NX3000

I've got rid of nearly all my NX gear.  Strangely it is the 30mm lens that I haven't managed to sell.  I was all ready to move over to M43, but...

I don't know why I haven't.

In the meantime I've picked up an NX3000 for £30.  Surely that's a bargain?  Anyone got any experience with it?

Kovno wrote:

I've got rid of nearly all my NX gear. Strangely it is the 30mm lens that I haven't managed to sell. I was all ready to move over to M43, but...

I can understand leaving Samsung for Sony or Fujifilm, but M43? What is the benefit? Unless you want to witness the death of Olympus?

I don't know why I haven't.

30mm f/2 is my favourite NX lens, by the way.

In the meantime I've picked up an NX3000 for £30. Surely that's a bargain?

That is a bargain. It will take better images than ANY M43 camera ever built

Brilliant bargain! I have the nx3000 and it's fantastic. Coupled with the 30mm you have an awesome compact camera and arguably the sharpest lens on the system!

Kovno wrote:

I loved my NX500 but it developed a few faults and it felt like the time to move on.

Fair enough

M43 seemed the best option for a number of reasons. Mainly the IBIS and the wide variety of affordable and compact lenses.

I had an E-PL8 for a short while but I didn't like the UI. I'm sure I'd have got used to it but I decided to sell it on.

Every system has it's strengths and weaknesses. I have realised that most features, and even image quality are not that important to me. I just want a smallish camera that feels good in the hand. But I definitely want a good all round zoom lens with a decent reach and Samsung is lacking that. The other thing that, surprisingly, I really value is in camera USB charging. Putting all that together it seems like the GX80 would suit me nicely.

But, here I am, still attracted to NX!

Well, for that menu (small size + zoom with good reach + USB charging) M43 does suit especially when you don't value image quality above everything else.

For my use, the only real complaint I have from NX system is its poor AF performance in low-light conditions. The cameras just give up! For good light, there isn't a better APS-C camera than NX1 and NX500.

Kovno wrote:

I had the 16mm, 30mm and 50-200mm, which covered most of what I needed. But constantly changing lenses was a pain. The 18-200 could have worked but it just seemed a bit silly to spend £400+ on a dead system. And the equivalent lens in M43 is half the weight. I still think it is the way to go for me, but I'll be happy to play around with NX3000 and 30mm. It could be a nice street combination. (My 30mm is still up on eb@y at £100 if anyone is interested!)

That 18/200 is a good bit bigger than I like to carry (as is also the 50/200, to be honest) - but if you're still interested....

Samsung 18-200mm f3.5-6.3 ED OIS

Condition: **** (Good condition)

Next working day home delivery available... £179.99

https://www.lcegroup.co.uk/Used/Samsung-18-200mm-f3.5-6.3-ED-OIS_255380.html

Peter

Isola Verde wrote:

Kovno wrote:

I had the 16mm, 30mm and 50-200mm, which covered most of what I needed. But constantly changing lenses was a pain. The 18-200 could have worked but it just seemed a bit silly to spend £400+ on a dead system. And the equivalent lens in M43 is half the weight. I still think it is the way to go for me, but I'll be happy to play around with NX3000 and 30mm. It could be a nice street combination. (My 30mm is still up on eb@y at £100 if anyone is interested!)

That 18/200 is a good bit bigger than I like to carry (as is also the 50/200, to be honest) - but if you're still interested....

Samsung 18-200mm f3.5-6.3 ED OIS

In Samsung NX world, it's the best lens for video work. I used it for years before buying a Sony a68+Sony 16-50mm f/2.8 SSM.

Isola Verde wrote:

Kovno wrote:

I had the 16mm, 30mm and 50-200mm, which covered most of what I needed. But constantly changing lenses was a pain. The 18-200 could have worked but it just seemed a bit silly to spend £400+ on a dead system. And the equivalent lens in M43 is half the weight. I still think it is the way to go for me, but I'll be happy to play around with NX3000 and 30mm. It could be a nice street combination. (My 30mm is still up on eb@y at £100 if anyone is interested!)

That 18/200 is a good bit bigger than I like to carry (as is also the 50/200, to be honest) - but if you're still interested....

Samsung 18-200mm f3.5-6.3 ED OIS

Condition: **** (Good condition)

Next working day home delivery available... £179.99

https://www.lcegroup.co.uk/Used/Samsung-18-200mm-f3.5-6.3-ED-OIS_255380.html

Peter

That's a nice price!

Massao wrote:

Isola Verde wrote:

Kovno wrote:

I had the 16mm, 30mm and 50-200mm, which covered most of what I needed. But constantly changing lenses was a pain. The 18-200 could have worked but it just seemed a bit silly to spend £400+ on a dead system. And the equivalent lens in M43 is half the weight. I still think it is the way to go for me, but I'll be happy to play around with NX3000 and 30mm. It could be a nice street combination. (My 30mm is still up on eb@y at £100 if anyone is interested!)

That 18/200 is a good bit bigger than I like to carry (as is also the 50/200, to be honest) - but if you're still interested....

Samsung 18-200mm f3.5-6.3 ED OIS

In Samsung NX world, it's the best lens for video work. I used it for years before buying a Sony a68+Sony 16-50mm f/2.8 SSM.

It's one of my favourite lenses. If I had one complaint it would be that the zoom isn't electronic. If it were like the pz16-50 that would be great for video.

Olympus has already debunked the going out of business scenario.  I've had Olympus cameras for close to 50 years now and when it went to digital I must have witnessed the rampant speculation at least a half-dozen times about them going out of business.  Of course, none of that came to fruition because their medical division relies on them for R&D, etc.  But more so, Olympus keeps on innovating, as they were the ones that:

1.  Invented (and still have the best version) the Dustbuster internal sensor cleaning mechanism.  Of course, when released, the other brands labeled it as a "gimmick," but what'ya know...just about all brands emplloy dustbusters....

2.  Invented "Live View" - and again, the competition labeled it as a gimmick, but wow...look who is using live view now?  All of the brands!

3.  Invented internal pixel mapping in which you can map out hot pixels via your menu.  With other brands (at the time), you'd have to send your cameras into repair - but with Olympus you did it yourself within seconds.  And what-ya know....you guessed it, it was labeled as another gimmick by the competition.  But since then a few of the brands have incorporated this feature in their options set.

I could go on and on and on, but suffice it to say, Olympus has been in the forefront of camera technological design.

Now keep in mind, I base my comments on having used a variety of equipment - and I do NOT speculate on gear that I've never used or owned (which unfortunately, occurs all too often on these forums).

I shoot with Samsung NX (NX 30, NX500, and NX Mini), the Fuji X system, the Canon EOS M system, and various Micro 4/3 cameras from both Olympus and Panasonic.  I've found Micro 4/3 to be an exceptionally viable option and can stand up to the best of them IQ-wise.  And talk about lens availability - wow, they have a massive collection from Olympus, Panasonic, and other 3rd party makers.

The other day I had to do a photo shoot at one of the most photographed historical locations in the county I live in.  It's of an old Grist Mill in a county park.  They (the parks system) choose mine as part of their ongoing marketing program - all taken with 20 MP Olympus Pen F, using a Panasonic Lumix 12-60 F3.5-5.6 OIS lens (equivalent to a 24-120 MM focal reach).

Here are some samples of that shoot.

Very nice images; thanks for sharing 😊.

I’m sure they are good cameras in many ways…I’m just not convinced about using smaller sensors than APS-C. This has nothing to do with Olympus as such. They have a history of making quality photographic equipment, no doubt about that.

M4/3 has certain advantages like a wider lens availability, higher buffer, probably best video MILC cameras (Panasonic) etc but there are two big caveats:

(1) it was supposed to be a system for birders, and long tele users, but that never really happened. As a side note,  an m4/3 crop from NX500 is 16MP, which makes the 18-200mm lens on NX500 with m4/3 crop a FF equivalent 36-400mm lens...not bad is it?

(2) Ultra wide-angle lenses are very difficult to design, and hence rarely available. I’m not sure if they even have a FF equivalent 12mm lens? Sigma has a 8-16mm (FF equivalent of 12-24mm) APS-C lens for many mounts.

I might buy a m4/3 camera someday just for video but is it viable as the “only” system one owns? I don’t think so..unless one has a very limited use (No ultra wide angle work, no birding, no portraits (DOF limitations), etc). Beause of these reasons, I don’t rate the whole “system” very high.

Kovno wrote:

Massao wrote:

Very nice images; thanks for sharing 😊.

I’m sure they are good cameras in many ways…I’m just not convinced about using smaller sensors than APS-C. This has nothing to do with Olympus as such. They have a history of making quality photographic equipment, no doubt about that.

M4/3 has certain advantages like a wider lens availability, higher buffer, probably best video MILC cameras (Panasonic) etc but there are two big caveats:

(1) it was supposed to be a system for birders, and long tele users, but that never really happened. As a side note, an m4/3 crop from NX500 is 16MP, which makes the 18-200mm lens on NX500 with m4/3 crop a FF equivalent 36-400mm lens...not bad is it?

(2) Ultra wide-angle lenses are very difficult to design, and hence rarely available. I’m not sure if they even have a FF equivalent 12mm lens? Sigma has a 8-16mm (FF equivalent of 12-24mm) APS-C lens for many mounts.

I might buy a m4/3 camera someday just for video but is it viable as the “only” system one owns? I don’t think so..unless one has a very limited use (No ultra wide angle work, no birding, no portraits (DOF limitations), etc). Beause of these reasons, I don’t rate the whole “system” very high.

... but I don't see the need to put down any other system.

Just my humble opinion:-)

Samsung can't get near that, sadly.

True, and that's what I dislike about NX system. Not enough lenses

There will come a time when we all move on from NX.

Certainly. I do use other systems also because NX system has its limitations.

But when I do, it will almost certainly be for M43.

Fair enough. I think if I ever go for a big change then it would be dumping all my current gear and get on board with Sony E system. Not there yet though