WHICH ONE IS FOR YOU: NX300, NX1 OR MAYBE NX500
While we are getting closer to the shipping date for the newest Samsung's Interchangeable Lens compact camera, the NX500, we thought that it would be a good time to review camera's features
offered by the NX500. We will also try to compare cameras that are similar to the new member of the Samsung's digital camera family, namely the NX500’s predecessor NX300 and its
bigger brother NX1, we will also include a camera compare feature list for its close competitors: Panasonic Lumix DMC-GX7 and Sony Alpha A6000.
HOW NX500 FITS BETWEEN NX300 AND NX1
The newest camera from Samsung fits right below their DSLR contender NX1. The new NX500 features a lot of the best functions and features of its truly great but
more expensive brother: the 28-megapixel APS-C class NX1.
Samsung’s full body top camera, NX1 got raving reviews from most of the early reviewers and industry
experts ("2014 Best of the Year award winner for the Best High-End Mirrorless Camera" – Reviewed.com) for their impressive feature set, design and execution.
While professional community might be slower in accepting the new contender in the field, probably in part due to lack of track record, limited selection of pro
lenses and accessories, early NX1’s consumers clearly confirmed the camera’s excellent reviews. From the hands-on testing it becomes obvious that the NX1
rivals the quality and features of the other well established brands in APS-C market space. Going back to NX500, we can see that Samsung once again dipped in
their reach technology chests and created a compact camera with features and tricks of a full APS-C camera. As a result we now have an interchangeable-lens
camera with (arguably best in the segment) 28-megapixel backside-illuminated APS-C sensor and most of the bells and whistles of NX1.
HOW GOOD THE NX500 REALLY IS
The design of NX500’s body is very similar to the compact NX300 with a few modifications to accommodate new camera’s functions.
The list of features bestowed upon the new NX500 includes 4K video recording, a thumb-operated control wheel, an exposure-lock button and ISO settings that range from 100 to 25,600. It has a very robust hybrid AF system with phase- and contrast-detection, that can also be found on the NX1. The NX500’s continuous-shooting mode with autofocus enabled at 9 frames per second is a bit slower than the one found on NX1’s (15 frames per second) but it is still very fast. For a complete list of features and to compare cameras feature list please see a table at the end of this review. The camera’s video specs are very impressive and should be good enough for any amateur cinematographer (We are really interested in seeing a reaction of the YouTuber community). NX500 offers two video modes, 4K and UltraHD, and is able to shoot 4096×2160 movies at 24fps and 3840×2160 at 30fps, using the HEVC/H.265 codec in both modes. Also available is a time-lapse video option for UltraHD footage. NX500 is capable to shoot HD 1080p video at up to 60fps. The low resolution mode can capture footage at 240 frames per second in with the “Samsung Auto Shot” mode. The adjustable 3-inch touchscreen is based on the same AMOLED technology as the NX1’s in contrast to the TFT-LCD of the NX300’s. As expected NX500 is also equipped in the most popular connectivity technology including Wi-Fi, NFC and Bluetooth. The one feature not included is the body-based stabilization system and you might need to compensate for it with optically stabilized lenses. The lens comes with the NX500 kit is an optically stabilized 16-50mm/F3.5-5.6 with power zoom. All this comes at a surprisingly low price of $800.00 (Current price for 20-megapixel NX300 is around $500.00). If we take into an account that the price includes also the lens priced at about $300.00 the new Samsung's offering starts to look very atractive. When it becomes available in March 2015 consumers will be able to choose one of three body colors, white, brown or black. At the time of this writing (2/2/2015) NX500 is available for pre-order with delivery scheduled for March 2015.
COMPARE CAMERAS Panasonic Lumix DMC-GX7, Sony Alpha A6000, Samsung NX300, Samsung NX500, Samsung NX1
Panasonic Lumix DMC-GX7
Sony Alpha A6000
Samsung NX300
Samsung NX500
Samsung NX1
Sensor effective resolution
16MP Live MOS
24.3MP Exmor HD CMOS 14-bit
20.3MP Hybrid CMOS
28.2MP BSI CMOS
28.2MP BSI CMOS
Sensor size
17.3mm x 13mm
23.5mm x 15.6mm
23.5mm x 15.7mm
23.5mm x 15.7mm
23.5mm x 15.7mm
Focal-length multiplier
2.0x
1.5x
1.5x
1.5x
1.5x
OLPF
Yes
Yes
No
Yes
Yes
Sensitivity range
ISO 125(exp)/200 - ISO 25600
ISO 100 - ISO 25600
ISO 100 = ISO 25600
ISO 100 - ISO25600/51200(exp)
ISO 100 - ISO25600/51200(exp)
Burst shooting
4.3fps
11fps
8.6fps
9fps
15fps
Autofocus
23-area Contrast AF
179-point phase detection 25-area contrast AF
105-point phase detection 247-point contrast AF
205-point phase detection (153 cross-type) 209-point contrast AF
205-point phase detection (153 cross-type) 209-point contrast AF
AF sensitivity
-4 - 18 EV
0 - 20 EV
n/a
-4 - 20 EV
-4 - 20 EV
Shutter speed
60 -1/8,000 sec.
30-1/4000 sec.
30-1/6000 sec.
30-1/6,000 sec.
30-1/8,000 secs.
Flash sync speed
1/320 sec.
1/160 sec.
1/180 sec.
1/180 sec.
1/250 sec.
Metering
1,728 zone
1,200 zone
221 segment
221 area
221 area
LCD
3-inch Fixed touchscreen 1.04 million dots
3-inch Flip-up touchscreen 921,600 dots
3.3-inch AMOLED tilting touchscreen 768,000 dots
3-inch AMOLED tilting touchscreen 921,600 dots
3-inch AMOLED tilting touchscreen 1.04 million dots
Wireless connection
Wi-Fi, NFC
Wi-Fi, NFC
Wi-Fi, NFC
Wi-Fi, NFC, Bluetooth
Wi-Fi, NFC, Bluetooth
Flash
Yes
Yes
Optional
Optional
Yes
Max resolution
4592 x 3448
6000 x 4000
5472 x 3648
6480 x 4320
6480 x 4320
Best video
AVCHD 1080/60p, 30p, 25p, 24p @ 28Mbps
AVCHD 1080/60p @ 28Mbps
H.264 MPEG-4 1080/60p
H.265 MP4 UHD/30p, C4K/24p, 1080/60p, 50p
H.265 MP4 UHD/30p, C4K/24p, 1080/60p, 50p
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