Samsung NX1 Day

"This content is created with the Samsung NX1, which has been provided by Samsung Electronics Co. Ltd."

After a long wait, the Samsung thing is pretty much now over. I know some of you were interested on how I found the camera though, so I have a couple of posts lined up for next week rounding it all up with my "conclusions" at the end of the week.

I have had the camera for a few months now, but due to an impromptu photographic day we hosted yesterday, decided to tag along with only the Samsung NX1 in my hand to put it through a days paces. All the photos here were taken yesterday.

A brief bit for the photographers out there. These were all shot in jpeg... I usually shoot RAW, but the editing software I use can not yet read the NX1 RAW file. I did try installing lightroom (which can read it) but the learning curve was took much for me to pick up in a short time frame... I am not an editor! 

I don't think this hampers me much though for the NX1, as I do minimal... and I really do mean minimal editing. Simple crops, and on occasion a slight tweak in contrast and or saturation. That is it. I prefer to get it how I want it in camera. 

"This content is created with the Samsung NX1, which has been provided by Samsung Electronics Co. Ltd."

The first thing I want to say is about the screen on the back... It is brilliant! I will admit I was the first to think, "what a gimmick". Thought I would never use it, but I found myself using it quite a bit to save lying down or contorting my body into awkward shapes just to get a photo. It is the best screen on the back of a camera I have seen, so vivid and clear.

It is a touch screen, so you can set it up to focus where you touch on the screen and even to take the photo too. The results are great, and no lack in quality compared to using the view finder. When I could use the viewfinder though, I did... just too used to it I guess. Also the bright sun can hamper using the screen in in the wrong place.

The screen can only be pulled out slightly, and tilted upwards as in the photo above. Would be nice if it was more flexible, especially for low angle portrait shots.

I quickly noticed too that it saps the battery life! The camera is mirror less, so the battery doesn't last as long as a mirrored camera anyway, but with using the screen about half the time for approximately 800 photos... It only just lasted the day from a full charge!

"This content is created with the Samsung NX1, which has been provided by Samsung Electronics Co. Ltd."

Being mirror less, looking through the view finder you are looking at a little digital screen. If you come from a mirror camera... this takes some getting used too. I could tell it wasn't the "real thing" I was seeing, but I did get used to it.

The positive thing about it is you can see the changes you make in the camera, and what the image will look like. If you lower the exposure for example, then the viewfinder shows the darker image just as it will be captured. You have to use experience to know what it will look like on a mirror camera. No problem for those that have done it for a while, but tricky for beginners.

What I did find difficult though was that when you take a photo, for a fraction of time... maybe even only a millisecond, it showed the image you took in the view finder before changing back to the live feed. It was so brief many may not notice even, but being used to not having this it really stuck out to me. Not too bad for portraits, but for action shots it really throws you off guard. If an animal was moving, I had to predict where it was going to be in the frame for each shot, as I could only see the last image I took. To be honest, this pretty much made it hopeless for fast moving animals unless they were coming straight towards you on the same line.

You can see with the panning shot above... I would keep the focus on the head normally, and tried to here, but having to guess where the fox was for each shot mean't I was nearly always wrong... focus being on the body for this one. Any I did get was luck.

"This content is created with the Samsung NX1, which has been provided by Samsung Electronics Co. Ltd."

15 frames per second is great though, really good in fact. I will talk more about this in the next post, but it really does give you options in some situations.

"This content is created with the Samsung NX1, which has been provided by Samsung Electronics Co. Ltd."

You can focus fairly close, and it has all the options of a normal DSLR... so you can throw the backgrounds right out to create clear portraits.

I found that if I was taking a portrait where I didn't move, and the animal didn't move, and took 2 or 3 pics in a burst... nearly every time one of them would be out of focus slightly. Not sure why.

"This content is created with the Samsung NX1, which has been provided by Samsung Electronics Co. Ltd."

Yesterday really was a great day. Weather was kind to us, and the camera is so light weight for a DSLR that it was a pleasure to carry around all day.

The build quality is OK, but nothing compared to the 'big boys'. The pop up flash, although something I would never use, feels flimsy and the shutter button and on/off switch just don't feel as secure... good enough though. I would imagine it wouldn't do as well in poorer weather conditions... I would be more reluctant to take it out in the rains for example.

I also noticed that the larger lens, 50-150, often popped up a message on my screen saying "lens detached" and then "lens attached" again. Not the end of the world, but it did mean any focus I had was reset and I has to re focus. Just to note though... this did not happen on the kit lens, 16-50.

"This content is created with the Samsung NX1, which has been provided by Samsung Electronics Co. Ltd."

Talking of the focus. It is good... But just good...

In good conditions, it is spot on... really sharp photos and perfectly in focus. In slightly poorer conditions, low light or less contrasty, then it is not always spot on and sometimes a little soft. Sometimes takes a while searching for what you want it to focus on. This is true for many cameras of course, but for £2,500 I would expect more... like what I am used to.

Speed of focus is good... but just good...

As above. In clear conditions, obvious contrast, it is fast! But in difficult conditions, it struggles to keep up. You can still get your photos, but it is harder to get them.

I like backlight, and although I could still get these pictures, it was more of a struggle.

"This content is created with the Samsung NX1, which has been provided by Samsung Electronics Co. Ltd."

After a morning with the mammals, we spent an afternoon in the woods with the owls. A little darker, and some flying actions would really test the camera for wildlife.

"This content is created with the Samsung NX1, which has been provided by Samsung Electronics Co. Ltd."

ISO levels are actually quite good. Not as amazing as Samsung claim in their advertising, but then she is a cameras ISO ever as good as any company claim! I will mention more in the next post on this. Needless to say though, it coped just as well as most other cameras in low light.

"This content is created with the Samsung NX1, which has been provided by Samsung Electronics Co. Ltd."

Flying birds straight towards the camera is one of the hardest things to photograph in wildlife, and get real sharp images that are in focus. Not to be arrogant, but I can do it... and have done so many times, so know what to do (only through lots of practice in setting up our owl days).

The NX1 struggled... I had it set to 15fps, its maximum, but it was hindered by two things. Firstly, the image just taken popping up on the screen... as mentioned above, I had to guess where the owl would be as it flew towards me. Fairly predictable though as I sat where I knew it would come in a straight line.

So secondly... focus speed! It was just not fast enough to keep the owl in focus between each frame of 15fps. With my camera, I can rattle off a burst and know 4 or 5 will be sharp and in focus. But with the NX1, I would maybe get one in focus and then the rest would be out.

This is difficult though, and the light was not the best so difficult conditions too.

"This content is created with the Samsung NX1, which has been provided by Samsung Electronics Co. Ltd."

We tried the barn owl out in the fields with more light. Similar story, but a bit more success probably due to more light. Camera focused quicker and more accurately, but still just one, maybe two in each burst that were in focus.

I will just say though, you can change the fps down to 12, 10 or even 8... so this may help give the camera more time to focus between shots.

"This content is created with the Samsung NX1, which has been provided by Samsung Electronics Co. Ltd."

So back home, end of the day, and I was generally happy with what I took. More duds than usual, but I am still getting used to the camera. Had to put it on charge... and a pet hate... no separate charger was included with the kit! Had to plug the camera in to charge the batteries, meaning camera is out of action. You can buy a separate stand alone battery charger from Samsung, but for £2,500 you think they could of supplied one in with the kit!

"This content is created with the Samsung NX1, which has been provided by Samsung Electronics Co. Ltd."

Early next week I will continue with some thoughts... mainly about the 3 points Samsung seem to be pushing. The 28mp, 15fps and high ISO! Then finish at the end of the week with my overall conclusions of my time with the Samsung NX1.

Thanks for looking :-)

Samsung NX1... It begins...

Me with Flo and the NX1, photo taken by Gary K Mann

Samsung very kindly asked me to use their new flagship DSLR, the Samsung NX1, for an eight week period to see what I thought of it. I would provide them with some of the images I take each week, and in return they would allow me to keep the camera with the kit lens.

This was all organised the week before Christmas, and that is when I received the camera, but unfortunately the kit lens has only just arrived. It was an honour to be asked to do this for them, and I was really looking forward to it... and have really enjoyed using the NX1 for the past couple of months. They have since asked me just to upload enough images I have taken, and will take, to cover an eight week period. This is great, as it makes it easier for me... many images I already have for them on my hard drive... but does mean I will no longer be doing as many blog posts as I was originally intending on it.

I will however still do a few over the coming weeks, sharing some images, and sharing some thoughts on the Samsung NX1... a lot of people have asked me already what I think of it, and to sum the camera up in one word I would say "Promising!" :-)

This was the package that arrived for me on Christmas Eve... seems so long ago now, and what was inside...

The Samsung NX1 and vertical camera grip. I am not a camera geek I am afraid, so I will link in the camera name in this sentence the website with all the NX1's technical details etc for those interested. In short though it has a 28.2MP sensor, is mirror less and can shoot at 15fps!

And this is what arrived for me last week... the kit lens that goes with the camera. I believe the rrp for all the above is just shy of £2,500.

I am very fortunate that as a thank you I get to keep all the above.

In addition to this, Samsung have loaned me their 18-200mm lens and 50-150mm 'S' class lens. I asked for a longer reach, since I will be photographing animals, and they kindly agreed... they will be collecting these when I have finished, but I have had these since Christmas so have had a good 3 months with a working camera!

Samsung NX1, photo taken by Gary K Mann

I have not been afraid to put it through its paces, at the end of the day I have used it as I would the camera I normally use. It needs to stand up to that for what I photograph... at the same time though I went at it, and still look at it with an open mind. Try not to compare it to other cameras and rate it on it's own merits. I will be honest, I have been surprised at what it can do, and have very much enjoyed using it so far... Will it ever compete with the 'big boys' of Canon and Nikon... I don't know, but it certainly has a lot of potential!

"This content is created with the Samsung NX1, which has been provided by Samsung Electronics Co. Ltd."

This is one of the photographs i took with the first lens they loaned me, the 18-200mm. To be honest, this lens is not worth it... very poor at the long end of the range. I will post other photos later, but it wasn't too bad at the wide angle.

The first thing that struck me about the camera was the weight... it is so light for a DSLR! I guess because it is mirror less. And the fact that it is mirror less has taken a while to get used to. It has it's minuses, I'm not going to lie, but it also has it's pluses.

"This content is created with the Samsung NX1, which has been provided by Samsung Electronics Co. Ltd."

This photo above was taken with the 50-150mm 'S' class lens... much better, and a very good lens too! This is the lens I have been using, and will mainly use with the camera over the next few weeks. Initial thoughts, I like it... I like it a lot!

"This content is created with the Samsung NX1, which has been provided by Samsung Electronics Co. Ltd."

And this one was taken yesterday afternoon. I spent ten minutes in with our otters, just to quickly see what the 16-50mm lens was like, and again... at this very early stage of having only taken around a dozen photos, I think I will like this lens too.

I used the screen on the back of the camera for this photo, to see what I was photographing and compose the image. Something I thought was a bit of a gimmick and I would never use, but have to say I have found myself using it a lot over the past few weeks... especially to get the really low angles.. and it seems to take the photos just as well and sharp as if using the view finder. The screen on the back of the camera is absolutely gorgeous by the way! So vivid and sharp, and touch screen too, by far the best rear camera screen I have used.

"This content is created with the Samsung NX1, which has been provided by Samsung Electronics Co. Ltd."

Anyway, I will be uploading images to Samsung over the coming weeks, and will share in a few posts these images with you here as well as my thoughts on the Samsung NX1.

Thanks for looking :-)

A few more from the NX1

"This content is created with the Samsung NX1, which has been provided by Samsung Electronics Co. Ltd."

So another week, or is it three!.. And still no lens from Samsung. I have to say I am now very disappointed with how this is going. If they didn't have the equipment in stock, why get it all set up for us to start the week before Christmas! The image logging period should of been completed weeks a go now, and we still have not officially started.

Still, on the plus side, I still have the larger focal range lens Samsung has loaned me to use so I have had the chance to use the camera. And I now have a real understanding of it for my first official blog post about the NX1 for when the test period starts.

In the mean time, here are a few photos I took the other afternoon... simple portrait again, yet to try anything more tricky as want to keep it fresh for when it all kicks off.

"This content is created with the Samsung NX1, which has been provided by Samsung Electronics Co. Ltd."

"This content is created with the Samsung NX1, which has been provided by Samsung Electronics Co. Ltd."

"This content is created with the Samsung NX1, which has been provided by Samsung Electronics Co. Ltd."

"This content is created with the Samsung NX1, which has been provided by Samsung Electronics Co. Ltd."

A few from the NX1

"This content is created with the Samsung NX1, which has been provided by Samsung Electronics Co. Ltd."

Well, another few weeks have passed and still no Samsung lens... come on Samsung! Let's get this thing rolling :-)

Thankfully though they have lent me a 50-150mm 'S' class lens for the period of image logging, meaning I have been able to use the camera a bit and try it all out. Here are a few photos taken with the Samsung NX1 over the past few weeks. As soon as I get the go ahead and wide angle lens, I will let you know my thoughts and really put some time in to using this camera, but as I have said to some of you that have visited... so far I must confess I am impressed. There are things I like, things I don't like but overall it seems to be getting me images that I am pleased with and can use.

Above is Emmy, one of our female otters on the edge of the bank.

"This content is created with the Samsung NX1, which has been provided by Samsung Electronics Co. Ltd."

Frodo, one of our main foxes.

"This content is created with the Samsung NX1, which has been provided by Samsung Electronics Co. Ltd."

Aluco the tawny owl, taken on a very dark and gloomy afternoon.

"This content is created with the Samsung NX1, which has been provided by Samsung Electronics Co. Ltd."

Likewise with this one of Scrappy, the little owl.

"This content is created with the Samsung NX1, which has been provided by Samsung Electronics Co. Ltd."

A recent one of our kingfisher. Very restricted with the 150mm focal length, and this has been cropped a fair bit, but sometimes you have to make an image with what you have available. It's nice to place the animal in this habitat and not always go for the close up.

"This content is created with the Samsung NX1, which has been provided by Samsung Electronics Co. Ltd."

Not that there is anything wrong with a good ol' close portrait though :-) We only got a dusting of snow, hardly anything at all, but by changing shooting angles it was possible to make it look like we had a lot more than we actually did.

So, hopefully this will tie over till I am officially trying the NX1. I need the wide angle for some ideas I want to try out.

Thanks for looking

Kingfisher

"This content is created with the Samsung NX1, which has been provided by Samsung Electronics Co.Ltd"

We had a kingfisher visit one of our otter ponds on Saturday, isn't she a beauty!

Most of you know, I am a mammal man, don't get me wrong... I love all animals, but it is mammals that really get me excited. There is an exception to this though... the Kingfisher!

The kingfisher has and always will be one of my favourite animals. It is the reason why I now work with animals and am doing what I do today... Let me explain...

A long time a go now, I used to work on building sites. I have always loved wildlife, but guess never realised you could actually work with it and make a career out of it, so I worked helping a local builder for several years after college. One summer we were doing a renovation on an old cottage, using all old techniques... really interesting, and every break and lunch time we would all go out and sit on the large lawn out front that led down to a large pond. This pond had a kingfisher that used to visit each day at the same time we had our lunch, so I would just sit there and watch him dive, catch a fish and eat.

It was the highlight of my day, even after several weeks of being there I looked forward to seeing him with more enthusiasm and passion than anything else I had known. And then one lunch time it just clicked in my head... why not work with wildlife?.. There is obviously places out there that have this type of work, places that need people with a passion like mine for British wildlife. So after I had got over the "feeling stupid" stage of not realising this years a go, I went back to college to study animals and then went on from there... In other words, you could say it was a kingfisher that sparked off everything that got me to where I am today!

Anyway, a bit of an anecdote post today I guess, the photos are... well see for yourself, not great, but the experience (and that is still what I take photographs for today) was incredible! Bear with the first few, I am showing them for a reason, but skip to the last two to see her a bit clearer if you so wish.

"This content is created with the Samsung NX1, which has been provided by Samsung Electronics Co.Ltd"

So... the reason I am showing these is not just to share the experience, but also to show off the frame rate and focus speed of the Samsung. The dive, catch of fish and return to branch took almost exactly one second. How do I know? The frame rate on this camera is 15fps, and I have 15 photos! :-)

"This content is created with the Samsung NX1, which has been provided by Samsung Electronics Co.Ltd"

As I often do, especially with something as special as this, I was just watching her for a good while and enjoying the experience. But then I thought I would try and get a couple of photos. The lens I have goes to 150mm... no where near enough for this, you can see how small she is in the frame, but for a record shot and for the BWC blog it would be good enough.

"This content is created with the Samsung NX1, which has been provided by Samsung Electronics Co.Ltd"

Having watched her for some time, she dived to the spot right in the middle of the frame above a couple of times... so to give myself a chance I focused the camera there and waited, hoping to fire of some shots as she entered the water and catch her coming back out again... but she caught me by surprise.

"This content is created with the Samsung NX1, which has been provided by Samsung Electronics Co.Ltd"

She decided to dive to a different area, and for the first few pics you may only just be about to see her in the top right of the frame.

"This content is created with the Samsung NX1, which has been provided by Samsung Electronics Co.Ltd"

So I pressed the shutter right away, out of excitement, and moved the camera round to get where she hit the water in the centre of the frame... you can see from the above photos her getting a bit closer to centre frame.

"This content is created with the Samsung NX1, which has been provided by Samsung Electronics Co.Ltd"

This whole 15 photo sequence happened in only a second remember, so I had to be quick on the draw so to speak!

"This content is created with the Samsung NX1, which has been provided by Samsung Electronics Co.Ltd"

Luckily I got the splash centre frame just before she came back out again... they usually leave the water where they enter!

"This content is created with the Samsung NX1, which has been provided by Samsung Electronics Co.Ltd"

Next up, the camera had to focus. Not sure how clear the above is, they are all straight from camera, no editing, no crop, but she is not in focus.

"This content is created with the Samsung NX1, which has been provided by Samsung Electronics Co.Ltd"

Here she is just above the surface shaking off the water, still out of focus, but a little clearer.

"This content is created with the Samsung NX1, which has been provided by Samsung Electronics Co.Ltd"

A little clearer again, the camera really did focus quickly while firing off the shots... Not perfect, but I must admit I was impressed. Full size you can actually see the third eyelid across her eye for protection!

"This content is created with the Samsung NX1, which has been provided by Samsung Electronics Co.Ltd"

And then finally flying off with the fish in her mouth! And it was in focus, camera made it just in time for the classic shot. Yes, still very small and not ideal, but a great record shot and a great souvenir of a magical afternoon.

I got a bit excited after that, and didn't catch the last couple going back to the branch... and then when there she was even further away to attempt taking a photo.

"This content is created with the Samsung NX1, which has been provided by Samsung Electronics Co.Ltd"

Here are the last three again cropped in a bit.

"This content is created with the Samsung NX1, which has been provided by Samsung Electronics Co.Ltd"

"This content is created with the Samsung NX1, which has been provided by Samsung Electronics Co.Ltd"

And perhaps my favourite photo of the year so far... and not due to quality, but due to what it means to me and the memories it shows... new and old! At the end of the day, Isn't that what photography is all about!

Thanks for looking :-)

Samsung NX1

Samsung NX1

A month or so a go now I was contacted by Samsung, through Bright Media Publishing, and asked if I would like to be an "Imagelogger". For this they would send me a brand new Samsung NX1 camera with vertical camera grip and 16-50mm 'S' class lens for me to use and try out for an 8 week period. In return I would upload several images a week to Samsung for them to use, and share across all their platforms to advertise the camera, and in return for this I would be allowed to keep the camera at the end of the 8 week period...

What a deal! I of course said yes... I get a free camera worth just shy of £2,500, they get some (hopefully) good images and the BWC gets some great exposure... Win win!

Samsung Imagelogger - taken by Izzy Coomber

The camera arrived on Christmas eve, but the kit lens was not available... and still isn't... Would of thought they would of had all that side of things organised, but in the mean time and for the rest of the test period Samsung have kindly loaned me two longer lenses which I asked for to help with the wildlife photographs I will be taking. An 18-200mm lens, which to be honest is not too bad at the wider angles but forget about it above 150mm, and the 'S' class 50-150mm lens which I have to say so far I am very impressed with!

As well as myself, 4 other photographers have been asked to be image loggers to make up 5 of us. Looking at their sites I think I am the only "wildlife" photographer... I was surprised to be asked, but their is no doubt I have great access to wildlife models :-)

The eight week period will not start till we have our 16-50mm lenses, which should be fairly soon, but expect a few blogs posts over the next couple of months on this camera.

Me - taken by Izzy Coomber

I have been asked to do at least one blog post a week about what I think of the Samsung NX1, but having planned it all out... eh, I mean... by introducing a little anarchy I will do at least two. My reasoning behind this is I know a lot of you will just the interested in seeing the photos from around the BWC and not care what camera it was taken on, some may just want to see the photos from the NX1 to see what it is capable of. Others will be interested in what I think of the camera from a photographers point of view.

Every Monday, once it all starts, I have to upload my images to Samsung. Therefore around that time I will also upload the images I give them here for people to see.

Then later in the week I will do another post on how I have got on that week, what I photographed/tested etc and my thoughts and opinions... Those interested can then take them how they wish, but I will always be honest from how I use a camera.

Just to warn the photographers out there though... I am not a "camera geek"... I don't mean that in a negative way, all I mean is I don't know all the ins and outs of how a camera works... but I do know how to take a good picture, compose a nice image and get the best out of a camera I use.

Fox
"This content is created with the Samsung NX1, which has been provided by Samsung Electronics Co. Ltd"

I have to start the first week with an un-boxing, first thoughts post and finish up after the 8 weeks with a full review.

But just to get you interested/excited, here are a few initial test shots. Above, Frodo at the wider end of the 18-200mm.

Wildcat
"This content is created with the Samsung NX1, which has been provided by Samsung Electronics Co. Ltd"

This is Macavity above, and Elwood below. Both taken with the 50-150mm lens. I am not sure how they will appear on this blog, but I can assure you on my Mac at full size they are pin-sharp!

Otter
"This content is created with the Samsung NX1, which has been provided by Samsung Electronics Co. Ltd"

So there you go, exciting times. First "Official" post on this will be coming soon hopefully, but if you want to follow how I get on with the Samsung... as well as keep up with my other photos, extra BWC photos and news etc then you can now do so with the following (linked in the titles):

Facebook

This is where I will share photos through out the week I take, and any interesting shots from around the Centre.

Twitter

I don't use twitter, but have linked this account to Facebook. Therefore if you want to keep up with the photos, but prefer twitter to Facebook, this is the place for you.

Google+ 

I have an account on Google + for writing the blogs and youtube, but again only use them to share the blog posts I make. However if you prefer to use Google + to keep up with things, here you go.

Flickr 

My flickr photostream. I share some photos here with the BWC group, and if you are just here for the Samsung pictures... then I have made a "Set" to upload all the Samsung photos too.

500px 

Finally, this is where I post some of what I think are my better images. 

Feel free to follow, like and or share any of the above with anyone you think may be interests. If you have any questions on the camera, feel free to ask, and I will happily answer them if I can.

To see the camera and its specs, take a look here... Samsung NX1 And I will explain more on the first thoughts post.

Thanks for looking :-)