The Samsung NX500 is a
mirrorless compact camera that uses an APS-C size and high-resolution image
sensor with 28MP. It’s a small camera that has a lot of elements found in
Samsung's NX1, including the same image sensor and a very fast focusing system.
The AF system uses a “hybrid focus
system,” a combination of contrast and phase detection. The phase detection AF
sensors are located on the image sensor. There are 209 AF contrast areas and 205
phase detection areas. This fast AF system supports the continuous shot
function, yielding, as confirmed in our tests, up to 9 frames per second.
The camera offers a standard 4-way control field for menu navigation. The setup dial in the upper right of the camera's back can also be used for setting up menu parameters and is used to change exposure settings. The video record button is located on the side. We noted that pressing this button adds a higher risk for shake that may create image blur during the first second of video recording.
For manual focusing the
camera offers a magnifier function and “focus peaking” to mark contrast lines
in focus with a colored outline on the screen. This is helpful for shooting both
still photos and video.
The camera has a large LCD
screen on the back, which is used as viewfinder, for menu navigation and for
image parameter setup. To change image parameters there’s a setup dial on the
back and a second dial near the shutter release button, which allows the user to
simultaneously change aperture and shutter speed settings.
The camera doesn't use a built-in flash system but is supplied with a very small compact flash. The camera offers only two interfaces on its left hand side: a combination port (USB/TV) and an HDMI port for photo and video presentation on high definition TVs.
The photographer can also use
the lens ring as a setup dial: the NX500 supports Samsung's “iFunction”-system,
which can be used to change various image parameters by pressing the “iF”
button on the left hand side of the lens. By pressing the button, the camera
will toggle through different settings such as ISO or white balance. These
functions are context sensitive, thus depend on the current camera mode that is
set with the large mode dial on the top. The camera also has a 4-way control
field on the back for standard menu navigation.
The LCD screen isn't fully
articulated and can only be flipped up- and downwards. When using the most
upright position it will point to the front and can be used for selfies.
The
camera offers wireless remote control via a Wi-Fi connection. Samsung offers
free apps for iPhones or iPads and for mobile phones and tablet computers using
Android OS. These apps allow remote control of the camera or image data
transfer via Wi-Fi. The NX500 also supports NFC as well as Bluetooth.
The camera offers a large mode dial on the top. A small button labeled with “MOBILE” starts the Wi-Fi function, which can be used for image data transfer or for remote control of the camera by a mobile device.
Image Quality Tests
Color: The color reproduction of the NX500 is very good.
Just like all Samsung NX cameras, it creates images with only minor over-
saturation of 104.7 percent. The mean color errors are on a low level: colors
that are exaggerated and boosted by most other cameras are shown with only
light over-saturation. The automatic white balance system showed a shift into
the yellow and green direction, and the test box test shot has neutral color
rendition with a very little shift into more bluish colors.
The portrait test shot shows
light, pastel colored skin tones and a good differentiation in the red colored
t-shirt. The same applies to the red, blue and green differentiation in our
test box shot, which also shows a neutral colored gray background.
Sharpness: The camera showed an excellent performance in our
resolution tests. Even though the product shots show the camera with its
kit-lens, all tests were done with the Samsung 16-50mm F2-2.8 S ED OIS. This lens
offers the same focal length as the kit lens, but with higher speed and an
excellent sharpness. With the help of this lens the NX500 reproduced the
ISO12233 chart with 4204 lines per picture height, which is nearly the nominal
sensor resolution (4320 lines per picture height). Other tests prove that this
high resolution value isn't the result of an exaggerated sharpness filtering.
The overshot and undershot effects are on a very low level and there are no noticeable
clipping effects.
Noise: The
Samsung NX500 showed very good results in our noise test charts when using ISO settings
between 100 and 1600. Up to ISO 6400 luminance noise factor stays (far) below
1.0 percent and even at the highest ISO speed it remains on a very good level.
The very good test results for
luminance noise are a result of very intense smoothness filtering, which
essentially is used by the NX500 to reduce color noise. The smoothing artifacts
(in combination with a sharpness filtering to enhance image details) are noticeable
when taking images at ISO 1600. Up to ISO 6400 they are on an acceptable level:
at the highest ISO speed settings the filter effects will reduce image details
drastically. In photos made outside the lab, those taken with ISO 25,600 and
the additional “high mode” (an equivalent of ISO 51,200) cause what could be
dubbed an “impressionist filter” look.
The dynamic range results of
the NX500 are on a good level. The camera achieved a maximum of 11 f-stops, but
dynamic range results drop quickly when shooting with ISO speeds higher than
ISO 800.
Video Functions
The camera offers different
video modes and high frame rates. The native 4K resolution of 4096 x 2160
pixels is recorded with 24 frames per second (Blu-ray compatible). The UHD
resolution of 3840 x 2160 (exactly 4X Full HD resolution) is recorded with up
to 30 frames per second, while Full HD modes can be recorded with up to 50/60
frames per second (PAL or NTSC mode, respectively).
The camera allows for use of manual
exposure settings in video mode. The photographer can choose P, S, A and M mode
as well as scene modes for video recording. The camera can also use manual ISO
speed settings in video mode, but ISO speed settings for recording videos are
restricted to ISO 6400. The photographer is able to set up the sound level, but
an interface for an external microphone is missing.
The video record button is
located on the right hand side of the camera: we found that this can cause the
first second of the video to become blurred because the camera is shaken when
the photographer hits the record button.
Video Quality
The Samsung NX500 showed
excellent results in our video tests. The resolution results are extremely
high. The camera reproduced the ISO12233 chart with 1046 lines per picture
height in Full HD mode (nominal resolution 1080 pixels per picture height). The
4K video result is also excellent. The chart was reproduced 2022 lines per
picture height (nominal resolution 2160 lines).
The color reproduction is
comparable to the color reproduction in photo mode. The camera reproduced by the
GretagMacbeth test chart shows only light oversaturation. Colors look very
natural and there is only a minor shift into the yellow area of the color
space. In short, the overall video performance of the NX500 is excellent.
Pro:
compact APS-C mirrorless camera
very high sensor resolution
very high results in
resolution test
nice color reproduction
high speed continuous shots
with up to 9 frames per second
easy handling
WLAN/Wi-Fi and BlueTooth
4K video recording
Con:
missing viewfinder
missing internal flash (but
external compact flash system is supplied with the camera)
Lab tests and comments by Betternet, TIPA's (Technical Image Press Association) camera testing lab. I serve on the Technical Committee of TIPA.
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