went for a canon... left with a Samsung?!?

emraphoto

emraphoto

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well you have all witnessed my Ep-1 hissy fit. i spent the day with the little lass again today but it just didn't work out. it was a mutual thing.

so, off i went to muck about with cameras and waste the sale clerks time. i was pretty straight on the s90 and before plunkin' down for the little lady i inquired... "anything else you reckon i should see"?

the EX1, tl 500000whatever pops outta NOWHERE! never even heard of this thing (mental note, spend more time on internet looking at cameras). sadly now manual focus... but wait. what it does have is a bewilderingly fast af. i mean F-A-S-T. prefocus and shoot OR actually use the af on the camera!!!

24mm f1.8. responsive and understandable interface (it's still a computer and you can program shutter "ringtones" etc) makes for a pretty decent camera. 1... yes, 1! light and the screen actually flips around and out of the way.

same sensor as s90.

well, going to stick to my old "actually try it out" approach and frankly i don't hate it. i actually kind of like it. put an optical finder in the shoe, flipped the screen around and blew 3 shots outside before the battery said forget about it, plug me in (which is interesting).

so, i'll offer up my thoughts as i try it out. maybe some folks doing their homework will find it remotely interesting.

here's a few photos. not sure what they tell you really, consider them free entertainment.

a Samsung? who would of thought?
 

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i just found about this camera this week as well, it seems to have been overlooked by the masses. luminous landscape has a very favorable review that definitely piqued my interest. hope it works for you.
 
My digi is the Samsung NV7 and I have been mostly very happy with it. This could be its successor for me...
Keep us posted on how you get along with it, please!
Rob
 
1 caveat that seems a glaring issue is Samsungs decision to not have Mac supported software available. Presumably they are working away on that. I am yet to discover a work around for RAW and that is a fairly big issue for me. If anyone knows of one feel free to chime in. Hopefully Samsung won't drag their heels for too long (of course a WTF?!? is apropos at this point).

I won't spend too much time on IQ as the particular sensor has been well documented and truthfully I am pretty low-fi.

I have the Olympus VF-1 in the hotshoe and the zoom is stepped. The whole finder view seemS to match up with the 24mm and the 35 lines are pretty accurate as well. The flash WILL NOT rise with this particular finder in place. It (the Oly finder) sit pretty low and a VC version might allow more clearance.

In the hand it seems to fit fairly well with all dials being reachable while shooting. I would prefer for the front wheel to control the aperture vs the rear command wheel when in AE. This may be a simple change in the manual but I haven't found it yet.

In AE or M the auto focus is FAST. The fastest I have encountered on a P&S. So fast that the lack of MF doesn't seem to matter that much. When on the move where traditionally I would scale focus I simply point it at the pavement and lock it at a reasonable distance (in relation to subjects) and recompose. Takes a fraction of a secod really and the DOF field from the lens and small sensor does the rest. Truthfully though I have been relying on the AF as it is VERY fast an the shutter seems to be release priority.
 
I just saw some very favorable reports (and images). I have the S90, but would be very interested in the new Samsung except for the size issue. From reports i've read, it's supposed to be significantly larger than the S90. Not pocketable. Larger than the LX3. Is that right? Doesn't matter much if you tend to keep such things in a bag or on a strap, but i wanted the S90 specifically to be able to pocket it and forget it.

I didn't know there was no Mac support. I just checked the Adobe RAW support list and don't see it. I was hoping the (free) Hasselblad Focus app would be able to read it, but it only works with Apple's RAW-supported cameras.
 
It's about the size of a fuji Klasse series camera. Definately bigger than the S90 and not "pocketable" with or without the finder. I actually found myself thinking about that last night when out and about. I may still fetch an S90 yet for that reason.

It's still a "menu driven" camera that's for sure but it seems to have sorted out a decent compromise. I have always paid little heed to the AF speed issue but in this instance Samsung seems to have used it to their advantage. It's very fast and for my needs it seems to negate the lack of MF.

Th real issue so far is the lack of mac RAW support or suitable work around. I have a week or so with it and so far I don't want to return it. I will email Samsung later and guage their response regarding any forthcoming mac support. It it is clearly in the pipe so to speak I reckon I will be happy with the EX-1.
 
Sounds like an interesting camera. Re lack of Mac support - in the end the solution is to own Lightroom or Aperture. Just shoot raw+jpg until the update of Lightroom or Aperture supports the new camera, then throw away the jpg's. Of course this assumes that you are not using the camera to make a living in the meantime...

Kirk
 
...how is iso 800 on it compared to the lx3?

I tried the S90, but just couldn't get comfortable with it... my thumb kept on moving the control wheel @ the rear of the camera.
 
Can't wait to see more shots. They say its like a cross between s90 and Lx3.
 
well that was a breif glimmer of hope. it asks you to sign in with a bunch of info (which i am loathe to do) and after i finally caved and did it, it continued to say "serial number incorrect". over and over again.

hey Samsung! any one listening... make you cameras with universal usb cords, software and file formats. the propriety file and mac trouble can't possibly be helping sales right now?
 
so as it turns out i sort of like this little bugger. getting the software sorted will be a priority over the coming days and i will use it out in the "real work" this week (assignment stuff).

the fast lens combined with the sensor (s90 fame) makes the dim part of the compact world finally (in my opinion).
 
no photographers were harmed during this...
 

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