Samsung NX1000 Mirrorless Digital Camera with 20-50mm Lens, 20.3MP (Black)

Maybe my real rating is 4.5 stars in good light, 3.5 stars in low-light.Pros:a./ Lighter weight than Sony NEX's...b./ Pretty accurate WB...c./ Good flash...d./ Very nice user interface (Samsung is different, but nice)....e./ A lot of adjustments available in most every mode...Loved that.f./ Fairly quiet operation.g./ Very good video.Cons:a./ Quality pics stop at ISO1600 except with well lit scenes.b./ Stabilzer not as good as the leader, Lumix. Below 1/25 shutter speeds is hit and miss, whereas Lumix often can handle 1/6...really a factor indoors.c./ Auto Mode really tries to hold below ISO 800, so low-light is blurry more often than when the camera is user-programmed to use ISO 1600 or 3200. The NX100 does take very nice indoor photos indoors on a tripod at ISO400, but not if there is any movement.Even tho the Pros outnumber the Cons by a lot, those Cons are very crucial, at least to me. An APS-C 20mp sensor should do a lot better than ISO1600 in low-light, and ISO3200 in good light as far as a quality picture is concerned. And I don't think the noise is there as a reaction to minimal jpeg processing, which would mean you could get great RAW at least. I did not test RAW, but to me the high ISO results showed noise AND loss of detail much more than the 16mp Sony NEX5N I had for side-by-side comparison. Further, what is odd with cameras today is exemplified in this NX1000 - it can give some excellent results, then in a similar situation, give something less...Even the NEX 5N displays this, although to a lesser degree.============================================================================-I've tried LX7, P7700, and XZ2 compacts also. The NX1000 does beat them at ISO 800 thru 3200, but is harder to carry. With better ISO at 800 and 1600, and with really better video, the NX1000 under $400 is a much better camera then these so-called "premium compacts" struggling to get every dot of their small sensors. Also, I really liked the NX1000 video, again better than those compacts by a comfortable margin.==============================================================================SPOILER ALERT: I love the much better ISO 3200 and 6400 stills from my NEX-5N, so if you find the 5N on sale under $575 and HAVE THE EXTRA BUCKS TO SPEND, it is the best deal of all these. Picture quality and video is tops, beating even all entry level DSLRs.

Just got it, and as far as operation goes, so far so good. (Update: the WiFi features work just fine with iOS. The absence of any usage guide or screen grabs for the iOS app prompts the need to poke around to notice that the camera posts a hot spot that the iPhone has to join. That's reasonable, but not necessary on the Android version, and so not immediately obvious here).My software disk arrived blank, and repeated live chats with Samsung support, (which may not have been specific to cameras), only concluded that their bundled PC backup app, Intelli-Studio, could not be downloaded anywhere, and I would have to buy a new CD, as they would not replace the blank one. Such are the trials of buying on line, but those were mitigated by Amazon's great cooperation. As it turns out, my first attempt to buy this resulted in a used/refurb unit intentionally or accidentally sent by Market Place Deals as new, (both seals broken), also in the white, rather than the specified, black color. So, since it was fulfilled by Amazon, it was only a minor annoyance to return it, and I was able to get the software from that unit's functional disk before I sent it back. This review is of the new replacement, sold by Huppins and fulfilled by Amazon.Though a prosumer user of the product, who doesn't sell or publish its results, on first blush, the image quality is great. I haven't gotten around to comparing all of the modes, but it has a fairly straight forward interface that's mostly apparent on first use, but that's also adequately documented in their provided manual. One of my main uses for this is intended to be video, for which it provides 1080/30p, but as I expected, the audio from the built in mic, though stereo, is a bit thin, so I am trying the external mic, (which is fortunately available for the NX hot shoe), which I should receive soon.In total, it's a high image quality camera that's still portable, without sacrificing the flexibility of many lens options. I've only used the bundled, 20-50mm f/3.5-5.6 ED lens, but it supports other very well reviewed lenses. It also has a hot shoe for several flash options or, (not simultaneously), an optional external mic, or an optional EVF, and it has the built-in ability to use a mobile app for a wireless remote control and viewfinder.For those who were wondering, as I was, exactly what's in the box, (since for some reason none of the sellers describe it), this is what comes in the product that I think, for the black model, has the full name of EV-NX1000BABUS:It does indeed include the small version, (SEF 8A), of the external flash which is about the equivalent of a popup flash, and pretty unobtrusive to leave connected.20-50mm f/3.5-5.6 ED lens and caps.Body cap.USB cable.ED-BP1030 Battery.Battery charger and power cable.Software disk with manuals, RAW converter, and Intelli-Studio backup software, (with some other features).Camera strap.Also, what I think is a leash for the lens cap, which will be very handy once I see the correct way to attach it.It is indicated clearly that this does not include any SD card. There is some confusing and shady market speak, starting on the Samsung site and showing up elsewhere, that includes among the NX1000's features "Premium Metal Design". I guess that's like the old "all natural flavors" claim. There are models below and above this that are magnesium, (like the smaller EX2F), but this one is a thick, and seemingly adequate plastic. I don't know why they'd want to make any misleading suggestion that it is anything else. Then there are a few odd quirks with it, like the prompts to download the corresponding mobile app every time that camera feature is launched, along with verbose descriptions upon the selection of every mode. Those prompts can be helpful at first, but there should be a system setting to turn them off, (update: there is in fact a setting to do just that, under the 2nd list of Settings choices). So a very tidy package for a capable system.

This camera stopped working after about a year; it wouldn't turn on, despite the battery being fully charged and there having been no damage done to the camera. A local camera repair person was unable to fix it, and Samsung wanted to charge $190 to fix it - not work it considering I originally paid around $300 for the camera.