Is Samsung 300m worth buying in 2020?

Onetwoshot wrote:

Hello all,

I want to buy a camera to take pictures of my daughter (recently a dad)... Doesn't help that I have expensive taste.

Our first photoshoot as family was done by a photographer with Canon 5d mark ii. Whilst I don't expect to get quality pixies like that, I hope that compact modern cameras have got a similar PQ.

I like Sony a6400 and 6100 but when I think of the price... Let's just say I think that I need to budget well now.

So, by pure coincidence I found an nx3000 in a listed add which caught my attention. I didn't buy it after all but that allowed me to research the nx line-up a bit.

My other option was a canon 700d boxed for under £300 but the size of it was not a forte.

I like the 300m because of the flip screen and size.

I want to be very practic and I think that a small mirrorless would be great for me and will allow me to shoot both indoor and outdoors.

Anyhow. Not many 300m around, but found one that has the screen fallen off (weak adhesive tape?) and it sells for £140. I'd need to repair it myself.

What do you guys think?

Would this be a good purchase?

Here's another you might consider, the very-slightly different NX300 - although it's paired with a non-stabilised 20/50 zoom, which would probably be my last choice of the several kit-lenses Samsung have offered....

https://www.lcegroup.co.uk/Used/Samsung-NX300-+-20-50mm_280118.html

Here's a review of that lens...

https://matteverglade.com/lenses/samsung-20-50mm-f3-5-5-6-ii/

If you did buy that, I'd suggest watching out for a decent copy of Samsung's 16-50mm f/3.5-5.6 version, which has a much wider view at the 16mm end, and also benefits from stabilisation... as well as probably being faster to focus, a boon for family shots!!

https://www.photoreview.com.au/reviews/lenses/other-ilc/samsung-16-50mm-f35-56-power-zoom-lens/

May cost a little more, but buying from a reliable chain like LCE would bring you the security of their 6 month warranty.

But do remember that Samsung stopped making cameras several years ago now - so you might be better with one of the Panasonic or Olympus MicroFourThirds (M43) cameras, of which many more are available!

That said, thanks to their larger sensors, the NX300 and NX3000 are both capable of producing very nice pictures.

Although I've not yet made much use of the '300, bought not long before lock-down, these are some of mine from the tinier '3000, shot using mostly the 16/50 but also a variety of other lenses...

https://www.flickr.com/photos/132932913@N02/albums/72157651901524380

Good luck, whichever you choose!

Peter