Hello all...
I wanted to submit my personal review of this new Samsung 16-50 PZ lens. When it first was announced months ago, I was very curious about getting one, so I put my name on a waiting list at B&H Photo in NYC. Well, I had completely forgotten about it - that is, until I received an email from B&H around 10 days ago, telling me that it was finally available for purchase. So at $350 USD a pop, I thought, "why not...." So I ordered one (the black version) and it arrived 3 days later (free shipping).
Please note that these are my personal comments - based on how I use a camera (in this case, the PZ 16-50 was mated with the NX300). I am going to provide comparisons between this new Samsung 16-50 PZ zoom and another PZ zoom manufactured by Panasonic - the Lumix 14-42 f3.5-5.6 PZ (equivalent to a 28-84 zoom). These are the only two Power Zoom type of lenses available on the market (that I'm aware of), and since I enjoy my Panasonic version so much, I thought it best to compare to that model in a variety of ways. Keep in mind that with micro 4/3 cameras just multiply their focal lengths by x 2 to arrive at the 35 MM equivalent (i.e. a 20 MM micro 4/3 lens is equivalent to approx 40 MM focal length).
Alright the short it:
1. This new Samsung PZ 16-50 zoom lens is one of the sharpest general purpose zoom lens that I've experienced...period (among many brands)! Well, at least my copy is. It is exceptionally sharp in the center and even out to the edges at f5.6 and above, are very sharp and at that low price point, it becomes a real bargain. It is, IMO, much sharper than the standard Samsung 18-55 and having that extra reach to about 25 MM makes a world of difference. And I find it sharper than the Panasonic 14-42 PZ lens that I'm comparing it to below (but that could also be due to the fact that the Panny GX-1 is a 16 MP camera, whereas the NX-300 is 20 MP's).
2. As for the build quality - the Samsung PZ zoom is a nicely built zoom lens. It's compact (when not turned on) and is equivalent to a prime lens in size. Once you turn it on, however, it zooms out and in some respects, it is then comparable to a regular-sized general purpose zoom lens (see photos below). It has a metal lens mount - definitely better than the standard 18-55 kit lens, that's for sure.
3. Ergonomics - well, IMO, Samsung could have done a much better job with this - so please read my comments below on ergonomics and buttons.
Here is a photo (looking from the top down), showing both the Panasonic Lumix PZ zoom attached to a 16 MP GX-1, and the new Samsung PZ lens attached to the NX300. This is what they look like without the camera being turned on:
Now, let's turn on the cameras and see how far the lens protrudes:
From the front, the lenses look like this on their respective cameras:
Smile.....
Alright - at this point, this is where I "nail" Samsung for not getting the ergonomics right, IMO. As I mentioned, the new PZ zoom has wonderfully sharp optics and is nicely built. While shooting however, I came to realize that zooming the lens is not as easy, pleasant, and convenient as it is with the Panasonic version of the PZ lens. I say this because the zoom buttons on the Samsung PZ lens are basically flat, level with the surface of the lens body. Unless you keep your fingers permanently on the toggle zoom buttons, you will find that you have to take your eye off the viewfinder and visually confirm where these buttons are. Whereas the Panasonic PZ zoom lens has elevated levers which are easy to find, are located a bit higher up on the lens, and even with your eyes closed, these small levers are intuitive to find. I found that while shooting with the Samsung version, I had to constantly look away from my viewfinder and look to where the zoom toggle buttons where. Had Samsung elevated them a bit higher, it would have made the lens far easier to use with regard to zooming. See the photos below.
As you can see when you look at the Panny PZ zoom lens, they have a toggle lever that sticks up and is easy to find (without having to look for it). In addition, they have another lever for manual focus below that. These levers sit on a small elevated platform - again, making them intuitive to use.
With the Samsung PZ version, the zoom buttons are basically level with the lens body and situated more towards the botton (same with the iFN button). Again - subjective - I found that while shooting, I was fumbling around with trying to find the zoom buttons and had to visually inspect the lens to find them. I'm sure that with time it will become second nature.
Both PZ zooms (made by Panny and Samsung) do not provide a lens hood - actually, there aren't any made for these lenses.
Since I almost always use a lens hood, I improvised and obtained a step up ring - in the case of the Samsung, a 43-58 MM step-up ring was obtained (around $3 USD) off of eBay and then I also purchased a 58 MM round (slim) wide angle lens hood ($10 USD), again, off of eBay. Here is the Samsung shown with the step-up ring, 58 MM lens hood, and a 62 MM generic lens cap (keep in the mind that the 62 MM snap-on lens cap fits the outer part of the 58 lens hood perfectly). The reasons I chose a 43-58 MM step up ring and then a 58 MM lens hood are:
1. To ensure that vignetting would not occur, and...
2. To ensure that the lens hood would be roughly as wide as the lens and not look unusual. I specifically chose this type of wide angle lens hood - as opposed to those unnatural looking flared out wide angle hoods - so it would better complement the lens and camera.
Here you see the 43-58 MM step-up ring, the 58 MM metal wide angle (slim) lens hood, and a generic 62 MM snap-on lens cap.
Now, here is a photo showing both cameras with the lens hoods attached (with the cameras turned off).
As you can see, the use of these slim wide angle lens hoods complement the lenses much better, IMO, than the super flared out versions that you see everywhere.
OK - enough with comparisons. As you can see, I'm giving this lens 4 stars. It really should be 4 and a half stars, but because of the zoom button scenario (an issue for me that may not be an issue for you), I'm giving it just 4.
As stated, the lens is sharp and it's staying on my NX300. I was surprised at how much difference having the additional wide angle reach to 24-25 MM made. When you get accustomed to having zooms with a 28 MM wide end of things, having the additional width really makes a world of difference.
While zooming with the Samsung PZ lens, it is slower in speed than the zoom on the Panasonic PZ version. So be prepared for it to take its time zooming.
So although it sounds like I'm knocking the lens, the end result - IQ - is what it's all about. And I can honestly say that IMO, this is one sharp zoom and I'm quite satisfied with it.
There are a few samples taken with this combo on the following post. Note, the images are not earth shattering. They were taken at a huge country picnic sponsored by the American Legion and a half dozen other organizations. The scene was a private horse farm. The weather was typical deep south 95-96 Degrees F (with humidity levels almost as high), lots of haze in the sky, people were sweating profusely (we're here in North Carolina). Now keep in mind that the originals look superb, but after resizing these down to 1024 x 768 at a 95% quality level, much has been lost. So if you're trying to "pixel peep" with these smaller images...good luck, you won't be impressed.
Images on next posting.
Have a great one....
Bernd (Ben) W. Herrmann
North Carolina, USA
link
