Just thinkin' out loud a bit here...

Ben Herrmann wrote:

Having the opportunity of being able to shoot with a variety of different brand cameras, I can experience the ability to be able to acclimate to various camera options, ergonomics, IQ styles, etc. I don't cower at the sight of another complicated menu system, and I enjoy being able to identify (well, for the most part) color tonality styles among the various brands of cameras.

And let me say before I go into this mumbo-jumbo, that I enjoy using all of my cameras - those being from the Micro Four Thirds, Fuji X, Canon EOS M, and Samsung NX systems. I enjoy all of them because of the flexibility their use allows and the fact that each brand brings something unique to the table. If you're looking for specific brand fanboy statements, I'm not the guy because I will often compliment them all.

Having gotten all of that out of the way, I have to say this. And that is when I do reach for my Samsung cameras - I only have the NX300, NX500, and NX30 - I find myself refreshingly exposed to a unique system with a rich and dynamic color tonality that stands out of the crowd.

Now keep in mind that when looking at files from any one brand, and if you were just to look at well-taken images from one particular brand, they will tend to look very good. However, as a point of reference, when viewing images taken by different camera brands and then making comparisons between them all, one sees the often unique color tonality differences inherent in all of them.

I've been around long enough to know how to coax the best performance parameters from any camera I pick up (I better since I was using cameras since the mid 1960's onward). But I have to say that when I reach for my NX line of gear, there is a clarity to the images (in particular when pixel-peeping) that I often just shake my head in pleasant amazement. And even when it comes to kit lenses (in my case, I am enamored with the Kit 16-50 PZ lens - of which I now have 3 since they aren't being made anymore), the clarity levels from center through the edge are a cut above what I've experienced with other brands. Now don't get me wrong as the Fuji Kit lenses (i.e. 16-50 XC), and some of the Panny kit lenses (12-32, 14-42 II, and 14-45) are very, very competitive and can give some of the big boys a run for their money.

And then there's the dynamic color tonality along with dynamic range. I'm not personally crazy about the DR capabilities of the NX300, but the NX30 and NX500 are vastly superior, IMO, to the former. But it's that gorgeous, rich color rendering that often causes friends of mine to remark at how striking the images can be.

My thoughts are that those of us using this NX system should continue to try and find additional models (or duplicate copies) of the cameras and/or lenses. And if we treat them well, even a decade from now, the IQ will be quite competitive. Although I was a latecomer to the NX system, I am so glad (fortunate) that I acquired the gear when I did, given Samsung's camera business is now "kaput."

I know I'm preachin' to the choir here, but I see this forum gradually dwindling, which is a shame. It's a given that many of us now shoot with other brand gear, but you have to admit (well, most of us will), that when using NX gear and seeing the results, the facts are clear - the NX system was clearly a superior system and why it never made waves within the photographic community (that other brands have made), is beyond me.

OK, I'm done....

Semper Fidelis...

Bernd ("Ben") W. Herrmann
United States Marine Corps (Retired)
North Carolina, USA

Having had a Canon system for many years, the time had come to retire my ageing 50D due to a maybe-yes-maybe-no shutter release and dated IQ.  Canon was of course the front runner given that I had three of their lenses and a change in camera body alone would have been the easiest option.

However, comparing the Canon offering to the NX1 there was absolutely no way I could justify the cost for the benefits.  Sure, a new Canon would have "fixed" the shutter issue, but the improvement in IQ from a 50D to a 70D was to my mind marginal at best.  Comparing this to the NX1, even if it meant learning a new system, new software and getting a new lens, there was no contest - none!

The NX1 had better resolution, dynamic range and noise to the then 70D or 7D Mk II, that it wasn't funny.  The NX1 also had 4K video, the Canon did not.  The rest of the equation on features etc. the NX1 was also ahead.  Being mirrorless was actually an advantage in low light, lack of vibration, lack of black out, and so on and the availability of a superb 16mm to 50mm f2 - 2.8 lens was also a major plus.

I bought the NX1 with the 16 - 50mm lens, spare battery and SD cards and haven't looked back.  I have recently also bought the 50 - 200mm lens and on first impressions certainly looks more than sharp enough for my purposes.

Why Samsung stopped making and selling cameras and lenses is beyond my understanding.  They had excellent products that were better in all objective ways than their competition and looked like winners on all fronts.

I just thought I'd share and vent...