Samsung confirms lower price for 12MP EX2F 'Smart Camera'

and you know this for a fact? or just plain assumption?

The only ZZZZZZzzzzzz...... I can see here is that the other manufacturers are sleeping on producing a truly fast lens that stays fast throughout its range.

It's nice marketing to say they have a fast lens starting at f/2 or better, but when you start to zoom (even, say, for shallower DOF) you suddenly find your lens has turned into an f/4.9 or something!

At least Canon can still say their S100 is fantastically small, or Sony that their RX100 has a larger sensor. But they both don't truly have the useful, fast lenses that they pretend to.

Ariston - I don't know of any overall faster zoom lenses on compact cameras. Are you aware of any I've missed?

it would be pretty silly if one is not using common sense from word for word understanding. the idea was fastest aperture opening, not overall opening across the zoom range since these cameras have variable apertures. it would be stupid to say this camera has the fastest opening at 100mm range. that would be pointless.

also, it's a no brainer of comparing a dslr on a P&S camera. so I can't see any merit to your argument.

Ariston - DPR isn't wrong to call it the fastest lens on a compact, because technically it is - at 24mm. As a practical matter, however, most shooters use the whole zoom range. This means most of the time (i.e. at most focal lengths) the Samsung is slower than the XZ-1.

There's no guesswork here, other than trying to figure out the exact crossover point where the XZ-1 becomes faster. But mathematically and optically, it's clear from the specs that in most or all of the overlapping range (28-80mm) the XZ-1 will still be faster.

The point is that buyers who are looking for a camera that is technically the best should not fall for the hype, but instead consider the maximum aperture throughout the entire zoom range they plan to use.

define technically the best? because from what I see, there are things that the XZ-1 which isn't technically superior. there are a lot of factors and specs involved and so far it is a wait and see until we actually see how the EX2 performs. personally, I don't see the EX2 any less or inferior compared to the XZ-1. the difference in aperture speed in the tele end isn't really substantial enough to impact results. about a 1/4 of light isn't really going to make the scene noticeably brighter.

What about the Panasonic LX7? it's just as fast or even faster at 24mm to 90mm with good leica optics

i think the lx7 is a little bigger though than the ex2, or if not, the ex2 offers an articulated screen, a slightly bigger sensor (i'm pretty sure), and wi-fi if that interests you.

honestly on compacts, i'm not too worried about the optics. it's not necessarily leica optics, just leica branded, and samsung has the same thing with the schneider lens. but the ex1 and lx5 have proven to hvae good lenses, so either will have good performance.

but yeah we have to wait for actual reviews. all these cameras trump each other in one way or another, it's hard to say which is better, since, unless one of them somehow made a huge jump in small sensor performance, it'll most likely come down to what fits your needs and wnats the most

The only thing the articulated screen and wi-fi would be good for is to take Duck face pictures of yourself and send it straight to facebook, I'm sure it will be a hit with teen girls

michael I agree its about dof

I would have thought it was more about low light performance than DOF!

@kodakchrome i don't think that's what he meant.....if you want DOF, sensor size and f stop IS something.