, uses Samsung’s unique Smart Touch user interface. Two perpendicular rows of touch-sensitive buttons respond to a gentle brushing with a fingertip to allow moving between menu options, while a full button press activates the selected item.

This approach means that all the information can be kep on the screen rather than on the buttons themselves, which are distinguished by position rather than function. The mode dial on the top of the camera is also echoed by an animated version on the LCD. In darkened environments, you’ll be able to browse the camera functions without the need to see the buttons at all.

Occasionally, reviewing photos can be a little hit and miss; stroking the smart-touch buttons to scroll rapidly through images can be frustratingly inaccurate when trying to locate a particular picture. Also, because the buttons respond to the slightest touch, it’s possible to activate them accidentally.

The NV7’s worst feature is probably image noise; moving above ISO 100 introduces rather a lot of it. But thankfully the NV7 comes with two different forms of anti-shake technology to help you take sharp images at slower shutter speeds without resorting to high ISOs. The same electronic system found in the NV10 is used here, but with the addition of optical picture stabilisation built into the lens.

Neither of these technologies help you to capture fast-moving subjects, but they improve handheld shooting dramatically, especially at the longer end of the cameras considerable zoom range and when shooting video.

One area where the NV7 excels is in taking party photos with flash. Ultra-compacts often struggle in this environment, but the NV7 took bright, clear and perfectly-exposed pictures, even taken close-up, without burned-out highlights. It also maintained a natural-looking colour balance.

Another plus for more creative photographers is the addition of a full manual mode with shutter speeds from 15 to 1/1,500sec and aperture selections in 12 steps. You also get shutter and aperture priority modes with similar levels of flexibility. It would have been great to see a Raw shooting mode, but sadly this has not been included.

On two occasions during testing we found the NV7 locked up entirely, forcing us to remove the battery to re-start the camera. Unfortunately, on one occasion this lead to corruption of our SD card - a real worry if you've been out on a shoot all day. We were able to retrieve most of the images using data recovery software, but a few were lost.

We spoke to Samsung about this and are awaiting a new sample to test out. We will update you as soon as we receive this.

Update: We've now diagnosed the problem to be a faulty memory card and not the Samsung NV7 OPS digital camera.

It’s not without its faults, particularly image noise, but we were impressed with the NV7 OPS. It’s an interesting combination of a small camera with a big lens that seems to pay off.

Also consider:
Casio Exilim EX-770
The EX-770 is an extremely capable, stylish and portable camera that’s ideal for beginners with enough photo control in a compact for more advanced photogr a phers

Pentax Optio T-20
An elegant ultra-compact with a big touch-sensitive screen and a compendium of options ranging from the surprisingly useful, to the outright gimmicky

Ricoh Caplio R5
A powerful camera with useful features rather than gimmicks and surprisingly good performance

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