Samsung NX1 - all sorts of tests imaginable

[macgregor]

Bruce Allen and myself spent some time playing with the Samsung.

Here you can find an in depth review: http://www.migueldeolaso.com/press/

[macgregor]

Resolution tests with external recording on the Odyssey:



And some real life footage:

[Bassman2003]

Thanks for posting. Pretty impressive. Amazing how close the NX1 and the Sony are with color and overall look.

[reem12]

Hey Mac. I could see know quality difference in terms of image with the nx1 and a7s. Other than full frame and better dynamic range on a7s, can you see any other advantage the a7s would have if others are in the market for a budget 4k set up?

[diegocervo]

hey Mac,
thanks for the time you took for this tests.

How did you convert h265 footage? Usually I don't get those compression artifacts when using Rocky Mountain, converting files to H264 first.

P.s. Are you in Panama City? We can meet for a beer

[macgregor]

Well... this is what I posted in my site:

The NX1 seems to produce slightly sharper images at 4K. But it introduces very visible sharpening artifacts. The A7s doesn’t seem to resolve the same amount of detail. Of course this difference is totally invisible when watching the footage at 1080p and even in 4K the differences are subtle.
I don't care that much about resolution, colorimetry and DR are more interesting to me. And price. The A7s in 4K costs 3 to 4 times what a NX1 costs. How can we compare these two? That means I can buy two Samsung bodies, and one 16-50 and one 50-150mm lenses, and have a super compact guerrilla style kit. With the same money all I get is one A7s with an odyssey but no lenses, so at the end of the day the cost is completely different.

I like DSLR that record internally. If you need to carry a monitor/recorder, that requires extra batteries and stupid tiny hdmi cables... that is no longer guerrilla. And for the cost you might as well just jump over an FS7 which will be infinitely better. I guess this is personal, but to me the only advantage to DSLRs this days are size and being consider a "tourist". No extra cables, no complicated rigs. SImplest camera set up ever.
Yes I would take an A7s+Odyssey for a serious narrative project over the NX1 at gunpoint. I actually own 2 A7s so far. But the A7s needs batteries every 30 minutes, external recorder balblah... not worth it.

The Samsung has a problem with the sharpening though. They better fix that or the footage is kind of useless in 4K mode.


One thing I forgot to mention is that while the NX1 seems to be only capable of 10 stops of DR in video mode, the rollof in the highlights is extremely soft (as opposed to cameras like Nikon or the A7s in cine4 gamma mode that go from detail to blown out highlights abruptly). This is actually pretty good.

1.jpg

[macgregor]

hey Mac,
thanks for the time you took for this tests.

How did you convert h265 footage? Usually I don't get those compression artifacts when using Rocky Mountain, converting files to H264 first.

P.s. Are you in Panama City? We can meet for a beer

I did use rocky mountain but trasncoded everything to Prores HQ.
How long are you in Panama for?
I go there very often. Send me a PM!

[macgregor]

The 1.30 update seems like it made things worse. Even with sharpening setting all the way down the footage shows extreme sharpening artifacts. I would say that even more than before.

Do you think it's possible to downgrade to 1.20?

[Samuel H]

Thanks a lot macgregor, I really enjoyed reading all your NX1 thought on your website.

The nice highlight rolloff (on the a7S the sky whold be showing lots of funky blue color bands in the transition to the clipping point) and the nasty sharpening hadn't been highlighted enough, I think.

The DR thing is what bugs me most. I find myself struggling with the a7S+slog2 on some occasions already, I wouldn't want to go "two stops less", even with a nicer highlight rolloff. Let's see if Samsung can listen and implement a wider gamma curve. According to dxomark and my a7S stills-vs-video tests here, the NX1 sensor has the capability to provide at least 1.5 stops more DR than what we are getting with the a7S+slog2 in video mode.

And I completely share your thought that external 4K on the a7S is cumbersome and expensive. I decided to not buy an external recorder, and wait for new and better cameras instead. This is very personal, but a bigger camera package doesn't match *my* shooting style.

[diegocervo]

Apparently downgrading is possible if you still have firmware 1.2 stored somewhere.
http://www.dpreview.com/forums/thread/3847445

Next time, please try H265 to H264 in RM, then H264 to Prores HQ in FCPX.
Time consuming, but worth the extra coffee break eheheh

Cheers,
Diego