Pentax X90 vs Samsung NX11: A Hands-On Deep Dive Into Two 2010 Contenders

When we step back into the camera landscape of 2010, the photographic world was at an interesting crossroads. Bridge cameras like the Pentax X90 still held a niche appeal for those wanting huge zoom reach without swapping lenses, while mirrorless options like the Samsung NX11 promised a peek at the future of compact, interchangeable lens systems. As someone who has logged countless hours putting cameras through their paces, I wanted to revisit these two models and pit them head-to-head. Let’s uncover how the X90 and NX11 stack up across various photographic disciplines, and more importantly, how well they translate to the practical needs of photographers today.

First Impressions: Design and Handling in the Palm

The Pentax X90 is a classic “bridge” camera, designed to mimic the SLR aesthetic but packing a fixed 26-676mm zoom - an impressively broad reach, especially for its day. Its all-plastic but well-gripped body weighs a manageable 428g and sits in your hand with an assertive bulk. The X90’s 2.7-inch fixed LCD is modest by today’s standards, but at the time, the tilt-free design was par for the course. The electronic viewfinder, despite lacking detailed spec info, provides a decent alternative when shooting in bright conditions.

Contrasting that, the Samsung NX11 is a more traditional mirrorless design with a sleek SLR profile but smaller overall footprint and slightly heavier at 499g. Its 3-inch Active Matrix OLED screen offers vivid color and a higher 614k-dot resolution, making image review and live view more comfortable. The NX11 sports a 100% coverage electronic viewfinder with 0.57x magnification, giving a preview experience much closer to DSLR systems. The compactness owed to the mirrorless design keeps this camera nimble for on-the-go shooting.

Control ergonomics favor the NX11 for tactile feedback and button layout, with dedicated dials for ISO and exposure compensation. The X90’s bridge-style controls lean on menus and fewer dedicated buttons, which, combined with its solid zoom lens, means you often have to dig through menus mid-shoot. For users seeking quick manual exposure adjustments or manual focus tweaks, the NX11’s traditional DSLR layout is easier to adapt to - especially for those used to shooting with more advanced cameras.

Ergonomics verdict: If you prize versatility in handling and intuitive control, the NX11’s design wins out. The X90 caters to casual superzoom users who prefer a single-lens solution.

Sensor and Image Quality: Foundations of the Photographic Experience

Comparing sensor tech between these two is critical because it directly determines potential image quality, low-light performance, and depth rendition.

The Pentax X90 utilizes a 1/2.3-inch CCD sensor with 12MP resolution. The sensor measures an area of just 27.72mm² - tiny by APS-C standards - limiting its light-gathering ability and dynamic range. CCD technology, while historically praised for color rendition, struggles compared to modern CMOS with noise at high ISO settings. The fixed lens with its extensive zoom range compounds the challenge, as maintaining clarity at the 676mm tele end is difficult given sensor and lens constraints.

The Samsung NX11 boasts an APS-C sized CMOS sensor of 15MP across 365.04mm², giving it roughly 13x the sensor area of the Pentax. This sensor size is notable for an entry-level mirrorless of its time and inherently provides better image quality potential, sharper detail, and improved noise handling. The CMOS sensor coupled with Samsung’s DRIM engine excels especially in preserving color depth and dynamic range (measured 22.7-bit color depth, 10.8 EV dynamic range by DxOmark standards).

In real-world shooting, your images from the NX11 manifest richer textures, more natural skin tones, and impressive shadow recovery under challenging lighting. The Pentax’s images, meanwhile, are acceptable for web sharing and casual prints but reveal noise, smearing, and limited shadow detail beyond ISO400.

Framing and Viewing: LCD and Viewfinder Insights

Beyond sensor size, how you frame and review images impacts your shooting flow significantly.

The NX11’s 3-inch OLED outshines the Pentax’s 2.7-inch LCD by contrast, resolution, and viewing angles. This makes checking focus critically easier, especially in macro or portrait contexts. The OLED’s responsiveness and color accuracy are a boon for instant feedback and live view shooting.

Pentax’s electronic viewfinder provides a convenience for bright outdoor shooting, but it is relatively basic with unknown resolution and limited magnification. By contrast, the NX11’s EVF offers full 100% coverage, enabling exact composition replication and easier focus confirmation, especially with manual or selective AF.

Autofocus Performance: Speed and Accuracy in the Field

Autofocus is a dealbreaker in many photography genres - sports, wildlife, and street especially.

The Pentax X90 employs contrast-detection autofocus with 9 points. There is no dedicated face detection or eye-af, and lack of continuous AF means motion tracking is limited. In testing, the X90 feels sluggish and sometimes hunts when light dims or action speeds up. It is better suited to leisurely zoomed-in shots of static subjects like landscapes or casual portraits.

Samsung NX11 features a 15-point contrast detection AF system with added face detection capabilities - helpful in portraits and casual shooting. Although lacking phase detection (this predates hybrid AF), the NX11 is noticeably quicker locking focus in daylight and can perform continuous AF at a modest 3fps burst rate - which barely scratches the surface but helps for tracking slower-moving subjects.

Lens Ecosystem and Versatility: Zoom vs Interchangeable Optics

This is a key point of divergence. Pentax X90 sports a fixed lens with a whopping 26-676mm equivalent zoom and aperture range of f/2.8-5.0. This single lens is convenient for travel and wildlife shooters who want reach without carrying casefuls of glass. However, image quality at extreme telephoto suffers compared to prime or professional zooms, and you are stuck with this lens for all your shooting needs.

Samsung NX11 employs a Samsung NX mount supporting a growing lineup of 32 lenses, from kit zooms to primes, including macro and wide-angle options. If you value creative versatility and image quality upgrade paths - for portraits, macro, landscapes - this mirrorless system opens many doors.

Workflow Integration and File Formats

The Pentax X90’s Achilles heel is lack of RAW image capture. You’re stuck with JPEG compression, limiting post-processing flexibility - quite a drawback for serious photographers.

The NX11 supports RAW shooting with 12-bit files, enabling extensive editing scope and professional workflows. This makes the NX11 far more appealing for enthusiasts and professionals who push post-processing boundaries.

Battery Life and Storage

Actual battery life figures for the X90 are elusive, but it uses a proprietary D-L106 lithium-ion battery. Typical endurance is modest; heavy zoom use and LCD viewing drain juice quickly.

The NX11 shines with a 400-shot battery life using its BP1130 pack, more generous thanks to efficient mirrorless power management. Both accept SD/SDHC cards.

Shooting Modes and Video

Both support common exposure modes including aperture and shutter priority and manual exposure. The Pentax X90 trails in video, maxing out at 720p at 30fps in Motion JPEG format - a notably dated codec with large files.

The NX11 also shoots 720p video but uses H.264 compression with better quality and file efficiency. Audio inputs are missing on both.

Durability and Weather Resistance

Neither camera offers environmental sealing, dustproofing, or rugged construction. You will want to handle them carefully in adverse conditions.

Photography Disciplines: How They Stack Up Across Genres

Portraits

The NX11 leads for portraits with its larger sensor producing superior skin tones, better bokeh from faster aperture primes, and face detection AF helping with critical focus on eyes. The X90’s fixed lens with a relatively small sensor produces flatter images and background separation is muted except at maximum telezoom distances.

Landscapes

Dynamic range is a decisive factor here. NX11’s APS-C sensor renders wide tonal values and details in shadows and highlights that the X90’s CCD cannot match. The X90’s ultra-telephoto lens is less useful for landscapes, though it can capture details from afar. The NX11 with manual lenses shines for fine detail. Both lack weather sealing.

Wildlife

The X90’s superzoom lens is tempting for wildlife novices; the reach to 676mm is a rare advantage in a fixed lens package. However, slower autofocus and modest burst rate limit its utility on evasive targets.

The NX11’s lens swap flexibility lets you choose appropriate telephoto lenses with faster apertures and more precise AF. Though continuous shooting is limited (3fps), it can pair with high-quality glass for serious wildlife photography.

Sports

Moderate continuous shooting speed on the NX11 combined with decent AF makes it marginally better for casual sports. The X90’s slow AF and no continuous shooting mode hamstring it here.

Street

Street photography benefits from discreet, quick cameras. The NX11 is better suited due to smaller lenses, lighter body, and rapid autofocus with face detection. The X90’s superzoom is bulky and less subtle.

Macro

Samsung’s system with dedicated macro lenses and precise focusing shines here. The Pentax claims a 1cm macro range, which is attractive, but the smaller sensor limits detail and ISO performance when close up.

Night / Astro

APS-C sensors like that in the NX11 handle high ISO better with less noise. The X90’s sensor struggles beyond ISO400, limiting night use.

Video

Both max out at 720p but the NX11’s video features and compression offer better quality, though both lack advanced video amenities.

Travel

Pentax’s all-in-one zoom appeals for travel to minimize gear, but sacrifices image quality and control. The NX11 balances portability with lens versatility, better battery life, and image quality.

Professional Work

Neither is a professional standard. However, the NX11 offers RAW files and superior sensor performance, making it the more practical choice for aspiring pros or serious enthusiasts.

Pentax X90 front Pentax X90 screen back Samsung NX11 screen back

Examining sample images side by side reveals the NX11’s superior texture and tonal fidelity, especially in shadows and highlight retention. The Pentax images look softer with less dynamic range and noticeable chromatic aberration at telephoto extremes.

Price and Value Proposition

At launch, the Pentax X90 retailed at roughly $350, making it an affordable superzoom ideal for casual users. The Samsung NX11 positioned itself at nearly double that price around $625, which corresponds to its more advanced sensor and system versatility.

Today, both can be found on the used market for bargain prices, but the NX11 retains higher relevance due to lens support and RAW.

The performance scores reflect a textbook match-up: the Samsung NX11 ranks more highly overall thanks to its sensor, image quality, lens system, and manual control sophistication. The Pentax X90 is solid in its niche but shows visible compromises.

Looking into genre-specific capabilities, the NX11 outperforms especially in portraits, landscapes, and low-light scenarios, while the X90’s ultrazoom advantages give it a slight edge only in beginner wildlife and travel superzoom use cases.

In Summary: Which Should You Choose?

If you want a simple all-in-one travel camera with no fuss, a whopping zoom, and moderate image quality for casual snapshots, the Pentax X90 remains an interesting throwback option. It is also physically smaller and lighter than some more modern superzooms.

But if you are serious about image quality, want the flexibility to adapt your gear, shoot RAW, and learn the craft with manual controls, the Samsung NX11 is the stronger camera - especially if paired with a quality lens. It stands as a solid entry-level mirrorless that foreshadowed the camera market’s mirrorless surge.

Highly Recommended For:

• Pentax X90: Beginner photographers, travel enthusiasts wanting an all-in-one zoom, casual everyday shooters on a budget.
• Samsung NX11: Enthusiasts upgrading from point-and-shoot, portrait and landscape photographers seeking quality and flexibility, users interested in learning manual controls and editing RAW.

As gear reviewers, it’s gratifying to dissect cameras like these that reflect milestone points in camera evolution. The bridge-to-mirrorless shift, sensor advancements, and lens ecosystems all play parts in the story of digital photography. Of course, since both cameras are over a decade old, modern offerings - even entry-level mirrorless - far surpass them. Still, this comparative review is an insightful look back and a useful guide for those exploring the vintage and used camera market.

Feel free to share your experiences with either camera or ask for lens recommendations if you pick up an NX11. As always, happy shooting!