Had a big baregain on an nx1100 kit and now i'm here putting my thoughts on paper:
[I think this can still be useful as i've seen many offer for this model at really low prices]
BACKGROUND
I have a sony a200 that lives with a 50mm on it (i have a decent set, kit lens and a minolta 70-210 f3.5-4.5 that i rarely use, i dont like to switch lenses). This one is used for my "serious" shooting. I also have a sony hx5v that i bought mainly for video purpuse but is good enought to serve has a travelling point and shot. Since the hx5v has a serious problem with noise reduction (sadly), i wanted to switch to a mirrorless camera for the walking around (holiday) photography. The nx cames to try to fill this slot. I always wanted a compact with a big sensor and a decent amount of glass in front of it! [i really dislike that p&s with 30x that can do everything but do near nothing well!]
RANDOM CONSIDERATIONS
I did a number of empiric tests. I was UNFAIR, i keep the 50mm 1.7 on the sony alpha and shoot at 50mm also with the nx (you may know that the tele is the weakest zone of the 20-50).
The best colors (i think the better auto white balance helped a lot...) are from the nx but it was honestly an hard fight.
The AF system hunts quite a bit (this refers to the 20-50, the 18-55 has a better focus rate!). In smart mode the nx seems to hunt a little less. Also i found that often the picture taken in smart mode as less noise, just like it goes through a better PP engine.
I would have liked if image information (data from the sensor...) had a better use in lower resolution. Lower resolutions seems to have the same amount of noise, while if i shot at 20M then process the picture on the pc and save it at 75% of the original size i will get a much clearer and less noisy image!
LENSES CONSIDERATIONS:
The 20-50 is a good performer for the price, but the lack of OIS is a major flaw both in the photo and video fields. My copy is tack sharp from edge to egde at 20mm. Very sharp at 50mm too, but need a good anount of light because of the lack of OIS. Also colors of the lens are very good.
The 18-55 can be found for a decent price around, so i got one to compare with the 20-50. If you compare the size i dont think that it fullfill the compact nature of this nice toy, but still in the compact zone, especially if you compare with a dslr kit lens. To my taste the OIS is not as good as the Sony one, but maybe the sensor resolution has its part in this. At the wide end the 20-50 produce better images. It is not about the central resolution, where they are both good, it is about the edge sharpness. At the tele end there are less differences and the OIS makes the real difference. Speaking pratical: if your mission is in a sunnyday, the portability and the quality of the 20-50mm will shine as your day, in other situation where you shot @20mm with at least 1/30 or less and iso under 1000 will still do a very good job. In any other situation with less light than that then the 18-55 will win despite the 20-50 qualities. Its colors are also good but 20-50 colors are a bit better.
The 16-50 may be the best choice to me (i still search for one), and i will swap as soon as i find a good price around. I dont like the zoom buttons but i think that it is the best allround performer in the samsung compact arena and the perfect match for a mirrorless.
The tele optionis a bit oversize. I think that samsung should comes with a smaller 50-200. But the best seller, in my opinion, would be a mid price, compact lens with a wider aperture: something like a 20-50 f2.8-3.5 ois (or better!) will make any nx cam an hard-to-beat rival for the various LX100 etc.
PLUS: The izoom 1.4x 10M will produce nice images at a good resolution, converting the 50mm into a (50*1.5*1.4) nice 105mm. So the 20-50 performs as a 30-105, the 18-55 will range a 28-115 and the 16-50 will shine like a 24-105 witch is a very nice, usable range. I found a sweet spot @29mm on the 18-55 that became a 40mm f4 with the izoom that allow me to do very nice things with 10Mpix and poor light. iZoom seems to do a good job managing data from the crop of the sensor.
PROS
good auto white balance
good colors
good sharpness
wide range of options
color, contrast and sharpen controls works well
Sensor perform very well
a lot of things to set and manage
good in cam post processing options (crop, contrast control etc)
colors in general meet my taste
20-50 lens is very compact, unbeatable @20mm
noise reduction can be turned off
weight almost like a compact camera
a kit cost like you buy a lens and get a body for free
the izoom is a nice feature (i know, you can shoot in raw and the crop later, but i am more comfortable if i can make my composition while shooting... and i am a OOC jpeg guy! ) see the lenses consideration above
Very pleased with the flash, not a big fan of the flashes but the little thing works really well
SMART mode very good for P&S operation but also in low light condition
video options
CONS
20-50 No OIS, i think it really make a difference in the everyday photography (and video!).
in review zooming is a bit tricky
focus in lowlight (hunts)*
focus in video mode (hunts!)*
izoom disengages easly during normal shooting session (when review images...)
some options are not available in some mode (ES: i can not use color profiles in smart mode)
*= i got better performance with 18-55
CONCLUSION
So far i like it! The body is small and cheap (in the good way) but all the basics are done with a very good quality, far over the money i payd for it. The lenses are all good, have to, they stay in front of a 20Mpix sensor! It is not perfect but will be the right companion in my next travel and i am tempted to put in on test on hardest fields.
BUY ANY NX CAMERA IF YOU...
like it small, like to shot in jpeg mode, like your dslr but dont like take your dslr in your family trips
