I sold my Panasonic LX-3 a few weeks ago and almost immediately I was in regret mode without my "little flying dagger".
Then found out that the Samsung EX-1 just arrived in Singapore last week ..... checked around and did some research......... wow, a possible worthy challenger to the LX-3 from the spec sheet
Picked one up at MS Color AMK Hub - $650 nett during its first few days of launch (not their fault, I just wanted to be an early bird so coughed up the premium) ... (13 June 2010 update.... promotion offers at $499 at PC Fair and below $600 at reputable retailers)
Package came with following freebies..... 1x 8Gig SDHC card, 1 extra OEM Battery, 1 very nice Samsung camera bag (in Billingham khaki colors) ..... ha ha ha plus one Spin of the Lucky Draw wheel at AMK Hub during the Singapore Sale (won myself an ice-cream cone)
From a money perspective, its great value-for-money given its features, freebies vs price when compared to its Japanese rivals
This is not a loan/publicity set ..........so comments and feedback will be unbiased on things/functions that can be improved via firmware or should have thought about during manufacture
If you are a sick 'Button Lover' who likes loads and loads of buttons on your camera ....... the EX1 will not disappoint.
The LX-3 was my "Little Flying Dagger" camera .......... its a giant of a small camera ....I hope that the EX1 can stand up to this comparison from a hands-on perspective
-------------------
Main Positive Points :
1. 24mm f1.8 lens
2. tilt and swivel AMOLED screen which blows ANY current existing on-camera (compact) LCD screen out of the water
3. dedicated exposure compensation wheel (EV +/-)
4. dedicated AEL Lock button
5. dedicated video start/stop button
6. dedicated metering mode button
7. CAN ZOOM when shooting video
8. can charge off a PC or Laptop via USB port
9. seriously sexy looking in either dark gray or Black (I bought the Black) .... and totally pocketable (IF you are not wearing skin-tight jeans)
10. dials and buttons are FIRM and is not fiddly .... its difficult to accidentally change settings
11. no Smile Detection/shutter (Thank god)
12. have more choices of grid lines instead of the usual 2x2.... also have 3x3
13. Short and sharp menu notes on what the various functions mean ..... no lecture notes on how to shoot which is good
14. Rubberized grip is large enough to give a firm hold of the camera
15. Yes there is a HOT SHOE COVER..... it is SOLID and clicks into place firmly ..... it is not easy to lose this thing once in place (thank you Samsung for NOT making this a $5 optional accessory)
16. 1Gig Internal Storage (have not found this claim in the cam yet, will search)
17. You can customize RGB levels in-camera
18. Custom WB is easier and quick although it would have been better if it were quickly accessible through one of those dedicated buttons (Eg including WB selection in Fn button would be great... hint hint... firmware upgrade)
19. Lenscap stays on camera (does NOT pop off) and camera does not activate IF you ACCIDENTALLY turn on the camera with lenscap still attached
--------------------
Main Negative Points:
1. CD Driver in box was in Korean
2. no seperate charger.... you have to plug the charging wire INTO the camera (possible positive point depending on how you look at it
3. TOO SHORT charging wire (30cm .....copper wire must be expensive nowadays )
4. Flash compensation was in blobs of whole stops up to +/- 2 Stops
5. On Board Menu is in a depressing cobalt blue color (at night in a fusion bar yes it looks cool, in BROAD DAYLIGHT and any other time.... it looks depressing and spoils my mood.... future firmware should allow for other colors or the standard black background with white fonts
6. Self-Timer choices are 2sec and 10sec.......... should also include a 5sec choice as well
7. CANNOT find the 16:9 image aspect ratio (note: found it at last in Resolution section of Menu 16:9 perspective produces 7mb images)
8. NO flash red-eye on/off selector
9. Samsung camera marketing is poor and likely inexperienced in noise-making for its newer , more advanced cameras......
a. no beta/test sets available outside of the Korean-speaking world since its announcement in Feb
b. no display units at Samsung Showroom (Vivo City)
c. Showroom staff did not even know that the camera was in some stores already in Singapore
d. Its 4 June today and looking at Samsung.com/sg there is still NO information on the EX1 on its website
10. have to poke the zoom switch to move/activate some of the functions ..... why not just let the 'OK/Set' button do that job ????
11. Start up time is a little sluggish....
12. with the flash unit popped up...... making an exposure seems to happen ONLY when shutter button is released fully..... NOT at point of depressing fully the shutter button... will need to check it out more tomorrow
13. no Bulb mode
14. Cannot close apature down beyond f6.7 ...(cant get to f8 for example)
-------------------------------
Unknown Points:
1. Image quality (will find out over the next few days)
2. Lens performance (ditto above)
3. Quickness and Ease of use with so many buttons on-camera (ditto above)
4. Technical Support ( this is a BIG question mark as Samsung also services, washing machines, regrigerators, Tvs, blue-ray players, phones etc etc etc) ...... I pray that technical support is sufficient for its camera division
---------------
Pics and other comments to follow over the next few days
---------------
Other specs below pulled from Dpreview
Max resolution 3648 x 2736
Low resolution 3648 x 2052, 3264 x 2448, 2592 x 1944, 2048 x 1536, 1920x 1080, 1024 x 768
Image ratio w:h 4:3, 16:9
Effective pixels 10.0 million
Sensor photo detectors
Sensor size 1/1.7 " (7.60 x 5.70 mm, 0.43 cm²)
Pixel density 23 MP/cm²
Sensor type CCD
ISO rating Auto, 80, 100, 200, 400, 800, 1600, 3200
Zoom wide (W) 24 mm
Zoom tele (T) 72 mm (3 x)
Digital zoom Yes, 3x
Image stabilization Yes, Lens
Auto Focus TTL (Multi, Center, Selective)
Manual Focus Yes
Normal focus range 80 cm
Macro focus range 1 cm
White balance override 5 positions plus custom
Aperture range F1.8 - F2.4
Min shutter 8 sec
Max shutter 1/1500 sec
Built-in Flash Yes
Flash range 5.2 m
External flash Yes, Hot-shoe
Flash modes Auto, On, Off, Red-eye, Fill-in, Slow syncro, Manual
Exposure compensation -2 to +2 EV in 1/3 EV Steps
Metering Multi, Center, Spot
Aperture priority Yes
Shutter priority Yes
Continuous Drive Yes
Movie Clips Yes, 640 x 480 (30fps), 320 x 240 - H.264 format
Remote control Unknown
Self-timer Yes, 10 sec, 2 sec
Timelapse recording Unknown
Orientation sensor Yes
Storage types SD/SDHC, internal
Storage included 1 GB internal
Uncompressed format Yes, RAW
Viewfinder None
LCD 3 "
LCD Dots 614,000
Live View No
USB USB 2.0 (480Mbit/sec)
HDMI Yes
Environmentally sealed No
Battery Lithium-Ion SLB-07A battery & charger
Weight (inc. batteries) 210 g (7.4 oz)
Dimensions 114 x 63 x 29 mm (4.5 x 2.5 x 1.1 in)
Here's what the cam looks like......... check out more images in Samsung's own website
Then found out that the Samsung EX-1 just arrived in Singapore last week ..... checked around and did some research......... wow, a possible worthy challenger to the LX-3 from the spec sheet
Picked one up at MS Color AMK Hub - $650 nett during its first few days of launch (not their fault, I just wanted to be an early bird so coughed up the premium) ... (13 June 2010 update.... promotion offers at $499 at PC Fair and below $600 at reputable retailers)
Package came with following freebies..... 1x 8Gig SDHC card, 1 extra OEM Battery, 1 very nice Samsung camera bag (in Billingham khaki colors) ..... ha ha ha plus one Spin of the Lucky Draw wheel at AMK Hub during the Singapore Sale (won myself an ice-cream cone)
From a money perspective, its great value-for-money given its features, freebies vs price when compared to its Japanese rivals
This is not a loan/publicity set ..........so comments and feedback will be unbiased on things/functions that can be improved via firmware or should have thought about during manufacture
If you are a sick 'Button Lover' who likes loads and loads of buttons on your camera ....... the EX1 will not disappoint.
The LX-3 was my "Little Flying Dagger" camera .......... its a giant of a small camera ....I hope that the EX1 can stand up to this comparison from a hands-on perspective
-------------------
Main Positive Points :
1. 24mm f1.8 lens
2. tilt and swivel AMOLED screen which blows ANY current existing on-camera (compact) LCD screen out of the water
3. dedicated exposure compensation wheel (EV +/-)
4. dedicated AEL Lock button
5. dedicated video start/stop button
6. dedicated metering mode button
7. CAN ZOOM when shooting video
8. can charge off a PC or Laptop via USB port
9. seriously sexy looking in either dark gray or Black (I bought the Black) .... and totally pocketable (IF you are not wearing skin-tight jeans)
10. dials and buttons are FIRM and is not fiddly .... its difficult to accidentally change settings
11. no Smile Detection/shutter (Thank god)
12. have more choices of grid lines instead of the usual 2x2.... also have 3x3
13. Short and sharp menu notes on what the various functions mean ..... no lecture notes on how to shoot which is good
14. Rubberized grip is large enough to give a firm hold of the camera
15. Yes there is a HOT SHOE COVER..... it is SOLID and clicks into place firmly ..... it is not easy to lose this thing once in place (thank you Samsung for NOT making this a $5 optional accessory)
16. 1Gig Internal Storage (have not found this claim in the cam yet, will search)
17. You can customize RGB levels in-camera
18. Custom WB is easier and quick although it would have been better if it were quickly accessible through one of those dedicated buttons (Eg including WB selection in Fn button would be great... hint hint... firmware upgrade)
19. Lenscap stays on camera (does NOT pop off) and camera does not activate IF you ACCIDENTALLY turn on the camera with lenscap still attached
--------------------
Main Negative Points:
1. CD Driver in box was in Korean
2. no seperate charger.... you have to plug the charging wire INTO the camera (possible positive point depending on how you look at it
3. TOO SHORT charging wire (30cm .....copper wire must be expensive nowadays )
4. Flash compensation was in blobs of whole stops up to +/- 2 Stops
5. On Board Menu is in a depressing cobalt blue color (at night in a fusion bar yes it looks cool, in BROAD DAYLIGHT and any other time.... it looks depressing and spoils my mood.... future firmware should allow for other colors or the standard black background with white fonts
6. Self-Timer choices are 2sec and 10sec.......... should also include a 5sec choice as well
7. CANNOT find the 16:9 image aspect ratio (note: found it at last in Resolution section of Menu 16:9 perspective produces 7mb images)
8. NO flash red-eye on/off selector
9. Samsung camera marketing is poor and likely inexperienced in noise-making for its newer , more advanced cameras......
a. no beta/test sets available outside of the Korean-speaking world since its announcement in Feb
b. no display units at Samsung Showroom (Vivo City)
c. Showroom staff did not even know that the camera was in some stores already in Singapore
d. Its 4 June today and looking at Samsung.com/sg there is still NO information on the EX1 on its website
10. have to poke the zoom switch to move/activate some of the functions ..... why not just let the 'OK/Set' button do that job ????
11. Start up time is a little sluggish....
12. with the flash unit popped up...... making an exposure seems to happen ONLY when shutter button is released fully..... NOT at point of depressing fully the shutter button... will need to check it out more tomorrow
13. no Bulb mode
14. Cannot close apature down beyond f6.7 ...(cant get to f8 for example)
-------------------------------
Unknown Points:
1. Image quality (will find out over the next few days)
2. Lens performance (ditto above)
3. Quickness and Ease of use with so many buttons on-camera (ditto above)
4. Technical Support ( this is a BIG question mark as Samsung also services, washing machines, regrigerators, Tvs, blue-ray players, phones etc etc etc) ...... I pray that technical support is sufficient for its camera division
---------------
Pics and other comments to follow over the next few days
---------------
Other specs below pulled from Dpreview
Max resolution 3648 x 2736
Low resolution 3648 x 2052, 3264 x 2448, 2592 x 1944, 2048 x 1536, 1920x 1080, 1024 x 768
Image ratio w:h 4:3, 16:9
Effective pixels 10.0 million
Sensor photo detectors
Sensor size 1/1.7 " (7.60 x 5.70 mm, 0.43 cm²)
Pixel density 23 MP/cm²
Sensor type CCD
ISO rating Auto, 80, 100, 200, 400, 800, 1600, 3200
Zoom wide (W) 24 mm
Zoom tele (T) 72 mm (3 x)
Digital zoom Yes, 3x
Image stabilization Yes, Lens
Auto Focus TTL (Multi, Center, Selective)
Manual Focus Yes
Normal focus range 80 cm
Macro focus range 1 cm
White balance override 5 positions plus custom
Aperture range F1.8 - F2.4
Min shutter 8 sec
Max shutter 1/1500 sec
Built-in Flash Yes
Flash range 5.2 m
External flash Yes, Hot-shoe
Flash modes Auto, On, Off, Red-eye, Fill-in, Slow syncro, Manual
Exposure compensation -2 to +2 EV in 1/3 EV Steps
Metering Multi, Center, Spot
Aperture priority Yes
Shutter priority Yes
Continuous Drive Yes
Movie Clips Yes, 640 x 480 (30fps), 320 x 240 - H.264 format
Remote control Unknown
Self-timer Yes, 10 sec, 2 sec
Timelapse recording Unknown
Orientation sensor Yes
Storage types SD/SDHC, internal
Storage included 1 GB internal
Uncompressed format Yes, RAW
Viewfinder None
LCD 3 "
LCD Dots 614,000
Live View No
USB USB 2.0 (480Mbit/sec)
HDMI Yes
Environmentally sealed No
Battery Lithium-Ion SLB-07A battery & charger
Weight (inc. batteries) 210 g (7.4 oz)
Dimensions 114 x 63 x 29 mm (4.5 x 2.5 x 1.1 in)
Here's what the cam looks like......... check out more images in Samsung's own website
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