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One month with Samsung NX1


Brother
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One month has passed since i bought my NX1 and i thought i would share my thoughts so far.

Coming from full frame as my main camera i was hesitant to the change in the beginning. I started my hobby with a Canon 550D/t2i and then later upgraded to a 5D Mark 3 which was really pleasant, i loved the full frame look. The choice to abandon both Canon and full frame did not come easy but a Panasonic G6 (Micro 4/3 entry level camera) helped a lot in the transition.

The NX1 really fits well in my hands and after a not so steep learning curve of the controls i feel comfortable to just pick it up and shoot. I have pretty large hands so when i changed from a 550D/t2i to a 5D I pretty much decided to never again buy a smaller camera. That didn’t work out as I later bought, tried and sold the A7s as i was reminded why i don’t like small cameras. This is of course a very personal opinion, i know that many people prefer portability. Somehow the NX1, being smaller than a 5D, feels really good to hold for hours.

 

Image quality of both stills and video are great, just great. You can throw whatever specs and lab test at me you want saying that the NX1 is inferior in dynamic range and what not but i just love the sensor and the colors it produces. With that being said, im not a professional and i don’t have professional needs. What i also like to point out that this is a $1500 camera, not an Alexa. And what you're getting for your $1500 is in my opinion a very capable camera.

 

On a lot of videos posted from the NX1 there have been comments on banding and macroblocking, including my own. As there is no/almost no banding or macroblocking in the raw files this is a result of transcoding. I use Samsung Movie Converter which comes with the camera and it’s clearly not the best option yet every other software i’ve tested seems to fail me in some way (Maybe i should invest in a new computer?). Still waiting for Adobe to support H265!

 

To sum it up. I feel that i have finally found a camera that will stay with me for a long time. I'm not over the "wow i have a new camera let's see what it can do"-phase but i have high hopes for this plastic monster. This camera has been discussed a lot on this forum but if there’s any questions i'll be happy to answer them.

 

Here’s my latest video shot with the NX1, 16/2.8, 30/2.0 and 45/1.8. Shot in both 4K and slow motion 1080p. Standard picture profile with sharpness and contrast set to -5. No change to luminance or master black levels. Edited, stabilized and graded in Adobe Premiere with Visioncolor LUTs Osiris M31 and KDX as base and then RGB Curves. No sharpening in post.

 
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Huh? You take pleasure in shooting with your camera? You ditched the A7S because of ergonomics? You're simply happy with the results? What is this!?

;) Glad to hear. Go enjoy it some more, you seem to work nicely together and get some great results (and surprisingly 'un-Samsungy looking'). Keep it up!

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That looks great. 

I've been following your footage of this camera and I have to say you are the only person I've ever seen create cinematic quality visuals with the NX1. I've not bought one just based on the need to transcode from H265, I simply don't have the time. It's true that more people need to use it like you do as i believe there is some "magic" to unlock in that sensor somewhere.

I've also read comments of people dismissing the slow motion function, looks fine to me! Good stuff. 

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I agree i have had mine sync before xmass and the banding, macroblocking and so on is such a non issue you see the same things in other camera videos on Vimeo and youtube from cameras costing over 8k and up.

Was watching blue bloods on tv the other night and could see banding in the video many times on areas going from dark to light i see it a lot on many TV shows more then i ever see it in the NX1 footage. I have had one time i did get noticeable banding but in this case would have banding on most any camera. Image quality in 4K is very good i would have no problem shooting a low budget tv show, music video, commercial job or anything with the NX1.

Its small light and easy to use and they are working hard to keep making more updates and soon will have a pocket version that can be used as a second camera for a low price. I will buy the pocket version and small gimble for it and the 4k Gopro and Drone over time so i can cover just about anything for a very low cost VS building a package with say with the Sony FS7.

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Very nice video.

 

I've been a nx user for almost 4 years. I have 4 bodies (nx100,200,300,1) and all the lenses but a couple (namely the 16 and 18-200).

 

Initially I was very reluctant to buy the nx1. What I wanted was a smaller camera, possibly rangefinder styled ala sony a6000.

 

But being heavily invested in lenses, I couldn't but try and buy this very special camera. It's big, for my standards, but I love it. I'll still be using nx300 with pancakes, while the nx1 will be for bigger lenses and video.

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Thank you for all the kind comments on the video. 

I should have mentioned it in the post that this wasn't meant to be a review but some sort of a push for those who is hovering the cursor over the order button. I really think that in the right hands (better than mine) this camera could outshine many more expensive cameras on the market. It's never easy to be an early adopter. I got my camera replaced after Samsung confirmed that the audio hiss (AGC?) was a hardware issue, turns out it wasn't and the replacement have the same problem. Hope they fix it soon!

 

That looks great. 

I've been following your footage of this camera and I have to say you are the only person I've ever seen create cinematic quality visuals with the NX1. I've not bought one just based on the need to transcode from H265, I simply don't have the time. It's true that more people need to use it like you do as i believe there is some "magic" to unlock in that sensor somewhere.

I've also read comments of people dismissing the slow motion function, looks fine to me! Good stuff. 

Thanks! As soon as more professionals get their hands on it i'm sure it will increase. Slow motion looks fine to me too, not FS700 fine but still, fine :)

 

Brother,

Very nice stuff as usual. You're really making me want this camera.

Thank you for saying there is no banding / macroblocking on the original footage. Hallelujah!!! The transcoding will be figured out at some point.

​Thank you! Samsung has already updated their transcoding software a couple of times so i'm sure it will. Would still like to see native support for H265 from the big NLEs

 

I agree i have had mine sync before xmass and the banding, macroblocking and so on is such a non issue you see the same things in other camera videos on Vimeo and youtube from cameras costing over 8k and up.

Was watching blue bloods on tv the other night and could see banding in the video many times on areas going from dark to light i see it a lot on many TV shows more then i ever see it in the NX1 footage. I have had one time i did get noticeable banding but in this case would have banding on most any camera. Image quality in 4K is very good i would have no problem shooting a low budget tv show, music video, commercial job or anything with the NX1.

Its small light and easy to use and they are working hard to keep making more updates and soon will have a pocket version that can be used as a second camera for a low price. I will buy the pocket version and small gimble for it and the 4k Gopro and Drone over time so i can cover just about anything for a very low cost VS building a package with say with the Sony FS7.

​I'm planned to shoot a wedding in the summer and a NX500 on a tripod for some static shots while i run around with the NX1 would be golden. We'll see how much Samsung cripples it so it won't step on NX1's toes.

As long as video is compressed (youtube/vimeo) banding will be present, that's for sure. One can only hope for a higher bitrate cap in the near future.

It will be very interesting to see how the raw material behaves when native support is added to Premiere. I have high hopes that it may be pushed even more than transcoded H265 -> H264

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DigitalEd,

I see banding on cable all the time, but that's compressed for delivery. I can guarantee you that no show has that banding when it leaves post. DirectTv was especially bad. FIOS is much better for me now.

But the footage I've downloaded from the NX1 suffers from it much worse than A7S, GH4 & BMCC footage that I download; particularly in the shadows.

Brother's videos look fantastic. He's modest, he's shoot some of the best NX1 footage to date. The camera has nice colors, but the banding in the transcoded footage is significant. 

However, I am thrilled that he says it's not on the original H265. It means my complaints can be addressed with better transcoding.

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Great footage as usual Brother! Her hair just pops out of the screen and that waterfall shot is spectacular.

I, like you, have just fallen in love with this camera. The look of the image that it produces and the way it handles just plain works for me. 

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Great footage as usual Brother! Her hair just pops out of the screen and that waterfall shot is spectacular.

I, like you, have just fallen in love with this camera. The look of the image that it produces and the way it handles just plain works for me. 

Thanks! That's exactly the description I wan't to put on my relationship with the NX1, it just ​works for me. 

 

Albert Fast, saw some of your stuff on youtube and I said it there, and I'll say it here, AF has shot some of the better looking footage I've seen from the NX1! Thanks for sharing! 

Thank you! ​

 

Nice place. Where was it filmed?

 

​Åre, Sweden. A really beautiful place!

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Brother, I have to second all posts above. Lovely images, keep up the good work! Looking forward to see more from you :)

​Thanks! :)

 

I'm moving to Sweden. That's all there is to it. 

I like the waterfalls.

​There's some stunning scenery in Sweden but we sure got dull places too.

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