What are your arguments ...

...pro and contra for buying a no longer produced, out of support NX 300 to NX500 Samsung camera line ?

Many thanks for your answers,

Rudi.

Pro's - it's likely to be cheap, including good battery & charger.

Con's - it'll need to be cheap or it'll need to have a couple of decent lenses with it. If it fails within a few weeks/months it'll be mostly a total loss situation!

I bought my NX's as a cheap digital platform for my old Russian r/f lenses. If I needed to replace the body it'd have to be cheap else I might as well get something better supported, where there's at least a chance of repair if necessary!

The only valid reason I can think of for buying one of these bodies is to replace a failed unit, where a selection of compatible lenses already exists and there's no real option to change system completely.

Pros - still competitive image and video quality, good selection of lenses.

Cons - no warranty and the best nx bodies and lenses are still expensive.

I'm stuck in the nx system but quite happily stuck. It would be a huge upheaval for me to switch systems right now and while my kit is still working, I'll hang on to it.

I'm using nx500 and I'm going to buy more lens for it. I think it's worthwhile because of the cheap price(only 150$ for 60mm) and the great image quality it can produce (not inferior to a6300,I think) and there are many good lens in the system. Since there's no support, it might be a problem when your camera is broken. But it never bother me. I have found a place to mend it in secondhand market and I've tried it twice, once nx500 screen was broken, I have it repaired, and the result is very good. Also, the chance for your camera broken is very low if you perserve it well.

What can really be a disadvantage is the camera's focus ability(with some lens), which is not as good as its competitors now and I don't feel quite happy with it.

I haven't found the AF too bad with most of the lenses. I suppose the smaller primes (16,20,30) aren't the best at AF and it's best to use these in SAF mode; they're not great for video. However, the 45mm is fast, the two s lenses are fantastic, even the kit 16-50 is good.

I guess we'll see more and more features released from other manufacturers that will leave the NX cameras behind, but in terms of true image quality, I still think they are competitive today.

Rudi wrote:

kypfer wrote:

Pro's - it's likely to be cheap, including good battery & charger.

Con's - it'll need to be cheap or it'll need to have a couple of decent lenses with it. If it fails within a few weeks/months it'll be mostly a total loss situation!

I bought my NX's as a cheap digital platform for my old Russian r/f lenses. If I needed to replace the body it'd have to be cheap else I might as well get something better supported, where there's at least a chance of repair if necessary!

The only valid reason I can think of for buying one of these bodies is to replace a failed unit, where a selection of compatible lenses already exists and there's no real option to change system completely.

,,,now - support and service aside did you watch this video ?

https://www.dpreview.com/videos/5743793685/dpreview-tv-best-camera-under-500-in-2021

No, I didn't see the video. I've little interest in opinions about gear I'm unlikely to ever meet, let alone use!

Does it somehow sound familiar to you ? And between the FZ300 from 2015 and 2014 NXs there is not so much time gone. And with any used NX in good conditions, at least you get an APSC sensor. As the many offers of NX-cameras proof, they last long and don´t have many issues.

But what NXs offer is a pretty good image quality and are to have for much less than $500,- USD. So they make a good, cheap back up system.

Rudi.

My Pentax system gives me a choice of s/h APS-C bodies well below $500 … indeed the K-70 has been available new at that sort of price in recent times … and as for lenses, I can use (virtually) any PK-mount lens from the last 35 years without any adaptors.

I don't "do video", so those capabilities are of no interest or consequence to me.

The NX system was great for what it was, a system of high-quality lightweight compact cameras with no long telephoto a/f lenses available and very little third-party support.

Rudi wrote:

...pro and contra for buying a no longer produced, out of support NX 300 to NX500 Samsung camera line ?

Many thanks for your answers,

Rudi.

Sorry I'm late to the discussion...

Pros: Can find good deals on them as people migrate to other systems. Occasionally find a new unit at a discount when sellers are clearing house. Smaller and lighter than many APS-C alternatives out there. User friendly.

Cons: No firmware updates (and no apparent archives of firmware releases, either). No new lenses and some of the available lenses are hard to find. No warranty or support, so when it fails, it's a paperweight.

I've had unusually bad luck with Samsung products in particular, and investing in the NX system was the most recent burn I've gotten. I still believe that Samsung gave up on the mirrorless market too soon. My NX300 is still a decent camera but it is starting to fail. It's now a backup for me instead of my primary camera.

No firmware updates (and no apparent archives of firmware releases, either).

A clarification - you can find the last version of the firmware out there, but previous versions aren't readily available and there will be no new ones beyond what's there now, so if you find a bug in the firmware you're stuck.