Rank the lenses available for Samsung NX!

Thanks for the in depth reply!  The decision between the 20-50 and the 16-50 was more difficult for me than I though... the output on the 20-50 is really quite good for a kit lens.  The extra reach on the wide end plus the faster focus sealed the deal on that one.

A few more comments about the 45mm and my wallet is going to be a little lighter.  lol

I really like the looks of the 12-24mm... just not sure if the extra light gathering abilities of the Rokinon 12mm would be worth losing the zoom.  And I'm glad to hear that Samsung concentrated on the image quality at 12mm.

dezinerd wrote:

Important to consider is that some of the lenses have been made in multiple versions. The difference can be great and I believe Samsung new this and marked the lenses with their version number. It would be most helpful if someone that had a lens they did not like to state what version it was. That being said. I like my;

Samsung 18-55 version 3 over my Samsung 20-50 version 2. Optically they are both great but I like the internal focus and IS of the 18-55 v3. The 20-50- v2 has a rotating front element and makes more noise during focus. The extra reach of the 18-55 is good for me also.

The 45 1.8 is a gem. No version on my copy. It is sharp, contrasty and has great bokeh. It is about the same size as the 20-50 but is internally focusing and very quiet and smooth while focusing.

My copy of the 30 f2 is very sharp, contrasty but less than the 45. It makes some noise focusing. It is very small pancake about 18mm shorter than the 20-50 when the latter is in closed position.

The 12-24 That I have is a really sharp contrasty wide angle zoom. Considering that it is dx format it is quite small compared to my Tokina v1 for Nikon and weighs much less. I have never tested the 2 against each other but feel my Samsung is a quality lens. It produces sharp contrasty images but like all wide angle lens flare can be a problem. While I have not looked for it distortion does not seem to be worse than other lens of this type ie wide angle zoom. My copy seems sharper at 12 than 24. I wish this lens were IS and hope to get the 16-50 at some point for that reason.

These observations are anecdotal and the way I believe my lenses perform and not the result of shooting test charts nailed to a wall.