DxOMark investigates Samsung NX cameras and lenses

Boerseuntjie:

I have a Nikon F mount to Samsung NX body adapter, works just fine.

In the US good specialty camera stores do indeed sell Samsung cameras, finding display models was a problem last year, not any more. In the US, I’ve never seen a Samsung camera in a Best Buy–it’s not a particularly good store in the US. It’s sort of okay if you need a new TV or want to look at say the new fast tablet from Samsung.

In the US retailers do NOT throw in a free tablet with purchase of an NX camera.

Samsung makes excellent sensors for the NX bodies, the one for the NX20/200 is better at high ISOs than the one Sony uses in the Nex 7. The excellent native lens selection for the Samsung NX system helps here. All of the NX system sensors are usable at ISOs beyond where the new Olympus and Panasonic M43 system cameras have trouble.

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Yes Sony released a digital camera in the 1980s, though I think it was later. However until Sony got a hold of Konica Minolta, Sony was not a serious still camera maker. Sony was a serious sensor maker years ago, so no dispute there. Sony would do well to copy the excellent optics of many Optron lenses. Now that Sony owns part of Olympus, Sony could also get some lessons about lens design and building from that company. Good Olympus lenses also put ostensibly good Nikon and Canon lenses to shame.

Except for sensors, there hasn’t been a lot of innovation coming out of Sony in years. Their last big invention, and it’s really big, was the lithium ion battery–like 20 years ago.

I have news for you, but those Optron-tec lenses don't stack up that high and are mostly comparable to Sigma or even some of those bad NEX lenses and at least Sony knows how to design lenses, can't say the same about Samsung.
Please name one thing Samsung has invented, you can not because there is none.
Sony has been the leader in innovation for the past 60 years Samsung has been the copy master for the last 8 years.
Samsung sensor match and beat NEX-7 in what Galaxy? Samsung's Galaxy maybe, anyway Sony has made sensors that are rated the best in the world.
Nikon D800 is a good example of that, so unless Samsung actually gets serious about photography instead of bringing out mediocre android cameras they will always just be a last place camera manufactures, they should stick to cell phones were they seem to be getting a lot of hype.

One thing they are very good at is stealing even their CEO knows that.
http://www.businessinsider.com/samsungs-billionaire-ceo-may-drive-a-stolen-15-million-ferrari-2012-8

Boerseuntjie:

Optron makes excellent lenses; your evidence free assertions to the contrary don’t mean much to me because as I’ve said again and again: I’ve owned/own plus used both excellent Leica and Zeiss lenses. And only two camera lens manufactures make lenses that come close to the optical quality of Leica and Zeiss. One is Optron, the lens makers for the Samsung NX cameras. The other is NOT Sigma, nor Fuji. (You don’t even appear to have read the DXO scoring, sure it’s limited in value, but even that affirms the high optical quality of the Samsung NX 85mm F1.4 lens.)

Why are you bringing up the Samsung Galaxy? I specifically said that I was comparing the sensor in the NX20 to that in the Nex 7. The one in the Samsung (not a Galaxy) is excellent and better at high ISO shooting than the Sony.

Who cares if Samsung uses Sony sensors in a phone, nothing to do with the point about the excellent Optron lenses, nor the excellent APSC sensors from Samsung.

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Not particularly germane to Samsung, because Samsung doesn’t make “full frame” sensors, but the Sony sensor in the Nikon D800 has typical colour banding problems at higher ISOs. It’s okay, but it’s over reach for pixel cramming. Luckily for Nikon they can rely on the good manual focus Zeiss lenses which vastly out perform “ED” Nikon lenses; that will help with high ISO problems. Nikon/Renesas would be best to work on a new sensor for the say the D900 at about 20MP, though that would cut into D4 sales.

Except for sensors, no Sony has not been particularly innovative in the last 15 years. Shipped some nice still cameras though. The gimbaled prosumer video cameras are an interesting approach to stabilization. But they use not great “Zeiss” lenses.

I like the Toshiba sensor in D7100, that gives Samsung and Sony motivation to improve their respective APSC sensors.

Instead of making boring unsupported claims, try using a Samsung NX body and the 85mm F1.4 lens.

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Maybe if you stop spewing junk out of your mouth you would have learned that Sony and Toshiba are working together on all kinds of stuff and Toshiba sensors are a joined venture between the two companies lined out in the agreement they signed to work together because Sony can't keep up with global demand for sensors.

http://news.softpedia.com/news/Toshiba-and-Sony-Can-Get-Along-Work-on-45nm-Cell-Processor-93948.shtml

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Japan_Display

Here is a fact, the NX 85mm is no better that the Sony NEX 50mm and get over it.

Boerseuntjie

News to me that Sony had a hand in the Toshiba sensor in the D7100. But I won’t rule it out, though it’s funny that Sony acting as Toshiba in your view would ship competition for the 24MP APSC sensor in the Nex 7+A77.

It is very unlikely that the 50mm Nex lens is anywhere near the optical quality of the Samsung NX 85 1.4 lens. However I’ve not shot with that Sony lens, so I’d not be so silly as to say that Nex system lens is not very good, but it would need to be very very Zeiss good to match the optical quality of the Samsung.

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And I have yet to see a Sony, Canon, or Nikon lens that can come close to a good Zeiss. While the Samsung 85mm does.

I see that you can’t deal with the point that the Samsung CEO may have possession of a 40 year old car stolen by someone else years ago. Keep making up distractions from the main point: Optron makes lenses that put Sony, Canon and Nikon to shame.

You’re right Sony makes decent sensors, but so does Toshiba and Samsung, and Renesas.

Hey Jack, you keep on believing in your dream world.
If you want to see a stellar 85mm Lens look at the Zeiss branded Sony 85mm not your plastic fantastic NX lens, You are delusional to think it's that good, I'm not saying it's a bad lens just not that good.
And I will comment on the car thing, even if he did not know that it was a stolen car when he bought it, he does now and he has no plans on returning it or acknowledging it, so that makes him a thief in my eyes.
There is a saying you can lead the Donkey to water but you can't make him drink, so with that I'm done talking to you keep on drinking the Samsung Kool-Aid.

Boerseuntjie:

News to me that the mind of the Samsung CEO regarding the ostensibly stolen car is spelled out in the link. A lot of other people seem to have sold/owned that car in the last 40 years, what about their monies and those transactions? Also of course at that level, one would need to prove that the item really was stolen, before anybody would consider giving it up. So you're a bit confused about the definition of "thief". The guy who owned the car 40 years ago, could be lying today.

Now, no one disputes that there are indeed nice Zeiss lenses, I’ve owned four, and rented a couple of others. And the Samsung NX 85mm 1.4 is very close optically to those various Zeiss lenses I’ve owned/own/rented. (The build quality of the Samsung is excellent too.) So instead of making up things about the Samsung 85mm lens, try it.

Again and again you just assume I’ve never used good Zeiss lenses. And again and again you’re wrong. (Same applies to Leica M lenses.)

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That wiki link is about a joint Sony/Toshiba DISPLAY venture, not sensors. That’s a really sloppy “mistake” on your part.

And sorry but a Google search of “Sony Toshiba Sensor” only yields a press release about Sony buying senor making equipment owned by Toshiba back in 2011.

Nothing current about joint plans or effors. So looks like Toshiba started up its operations again.

You also need to stop acting like Sony is the only way to use a Zeiss lens on a DSLR.

Hey Idiot, Panasonic and Fuji has worked together on sensors development Sony and Aptina has sighed agreements to share Sensor patents
Sony has bought Sensor manufacturing plants from Toshiba so they can keep up with production. These chips might say Toshiba but they are Sony

http://www.sony.net/SonyInfo/News/Press/201012/10-165E/

Boerseuntjie:

That's right I acknowledged that Sony bought some equipment from Toshiba in 2010. That's very different than a joint effort that you assert is going on today, sans any evidence.

You also still posted a link about displays instead of sensors. Try starting with that mistake. It's pretty big and will stick with you.

I don't care that other companies develop sensors jointly. And I never claimed everything is done independently by each sensor company. I claimed, accurately, that there's no obvious public evidence of Sony+Toshiba doing sensors together in 2013.

What you've posted doesn't invalidate my point at all. If your attempts are going to be so weakly supported, why bother?

Yes I have no evidence of Toshiba making sensors for Sony just like you have no evidence of Samsung Lenses being better than Nikon and Canon ;)
And well you might think that Toshiba sensor is good but there is a lot of people that say it's not, I can't care less what sensors Nikon puts in their cameras, all I know it will never be a Samsung one...LOL

C

Chuck, I have NX100 and NX20, 16, 20, 30, 45, 85, 20-50 and 50-200 lenses. The less people buy Samsung, the better for us.

Very true. I picked up an NX100 for next to nothing. Its plastic looks don't inspire a lot of confidence but the 20-50 kit lens and IQ are pretty spectacular.

So HowaboutRAW do you still think that NX 85mm lens is the best lens ever? ,it's about as good as the NEX 50mm ;) , still going to state Optron-tec Lenses is better than Nikon, Canon, Leica?

Boerseuntjie–

You really need to stop lying about what I’ve claimed about good Samsung lens.

I never wrote they are the “best ever”, and it’s really stupid on your part to keep trying to put words into my writings.

As I’ve pointed out before DXO scores are of limited value. As is well proven every time they score a very good Zeiss lens, they rarely see it as better than similar Nikons or Canons. When anybody with decent vision can see that the results are significantly better than what Nikon does.

However yes, that 85mm F1.4 Samsung is easily optically better than similar Nikons and Canons, no that Samsung lens is not better than similar Zeiss lenses; that’s your delusion about my claims.

It’s really pretty simple, and you can make all of the claims you want, but I’ve used it, and used/own+own similar Zeisses+Leicas. While you have no experience with good Samsung lenses.

So try paying attention instead of just making things up.

supeyugin1
Oh right, dah. Yes , bad Samsung NX, lens is terrible, don't make the mistake like me and get 4 of those bad bad NX lens. I am smart with my Sony Nex and only stick with the kit lens. Smart with Sony, yes.
But I also made the mistake and just got the NX300. Darn, can't stop making those mistakes.

HowaboutRAW
Agree with you on the plasticky NX 20-50mm, really good for a kit. I was constantly surprise by the image quality I got from this little gem. For me, this is a must take lens for traveling. I am glad Samsung put the cost into the lens glass instead of lens body.
Photozone review on this lens is right on.

NX should be able to compete with 35mm format with lenses specifically designed for NX. actually NX got a slightly upper hand in that its equivalent flange-back is about 39mm, shorter than 44mm of EF mount (it's about 70mm for APS-C DSLRs, why we should abandon them).

Yea and Samsung doesnt band in shadows on base ISO..

Actually Howabout, your assumption is incorrect. I was looking at the actual test images here: http://www.dpreview.com/reviews/samsung-nx210/5
and here: http://www.dpreview.com/reviews/samsung-nx210/6
and then dialing in the Canon 5D III to compare both at different ISO levels.

I suggest you look those images yourself to see how a full frame compares with the Samsung -- especially at higher ISOs. I think you'll agree that at 1600 and 3200 ISOs the Samsung JPGs just turn into mush.

I agree with Mescalamba that it's ridiculous to compare the Samsung with a full frame. And that's why my initial response was to Viking, who says that the camera DOES compete with a full framer. Comparisons of the Samsung with APS-C cameras are totally appropriate since they are similarly priced. But let's not pretend that the IQ is the same as a full frame.