Thom Hogan NX1 Mini Review

Just saw that Thom Hogan presented his thoughts on the NX1, which he liked a lot. Wasn't that excited about the AF system, though.

http://www.sansmirror.com/cameras/a...amsung-camera-reviews/samsung-nx1-review.html

it's nice to hear someone not be totally head-over-heels about the NX1 focus performance.

however thom is always late with reviews and it didn't even seem like he spent too much time with the camera, given that he explicitly said so multiple times throughout the review.

I also don't understand his stance about "if you want to shoot video, buy a video camera." does he not realize DSLRs and mirrorless have erupted in the filmmaking world for the past years for a reason?

Other than that, fair review. I also wish the NX1 was a bit smaller. But he is the first person I've read that thinks the NX1 is overpriced - every other reviewer has said it is very decently priced given all it is capable of, and I don't think it's overpriced either.

Also nice to hear him upfront say most camera are pretty similar in performance, it's just the balance you want to make for yourself. too many people get defensive about their gear. it's nice to indulge in your decision and brand, but being idealistic gets a little irritating.

A+ on the image quality

Mostly, it is a fair review. He only tested continuous focusing indoors where I've found other mirrorless cameras are likely to fail. And so the NX1 did about like I would expect.

There were some subjective things that everyone will have a different opinion on. Rarely does everyone agree where to put a button. He neglected to mention how customization everything is, but maybe he didn't learn this yet.

The BIG issue with his review is he glossed over video. Even still shooters can benefit from 8MP images at 30 frames per second. I suspect he left it off because Olympus, Nikon and Canon stink at video quality. He said he doesn't like the price, but skips that this is one of the best video cameras available. It reminds of of someone complaining a 4 wheel drive car costs too much, but who refuses to test it in ice and snow.

False:

"However note that there are NTSC and PAL versions of the camera, so you don’t get all of those in one model."

I got the impression he was just not really interested in video as he is a photographer not a videographer.

It seems fair to me as all the forums where there are 4K cameras are chock full of people moaning about any noise the camera or lens makes so I would agree with his point that for video a video camera is the best choice and 4K is a nice extra.

Randy Veeman said:

The BIG issue with his review is he glossed over video. Even still shooters can benefit from 8MP images at 30 frames per second. I suspect he left it off because Olympus, Nikon and Canon stink at video quality. He said he doesn't like the price, but skips that this is one of the best video cameras available. It reminds of of someone complaining a 4 wheel drive car costs too much, but who refuses to test it in ice and snow.

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have to ask question, is Thom a videographer?

This is my opinion... I bought a Fujifilm X-T1 (GSE) - really did not like how cramped all the buttons were on top. AF on the X-T1? Meh... I decided to return it and get the Samsung NX1 & 16-50mm f/2.0-2.8 S lens package instead.

Samsung has finally made a camera that has impressed me very much. The camera body feels solid in my large hands. Love the 16-50mm S lens! Saving up for the 50-150mm S lens. Yes, the S lenses are a little larger than I'd like, and the build quality is excellent.

I started noticing the Samsung NX line of cameras/lenses at a local store (Best Buy), although those idiots no longer have them on display in the Samsung section of the store. :-| Even on the NX300 I found the AF was as good or better than the X-T1. The NX1's AF is awesome, but I use MF a lot due to my background from the film days.

Samsung deserves a lot of praise for the menu system on the NX1. It is so easy to find your way around on the camera's settings. The PDF manual is the best written camera manual out there IMHO.

I like the NX1 so much, I'm getting my wife the NX500 for her birthday present in June. We are going on a two-month trip to Germany in the summer, so I want her to have a great camera as well.

I got my NX1 package from B&H - hands down the best online retailer anywhere.

Nice, got some locations you wanted to visit in Germany? In case you are still deciding I could give some recommendations as I am German.

Yes. Correct on all accounts. Enjoy and safe trip to Germany.

Mike

and said that AF is a bit better, IQ is a bit better but these bits do not justify price difference.

Now I wonder if excellent EVF that he praises, magnesium body that he likes, touchscreen control that he used (obviously 4K video) do not justify price difference?

He has pulled the plug very early without making full comparison.

james _ said:

I also don't understand his stance about "if you want to shoot video, buy a video camera." does he not realize DSLRs and mirrorless have erupted in the filmmaking world for the past years for a reason?

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Apparently Sony (A7s anyone?) Panasonic, or Canon don't understand his statement either. Now Canon is biggest DSLR producer, and sicne Mr Hogan stresses DSLR comparison, then he must think Canon developed its dual pixel AF for nothing.

james _ said:

Other than that, fair review.

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Well, check the summary:

"Unfortunately, the focus isn’t quite where I’d want a US$1500 camera body to be. At this price level, we’re somewhere between a Nikon D7100 and a Canon 7DII, and the focus performance of the NX1 is not between those two, it’s lower than the D7100 in my opinion."

Out of all features, he picked ONE. Tracking AF. He picked the one wheer DSLR excel. Why he didn't pick several others together, that form feature set like IQ (important, isn't it?) or advantage of EVF of OVF (since NX1 has so good EVF then it combines advantages of both) or the connectivity, which he is recently very concerned about? Because he knew the summary before getting Samsung in his hands. Ignore all except one feature that's a bit worse.

In addition, however, he wrote that Samsung is changing firmwares surprisingly often, such that an update in the near future likely improves this (similarly as the EM1 recently. However the EM1 is not very good in C-AF). You still can do (and according to him this seems to work fine) C-AF with focus point on subject. This is what I do most of the time anyway. I rarely use 3D tracking on my Nikons.

HFLM said:

In addition, however, he wrote that Samsung is changing firmwares surprisingly often, such that an update in the near future likely improves this (similarly as the EM1 recently. However the EM1 is not very good in C-AF). You still can do (and according to him this seems to work fine) C-AF with focus point on subject. This is what I do most of the time anyway. I rarely use 3D tracking on my Nikons.

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I normally use the center point focus. I rarely track anything for a long period of time. On a sports field I watch for collisions or a great play/catch/kick. Focus speed is the most important. getting from a near to far focus or far to near in an instant is what I need most. Tracking is icing on the cake. I am happy with the NX1, but do very much look forward to improvements.

I can't believe you take his review seriously.

Thom Hogan is well respected and quite knowledgeable. I take _him_ seriously and his opinion, no matter what you think.

arbuz said:

Out of all features, he picked ONE. Tracking AF. He picked the one where DSLR excel. Why he didn't pick several others together, that form feature set like IQ (important, isn't it?) or advantage of EVF of OVF (since NX1 has so good EVF then it combines advantages of both) or the connectivity, which he is recently very concerned about? Because he knew the summary before getting Samsung in his hands. Ignore all except one feature that's a bit worse.

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In this day and age, shouldn't DECENT auto focus be a given? This is not the case with the NX1 and it takes the enjoyment out of it.

I put him in the same category as Ken Rockwell. Their reviews are always has to be taken with a grain of salt. Most of the time they are contradictive and looks like follow a certain agenda to praise or critisize the camera.

asdf photographer said:

asdf photographer said:

Out of all features, he picked ONE. Tracking AF. He picked the one where DSLR excel. Why he didn't pick several others together, that form feature set like IQ (important, isn't it?) or advantage of EVF of OVF (since NX1 has so good EVF then it combines advantages of both) or the connectivity, which he is recently very concerned about? Because he knew the summary before getting Samsung in his hands. Ignore all except one feature that's a bit worse.

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In this day and age, shouldn't DECENT auto focus be a given? This is not the case with the NX1 and it takes the enjoyment out of it.

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The NX1 has fast accurate auto focus. Often is is near instantaneous. It can follow subjects well too. The one issue is if there are multiple objects in view it does not do well keeping track of which you want to follow.

So, with this camera "decent" auto focus IS a given.

Well, that are hard words I can't take seriously at all.

asdf photographer said:

asdf photographer said:

Out of all features, he picked ONE. Tracking AF. He picked the one where DSLR excel. Why he didn't pick several others together, that form feature set like IQ (important, isn't it?) or advantage of EVF of OVF (since NX1 has so good EVF then it combines advantages of both) or the connectivity, which he is recently very concerned about? Because he knew the summary before getting Samsung in his hands. Ignore all except one feature that's a bit worse.

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In this day and age, shouldn't DECENT auto focus be a given? This is not the case with the NX1 and it takes the enjoyment out of it.

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I doubt youn have NX1. NX1 has decenyt AF, it simply deoesn't have BEST AF. Plus, how can you wish for pentax K-3 and talk about decent AF being a must. I'm yet to see sports photographer using Pentax.