I know, I know, I know...

...I just have to say it one more time - and that is how much I'm glad that I maintained my NX30, NX300, and NX500 - and didn't elect to part with this gear once Samsung announced their exit from the camera market.

As some of you may know, I maintain 4 different mirrorless systems - Micro Four Thirds (both Panny and Oly), Canon EOS M, Fuji X, and of course, Samsung NX.  As a result, I tend to shift back and forth between using these systems.  I thoroughly enjoy using them all and I understand their strengths and weaknesses and use them accordingly.

I try to keep up with them all - what's coming, new tools and tricks - so there's never a boring moment.

I used to be the ultimate camera slut, purchasing cameras when I could - but since I'm now retired and on a very fixed (limited) income, those days have stopped.  So I tend to hold on to those cameras that I've used in the past that have given me much pleasure (see profile of current list).

Having said that, because I enjoy Fuji cameras so much, I went out and purchased their entry level X-A3 (24 MP's) a month ago.  After all, I have a half-dozen or so cameras that use the LCD-only approach to composing - to include the outstanding NX300 and NX500, along some Micro 43 and Canon EOS M models.  The IQ of the Fuji X-A3 is excellent, but there are so many niggles with its operational characteristics, that I often became frustrated.  I did a personal review here FYI:

https://www.dpreview.com/forums/post/59527870

OK - so why am I saying this here.  Although all brands of cameras can net you some outstanding IQ, for those of us Samsung users, it becomes increasingly obvious that the cameras that Samsung released over the past several years are still very much relevant today!  And I have only to reach for some of the NX cameras to reaffirm my strong admiration for the line.

So yes, for those of you with the NX100, NX200, NX300, NX500 - and the list goes on - if you're looking for an equivalent model among the other brands (meaning, LCD only), please be advised that you may very well be surprised (or disappointed) in what you'll get.  You can read some of my frustrations with some of the operational characteristics of the Fuji X-A3 in the review link above.  But as I alluded to, the X-A3's IQ is excellent, but the trip towards getting the images was less than ideal.

Enjoy your Samsung cameras, baby and cherish the gear so they'll last, because I strongly believe that the NX tech will remain quite relevant for years to come.

OK, I'm done - enough said.  I know that periodically I tend to repeat myself - but it's just that when you revisit using NX cameras, you realize how advanced they were (still are).

I thought I found true love when I met my life, but then I bought the NX1/NX500....

Shhhhhhh....don't tell my wife.

JQuonDo wrote:

I thought I found true love when I met my life, but then I bought the NX1/NX500....

Shhhhhhh....don't tell my wife.4

I am still laughing...

Dimitri D
https://www.flickr.com/photos/135820506@N02/ My Flickr Photostream

Must be nice to own that many cameras. You could probably sell all those cameras, and get a very nice camera and a couple nice lenses. In my opinion, I wouldn't hold onto multiple camera formats, but focus on one. I still have like $1K on paypal credit to payoff my camera purchases, lol. I sold my NX500, because trying to shoot without viewfinder on a sunny day, is shooting blind. The NX1 is more than compact for me to take anywhere. Just throw on the 16mm/30mm/16-50mm PZ, and it is not much bigger then NX500, or comparable camera. I'm continuously looking at Canikon/Fuji/Pentax, and will eventually sell my NX stuff, when i can get something comparable.

Hi!

Just curious, how many camera bodies do you own? Like approximately. So that is 4 x NX cameras and you have 3 other systems. I want to do the same because I love cameras but feel like 2 systems is pushing it!

4 bodies in NX which is a 'dead' system, safely assuming you may have 4 in rest of the 3 systems, so approximately 16 camera bodies. That will be like heaven for me.

My only first world problem will be to make sure those lovely cameras are getting some love and attention they deserve I find it hard to find time to use just the one I have!

When I'm older I want to be you with 16 cameras, one for each day of the week.

Haaaaaaa.....

As a backdrop, I got into digital back in '98 after selling off thousands of dollars of 35 MM and Medium format film gear. I got started in photography when I was a Marine infantryman in Vietnam back in '68 when I purchased my very first camera - and a good one at that - the Yashica Electro 35. From there, I became hooked.

So, since 1998 I was able to sell and buy digital gear and in the past for a period of around 5 years, if I wasn't using a particular piece of gear, I'd sell it. But then, as like in clockwork, I came to regret selling particular cameras due to their superb IQ capabilities and the emotional ties I had with the gear. In some cases I wound up "repurchasing" some of the same model gear (what a waste of money - buying the same things twice).

Since that "lessons learned" time period, I decided just to hold on to the cameras I really enjoyed (even if I wasn't using them much anymore). Selling used gear is a sin, meaning you are lucky to get 40% of what you paid (especially after having the camera for a year or two). So I've just left the cameras at home. Right now I have around 43 cameras - sigh...I know, sick, right - and yes, I do occasionally use them all. Some of the very old ones, in particular, the ole' venerable Olympus 5 MP E-1 can still hold muster with the best of them today. That E-1 had the fabled Kodak made Four Thirds sensor which resulted in a gorgeous color tonality. Folks are still buying used E-1's on eBay for $100 - some as low as $50 and everyone who still has one or has recently acquired one will tell you that camera rules in the ergonomics department.

Now just think about this for a moment. This 5 MP E-1, coupled with good glass, can net you images that can take on the big boys. Look below at this scene taken with the E-1 and the Leica Vario 14-150 f3.5-5.6 OIS lens. This zoom lens, quite expensive, has a sharpness level equivalent to some primes. Look at the detail in this image - you'd never know it came from a 5 MP camera.

Click on the "original size" link below the image to bring up a larger, clearer version.

So having all of these cameras - part collection (although I use most of them from time to time) is a really nice scenario. And it allows me to make accurate comparisons between gear.

Nice photo! --we are in the same boat, it's hard to let them go. Still using my Fuji F11, still have my Samsung gear, except the 30mm crapped out. I see in the auction sites samsung has gone back up in value. So have the nx30x nx100, NX 200 and NX 210.

Have Nikon D7200, but still have and use the D7000, D90, D70S. Love the processor in the D70S.

Have micro 4/3 in EM1, epl7, various mzuiko and zuiko lenses. Have recently dug out my Olympus C8080 and started using it again. I remember why I was will to pay a kings ransom for it in 2004. It still holds its own.  I love the old CCD sensors. The C8080 produces lovely black and white images.

Having been recently lured back into film by fanatic friends, my canons and Pentax spotmatic spII's have been resurrected. It's a disease! I do give some items away, but they are hard to part with. At least I have fewer cats than cameras!  :-).  Enjoy retirement and keep snapping! 
-

I'm still buying into this dead system (an enthusiast with GAS problem). 2 days ago I purchased the 50-150mm f2.8 S lens along with another NX1 body.

And, yesterday I ordered the Samyang 14mm f2.8 and Samsung NX 10mm f3.5 fisheye lens.

Next, I'm thinking about purchasing the Zhiyun Crane v2 and a 7" 4k capable field monitor followed by few vintage lenses.

You're the one that whipped out the market and let us looking for another deal. I'm just joking my friend, we all have our chances to gather NX equipment.

Dimitri D
https://www.flickr.com/photos/135820506@N02/ My Flickr Photostream

trac63 wrote:

Ben Herrmann wrote:

...I just have to say it one more time - and that is how much I'm glad that I maintained my NX30, NX300, and NX500 - and didn't elect to part with this gear once Samsung announced their exit from the camera market.

Thing is, unless you're one of those people for whom the lack of a viewfinder is a deal-breaker, there really isn't anything out there that's much of an upgrade over my NX500, at least as far as rangefinder-style mirrorless APS-C cameras go.

I figure that my NX500 will be fine for the next tree or four years. I'm still waiting to see what Nikon is going to do with mirrorless. The Nikon 1 appears to be dead. I don't see how they can afford not to go after the APS-C mirrorless market. That looks like where the size/weight/performance/cost sweet spot is going to be for the next decade or so, but you never know.

Granted! The NX500 is still up there with the best and a true bargain , but I`m seeing a few like new NX300 "complete"  kits to be had for  $200 +/- .

For budget conscious /casual shooters like myself , it`s as good as it gets .

Waiting on Nikon myself!