Although Samsung is well known as a manufacturer of flat-screen TVs and cell phones, the company also makes a full line of digital cameras. Its latest model, the EX-1 is a premium-grade digicam with superior construction, a "fast" premium-grade built-in lens and a full set of features to satisfy the experienced shooter. This camera features some entirely new technology, including a new high-speed DRIMeIII processor that's optimized for excellent image quality.

Features and Design

This is a very handsome, solid camera with a black metal body; and it's quite compact, small enough to fit a jacket pocket when the camera is off and the zoom lens is protruding only 1.8cm from the body. And this is an impressive lens, a Schneider-Kreuznach 24-72mm zoom with extremely wide apertures, ranging from f/1.8 to f/2.4. That provides fast shutter speeds on dark days at low ISO levels, allowing optimal image quality.

The EX1's extremely wide f/1.8 aperture and the optical image stabilizer are both useful, since they allow for shooting in dark locations at a relatively low ISO level. (At 24mm; ISO 400; f/1.8 at 1/3 sec. with the camera braced against a wall.) (c) 2010 Peter K. Burian

LCD screen: Samsung also used its best display, a three-inch AMOLED screen with 920,000-dot resolution. The Active-Matrix Organic Light-Emitting Diode screen provides more vivid colours and much greater contrast, so it can be more easily viewed in very bright light. Its display response rate is also 3000 times faster, so your shot appears on the screen almost instantly after it's taken. Note too that this screen can be rotated, so the display can be seen when the camera is held well above your head or at ground level.

Flash: The onboard flash tube pops up at the touch of a button and provides adequate power output for nearby subjects. Samsung also offers a sleek optional accessory flash gun (SEF20A, $200) with greater effective range.

Snapshot modes: This camera is certainly suitable for novices with features such as many Scene modes plus Smart Auto mode, Face Detection AF and even Smart Face Recognition. Identify your favourite subjects and the EX1 will automatically optimize exposure and focus for those individuals. The conventional Image Stabilizer (OIS) helps compensate for camera shake for sharper photos. I would not activate the Dual IS mode (with digital stabilizer) however; it simply sets a high ISO level, whether it's necessary or not.

It's easy to get nice snapshots with Smart Auto mode, with or without flash. For people pictures, Face Detection works well and Smart Face Recognition is very useful for subjects who often appear in your photos. (c) 2010 Peter K. Burian

Advanced modes: Samsung has also targeted the more savvy shooter, providing a RAW capture mode, as well as Program, Aperture- and Shutter-Priority and Manual metering, three metering modes, override for numerous aspects of an image, plus Photo Styles and Smart Filters for creating special effects. Several autofocus modes, including Continuous Tracking AF, plus manual focus are available too.

Useful extras include a Smart Auto function that automatically selects the most suitable Scene mode depending on the type of subject, Smart Range for greater detail in both highlight and shadow areas, plus a full series of picture style modes. And the EX1 includes several retouching options in Playback, for modifying features such as red-eye, contrast, satuation and even Face Retouch for more flattering portraits.

The EX1 provides many of the same modes, functions and overrides as a DSLR, providing full control of aspects such as depth-of-field (with aperture selection, used in the airplane photo), motion effects (with shutter-speed control, used in the pipe band photo), exposure, colour, contrast, sharpness, etc. (c) 2010 Peter K. Burian

Operation and Speed

The EX1 was intelligently designed. It sports many very well-marked, well-placed DSLR-style dials, wheels and buttons, including one marked [Fn] for quick access to 16 functions. The Menu replicates many of these items, but offers additional options including some for customizing the camera to meet personal preferences. Anyone who has experience with a DSLR or a high-end digicam will find the EX1 quite intuitive.

The EX1 responded quickly to a touch of the shutter release button and also focused quickly, so the author rarely missed capturing just the right moment. (ISO 100; f/4.9; 1/250 sec.; 72mm.) (c) 2010 Peter K. Burian

When turned on, the EX1 was ready to take the first shot in about two seconds. In outdoor shooting (or indoors with nearby subjects), autofocus responded quickly. The Tracking AF system was not designed for high-speed action, but it could track the motion of approaching bands at a parade. The EX1 does not have a high-speed burst mode; I was able to shoot seven JPEGs in 10 seconds.

Image Quality

For initial testing, I used the Super Fine JPEG setting, without overrides for Colour Saturation, Contrast and Sharpness. The resulting images were a bit soft, contrast was a tad high, and colours were accurate though not very punchy. While taking photos at the Waterloo Region Air show and a classic car show, I often switched to Vivid style mode for richer colours and higher sharpness. Of course, the camera provides other overrides too, and any aspect of an image can be modified later with software tools.

At low ISO levels, the EX1 produced very clean, crisp images with accurate colours, but for more striking results, the author often switched to the Vivid style mode. While this feature is not ideal for portraits, it was often the best choice for many other subjects. (ISO 80; f/6.2; polarizing filter) (c) 2010 Peter K. BurianAt

Other aspects: White Balance was a bit cool (bluish) in some outdoor photos, but that's easy to fix with image-editing software. I tried Cloudy Day WB, but that added far too much yellow even on a cloudy day. As well, the camera tended to overexpose on sunny days, making highlight areas too bright. A -1/3 or -2/3 exposure compensation level provided better results.

Low-ISO results: My ISO 80 to 200 JPEGs are beautiful, clear and crisp with richly defined details. The photos made very nice 11x17-inch prints. By ISO 400, the images seem a bit soft due to noise-reduction processing and some digital noise is visible. After some sharpening in Photoshop Elements, they made for nice letter-size prints.

Like most cameras, the EX1 cannot provide optimal image quality at ISO 3200; but the results are definitely acceptable when the subject is quite well lit. The combination of high ISO and the very wide f/1.8 aperture can be very useful when shooting in locations where flash and tripods are not permitted. (ISO 3200; f/1.8; 1/45 sec.) (c) 2010 Peter K. Burian

High-ISO results: At ISO 800 and especially ISO 1600, there's increased image softening; and digital noise (mottled colour speckles) are more obvious. Still after some sharpening, these shots made decent 5x7-inch prints. When shooting indoors at Dundurn Castle in Hamilton, Ont., I discovered that flash photography was not allowed. This required me to often shoot at ISO 3200 to freeze the motion of the costumed interpreter (at 1/45 or 1/60 second shutter speed), even when using a very wide f/1.8 to f/2.4 aperture.

Of course, a more typical lens with a maximum aperture of f/2.8-5.9 would have called for ISO 6400 or ISO 12,800 for the same shutter speed. That's rarely available with a digicam, and would produce very poor image quality. As long as the subject was reasonably well lit, my ISO 3200 JPEGs are acceptable; there's a loss of detail and obvious digital noise, but 4x6-inch prints are quite satisfactory.

The Bottom Line

The Samsung EX1 employs a relatively large sensor (9.5x7.6mm versus 7.7x6.16mm) when compared to many others in the more affordable categories. Samsung also resisted the temptation to cram 14 million pixels onto the CCD chip. Consequently, each light-sensitive dot is larger, making dynamic range (shadow and highlight detail) better, especially at ISO 80 to ISO 400. As well, the quality at ISO 800 is great outdoors, when it's needed for a very fast shutter speed. In dark locations however, I had hoped for more impressive results at high sensitivity levels.

During extensive testing, I identified only two drawbacks with this premium-grade Samung camera. Burst mode is not super-fast and only single-shot mode is available when RAW capture mode is used. Surprisingly, video resolution is quite modest at 640x480 pixels. These days, 1280x720 is the norm in the high-end digicam category. In long-term use, especially in extremely bright conditions, I would miss a viewfinder. However. Samsung does make an optical finder (about $200) but it's suitable for use only at a 24mm focal length.

The high-grade 24-72mm equivalent lens is the single most attractive aspect of the EX-1 since it's versatile and usually produces excellent edge to edge sharpness. An 18mm adapter will also be available soon (about $200) making ultra wide angle photography possible. (At 24mm and 72mm, respectively.) (c) 2010 Peter K. Burian

Otherwise, I was more than satisfied with the Samsung EX1 in terms of responsiveness, intuitive operation and the feature set. This is definitely one of the digicams that a DSLR owner should consider when looking for a compact camera for hiking, cycling or vacation outings. Its superb, wide-aperture lens, many advanced capabilities and ability to deliver really fine photos make the EX1 worthy of serious consideration.

Samsung EX1
Pros: 
Small/slim but with a tilting ultra-high-res 3" AMOLED screen
Full-featured with many analog controls
Superior lens with very wide apertures for low light shooting

Cons:
No electronic viewfinder
Digital noise is problematic at very high ISO in low light 
Continuous burst speed is not very fast

Specifications
Sensor/Processor: 10MP (3648 x 2736 pixels) CCD; DRIMeIII engine
Capture modes: JPEG, RAW, Motion JPEG to 640x480 @ 30fps 
Lens: Schneider-Kreuznach 24-72mm f/1.8-2.4; optional 18mm adapter
LCD/viewfinder: 3" articulated AMOLED screen (920,000 dots); optional optical viewfinder
Flash: Built-in with five modes; hot shoe for external flash
Operating modes: Smart Auto, P, A, S, M, 12 Scene modes, Movie, 6 Art Filters
Features: Optical image stabilizer; multi-point AF, Tracking, Face Detect AF; manual focus; ISO 80-3200; 3 metering patterns, exposure compensation, bracketing, AE Lock; 10 picture styles with user-selectable overrides 
High-tech amenities: Face Recognition; 3 Smart Filters; many image-retouching options in Playback mode
Power: Rechargeable Li-Ion battery 
Storage: 1GB internal memory; SD or SDHC card
Other: Mono mic; USB and HDMI connectivity|
Size/weight: 114.4 x 64.6 x 30mm (w/h/d); 356g
Price: $550
Website: www.samsung.ca

Article Tags:  Samsung, EX1, camera, digicam, Schneider-Kreuznach, review, Burian