Samsung EX1 review

While compact interchangeable lens cameras are becoming more and more common, they’re still not small enough for some people. Canon’s PowerShot G series has long been considered the enthusiasts’ choice when it comes to compact cameras, but that changed in 2008 when Panasonic introduced the Lumix DMC-LX3.

Samsung’s EX1 follows a similar recipe to the LX3 with a fast, wide optical zoom lens in a relatively compact metal body and a 10-megapixel sensor. The EX1 beats the LX3 on paper with a faster maximum aperture (f/1.8-2.4 compared to f/2.0-2.8) and a longer reach (24-72mm compared to 24-60mm), but its sensor is slightly smaller at 1/1.7in. However, that’s still about 50 per cent larger than the 1/2.33in sensors in most compacts.

Unlike the LX3 however, the EX1 doesn’t retain the same angle of view when you change aspect ratios between the default 4:3, 3:2 and 16:9 modes. The LX3 retains the same angle of view at the same zoom setting – regardless of aspect ratio – making it much easier to get to grips with how the lens behaves at certain zoom settings.

One of the EX1’s highlights is the fully-articulated 3in AMOLED screen, which offers excellent colour reproduction and contrast and is still viewable in bright sunlight. Its 614,000 dot resolution means pictures look sharp when you’re reviewing them, too. The fact the screen is articulated has its benefits, but it does also add some bulk to the back of the camera which left us with slightly mixed feelings.

With two dials – one at the top of the hand grip on the front and one that doubles as the four-way controller on the back – the EX1’s controls are designed to appeal to enthusiasts and DSLR users alike. The former controls shutter speed in Manual and Shutter priority modes and, when clicked, controls exposure compensation in all modes. The latter sets the aperture in Manual and Aperture priority modes. On the top, there are another two dials which control the shooting mode and drive mode respectively, further confirming the EX1’s enthusiast credentials.

The EX1’s biggest strength is undoubtedly the Schneider Kreuznach 24-72mm f/1.8-2.4 optical zoom lens, but with a 3x optical zoom, it doesn’t have the reach of the longer lenses that we see on a lot of today’s compact cameras. That might sound like a bad thing, but its large f/1.8-2.4 maximum aperture combined with the relatively large sensor means it lets much more light in than virtually every other compact on the market – of course making an exception for cameras with even larger sensors, like Sigma’s DP2s.

The zoom covers a useful range – 24-70mm is seen as the most flexible and useful range for a carry around lens on a DSLR – and it’s also sharp throughout its range bar some minor corner softness at wider angles when shooting relatively flat frame-filling subjects. It controls chromatic aberrations and flare quite well, but distortion at the wide end of its focal length is quite severe if you’re shooting RAW; Samsung does correct a lot of the distortion if you’re using the in-camera JPEGs, though. At the telephoto end of its range, the EX1’s distortion is minimal.

While the distortion in wide-angle RAW images is quite disconcerting, we found that the JPEGs were slightly over-sharpened, producing a slight halo along high-contrast edges. Despite these minor quibbles image quality was very impressive in both RAW and JPEG modes, with vibrant and accurate colours as well as good contrast. Unfortunately, image quality in JPEGs shot at higher ISOs suffered from Samsung’s heavy-handed approach noise reduction, so we’d definitely recommend shooting RAW at higher sensitivities.

The EX1 has a tendency to over-expose shots and the metering system does seem a little hit-and-miss. We quite often found ourselves re-shooting with some exposure compensation dialled in after reviewing a shot. The focusing system was also slightly unpredictable if you’re using multi-point AF, as it often chose to disregard obvious subjects in favour of something less conspicuous. Thankfully the manual AF point selection function is well-implemented and solved most of the problems.

Its video mode is disappointing for a brand new camera. The maximum quality you can record is just 640×480 at 30fps in the MPEG-4 format. There’s no HD video option, despite having a direct movie record button. Samsung does allow you to pause and restart recording and you can also zoom. What’s more, you have the choice of either recording the zoom motors or muting the soundtrack until you’ve finished zooming.

In terms of performance, the EX1 impressed us and never really got in our way. Shot-to-shot time is under two seconds in JPEG mode and just over two seconds in RAW. The only time it started to slow us down was when we shot multiple RAW images in quick succession. When you do this, you’re presented with a warning that it’s ‘processing’ and you can’t do anything with the camera for a good few seconds while it clears its internal buffer. This problem doesn’t crop up in continuous shooting mode however, as RAW capture is disabled – it will happily shoot at around 1.5fps until you run out of memory.

On the whole, Samsung’s EX1 is a great camera and it’s good to see another manufacturer take a stab at building a compelling enthusiast compact camera. The lens is excellent and it produces very high quality images that will be suitable for decent-sized prints, but there are a few quirks. Given its many similarities to the LX3, it’s impossible not to compare the two, and the Panasonic feels more polished.

The EX1 does have some advantages over the LX3 – the biggest being the articulated AMOLED screen and the great lens – but the Panasonic also has some attractive features that the Samsung doesn’t. The innovative sensor design is chief among these, but the LX3 also offers 720p video recording – it’s £35 cheaper, too. All of this means the LX3 does just enough to edge it, but considering the LX3’s replacement, the Lumix DMC-LX5, is just around the corner, we’d advise waiting until you’ve read our forthcoming review before making a final decision.