I want a Samsung NX1 + 85mm F1.4 (GAS problem)

markyboy81 wrote:

Manzur Fahim wrote:

Kubicide wrote:

Just a heads-up to hopefully help your GAS: Samsung quality can be quite bad...

I, too, was struck with Samsung GAS in early 2015 and bought what ended up being multiple NX-1's before finally giving up. This was when the kit with S zoom lens, grip and stuff was on sale for ~$2100 which was a great price (Amazon). It was the near-perfect camera for me on paper with 4K video, 120 Hz 1080p and 29 Mpixel stills, and the shots that did come out were excellent - absolutely loved the Samsung BSI sensor and camera processing. Also absolutely loved the fast f/2 zoom. But the quality of everything was terrible. It wasn't as if just one thing had issues - everything had some sort of a problem even the exchanged replacements. But the main issue was with loose lens mounting on every single body. In the multiple kits I tried they all had this problem and one was so bad it would clunk and actually move/rotate ~2 or 3mm (!) when simply turning the zoom. Another also made the clunk sound and produced an error message related to lens disconnect. A third kit did the same movement with no error but had a problem with the lens stabilizer not seen in the other two where 2 out 3 shots would be inexplicably blurred. Turning off the OS would fix it but I wouldn't live with that compromise. And one body had a huge cluster (>20) of stuck / hot red pixels right in the center at base ISO right out of the box. And of course there's no in-body pixel mapping.

Other issues included a command dial on one that would randomly not work - it was like the signal was missed when it was turned. Purchased a new, sealed 85mm only to open the box and see oil/liquid residue on the aperture blades and even FOD / black dot on the inside of the rear element. Also had the 50-150 which was a fantastic lens optically but would again fit loosely on the body and clunk whenever the zoom or focus rings were rotated. Even small issues would happen like the blue gasket lens seal constantly being pinched even when carefully mounting the lens - just a bad design there with tolerance being wrong in either the lens or the body mount.

Performance wise autofocus was often very poor when taking stills but very good for video. Rolling shutter was also pretty bad in 4K and disappointing, but actually quite good in 1080p. But the image quality was simply superb with great colors, tones, contrast, and was the reason I kept trying to stay with Samsung and the NX-1. Had the quality issues not happened then the only real critique I'd have was with the weight as the S lens and body are quite heavy mainly due to the big front optic and metal lens construction.

Anyway, the quality problems are real and if you search the net you'll find many examples from the 2015 timeframe in particular when the NX-1 was 'hot'. And YouTube has many examples of the issues. The lens issues (loose fit, bad stab) plagued most of the S lenses and NX-1 pretty hard. Some folks were fine with the issues; I wasn't especially with Nikon as my baseline. I never had anywhere near these problems with Nikon nor Canon, Fuji or Olympus.

It was quite disappointing to say the least. But must have been karma saving me future headaches with Samsung abandoning the line at the end of 2015. They surely were aware of the quality issues and it was likely one factor among many as to why they exited the business.

So IMO throwing any money into NX now is simply a waste of money no matter how tempting. I found the D500 turned out to be a far, far better solution with the only loss being in the video side (which was secondary to me compared to taking good stills). And I actually found the Nikon 16-80 lens to be much better than the S lens, and only miss the slightly faster f/2 versus f/2.8 speed.

Thank you very much. I wasn't aware of these issues, and now I know. Thank you very much, and you should know that the temptation is gone. I cannot live with these issues so I'll save the money, hopefully a new D810 replacement will come soon

Have a great day everyone!

Whilst I appreciate that there have been issues with nx equipment, I wouldn't like to speculate as to whether these issues are more frequent than with any other manufacturers.

I haven't had any quality issues with any of my kit - maybe I was lucky, or maybe the poster here was unlucky. Perhaps other users will chime in with their experiences.

I also bought the same kit in 2015: NX1 Body, 16-50mm f/2.0-2.8 S lens, Vertical Grip w Battery, ~$2100 (B&H, free shipping, zero $ales tax)

Zero defects/issues/problems to report.

Since initial purchase I've added:
    New Samsung:  50-150mm f/2.8 S,  45mm f/1.8,  30mm f2.8
    Used Samsung:  NX500,  85mm f/1.4,  and soon to arrive 60mm F2.8 Macro.
Zero defects/issues/problems to report.
FWIW, also bought Canon FD: 300mm F2.8 L,   50-300 F/4 L
--
"The most beautiful thing we can experience is the mysterious. It is the source of all true art and science." -Albert Einstein

I had to repair my NX1 about 6 months ago, due to fall damage.

https://www.dpreview.com/forums/post/58909914

Overall the experience was easy, Samsung's ticket system is a little clunky, about it.

Want a spare NX1?  I am selling all my camera gear including a hardly used NX1 on E-Bay, seller TOMS7830.  I really love my Samsung gear but due to personal issues am getting rid of a lot of things including my camera gear.

xectis wrote:

Lucy P wrote:

Want a spare NX1? I am selling all my camera gear including a hardly used NX1 on E-Bay, seller TOMS7830. I really love my Samsung gear but due to personal issues am getting rid of a lot of things including my camera gear.

Your eBay ID in non-existent. I checked.

You sure? https://www.ebay.com/sch/toms7830/m.html

xectis wrote:

Lucy P wrote:

Want a spare NX1? I am selling all my camera gear including a hardly used NX1 on E-Bay, seller TOMS7830. I really love my Samsung gear but due to personal issues am getting rid of a lot of things including my camera gear.

Your eBay ID in non-existent. I checked.

You didn't check very well.

xectis wrote:

Lucy P wrote:

Want a spare NX1? I am selling all my camera gear including a hardly used NX1 on E-Bay, seller TOMS7830. I really love my Samsung gear but due to personal issues am getting rid of a lot of things including my camera gear.

Your eBay ID in non-existent. I checked.

Look under Samsung NX1 for sale (most recent) and you will find it !

Strange, I have had it for many years and currently have a number of items listed including my Samsung gear right now.  Please check again.  Thanks

Hope this gets you there - sorry for confusion,  but thanks for trying.  If this doesn't work please let me know.please let me know.

http://www.ebay.com/itm/Samsung-NX1-28-2-MP-Digital-Camera-Black-Deluxe-Kit-w-S-16-50mm-Lens-more-/332301899403?epid=210187138&hash=item4d5ebc968b:g:BqgAAOSwmNlZZlVS

You can also do a search for Samsung NX1 & all the listings should come up, mine among them.  If you are in the market you would want to look at all the listings anyway,  And when you find my listing just click on "see sellers other listings" to see everything I am selling.  Thanks again guys.

OK, I see, because of problems I have had I usually do restrict my sales to USA & Canada  (but have never had a problem with UK).  So if you do want to bid I will try to accommodate you, however I expect the cost of shipping, VAT, etc., would make it prohibitive.  Thanks again.

Earlier in the thread I said I wouldn't recommend it, despite the NX1 being a really great camera. And one reason for that was because "there are no bargains available" when you buy a great camera from a dead system. This is because demand is still high for the NX1, while supplies of new ones keep dwindling. And not enough people are selling them as used, so the price stays high.

To illustrate this, I looked at all the high end cameras that were announced in 2014, and then compared them to their current selling price as used and as new on ebay.

Here's what I found:

All prices are for body only, with no included lens

Amazingly... the one camera with the highest resale value (both in new and in used condition) is the only camera on the list that is no longer supported by it's manufacturer.

This actually speaks very well for the NX1. It means people want them, and are willing to pay a premium price for them, despite all the issues involved in having a dead system. This is the exact opposite situation of other dead systems (Olympus Four Thirds, Pentax Q and Nikon 1) where selling prices plummeted.

If you want the camera, then by all means buy it. But understand you aren't getting a good price when you buy it. If you were looking for a bargain, then the Nikon D750, Canon 7D II, or Panasonic GH4 would be a much better choice.

Of course, that is all irrelevant once you are invested in NX lenses! 

Marty4650 wrote:

Earlier in the thread I said I wouldn't recommend it, despite the NX1 being a really great camera. And one reason for that was because "there are no bargains available" when you buy a great camera from a dead system. This is because demand is still high for the NX1, while supplies of new ones keep dwindling. And not enough people are selling them as used, so the price stays high.

To illustrate this, I looked at all the high end cameras that were announced in 2014, and then compared them to their current selling price as used and as new on ebay.

Here's what I found:

All prices are for body only, with no included lens

Amazingly... the one camera with the highest resale value (both in new and in used condition) is the only camera on the list that is no longer supported by it's manufacturer.

This actually speaks very well for the NX1. It means people want them, and are willing to pay a premium price for them, despite all the issues involved in having a dead system. This is the exact opposite situation of other dead systems (Olympus Four Thirds, Pentax Q and Nikon 1) where selling prices plummeted.

If you want the camera, then by all means buy it. But understand you aren't getting a good price when you buy it. If you were looking for a bargain, then the Nikon D750, Canon 7D II, or Panasonic GH4 would be a much better choice.

Of course, that is all irrelevant once you are invested in NX lenses!

Interesting the above ! That said, as we all know digital camera bodies , (even the best of their era) eventually become obsolete regardless of how good they once were. The lens(es) investment/cost has to be considered along with any body. In a dead end system those high end Samsung lenses that were needed to get the best from the body will become paperweights.

It`s obvious the NX1 with good lenses are among the best systems available but knowing it`s dead  ended should make most folks think long and hard about paying out list prices , IMO.

Veducci wrote:

Interesting the above ! That said, as we all know digital camera bodies , (even the best of their era) eventually become obsolete regardless of how good they once were.

There really aren't many digital cameras that are "obsolete." I suppose it just depends on how you define the word. As long as they are still working they are useful. And when they are used within their limitations, even a 20 year old digital camera can produce very good results.

Sure, they won't perform well at high ISO, and they will be slow for AF and other features. But so will a brand new Sigma Quattro.... which has never been called obsolete.

The lens(es) investment/cost has to be considered along with any body. In a dead end system those high end Samsung lenses that were needed to get the best from the body will become paperweights.

This is absolutely true, although in many cases lenses can be adapted for other lens mounts. There has been a revival in interest (and in selling prices) for Canon FD lenses once it because possible to use them with Sony FE MILC cameras. And often, with automation!

I'm not sure if NX lenses can be used with any other system, but perhaps they can.

It`s obvious the NX1 with good lenses are among the best systems available but knowing it`s dead ended should make most folks think long and hard about paying out list prices , IMO.

True. It really doesn't make much sense for a new NX user when there are many other excellent systems available that are currently supported by their makers. But you never know what the future will bring. I have around $8,000 "invested" in M4/3 gear, and it could become a dead system some day. After all, neither Panasonic nor Olympus is making any money selling them.

However, if I already owned a few nice NX lenses I would be tempted to buy a used NX1. And if I could buy one at a really good price, I would jump on it. But neither is true for me, so I will remain content with my still supported M4/3 system.

YMMV