 |
 | Home | Contact Us | FAQ | Search & Site Map | Link to Us |
 | Sign In | Join | Other 45 Sites in Network |
| PhotoKB HomeDiscussion Groups Digital Photography Digital PhotoDSLR CamerasZLR CamerasPoint & Shoot CamerasFilm Photography 35 mmLarge FormatMedium formatDarkroomFilm and LabsOther EquipmentPhoto Technique Nature PhotographyPeople PhotographyTechnique GeneralGeneral Photo Topics General TopicsAustralian PhotographyUK PhotographyDirectoryPhoto Clubs |
Photo Forum / Digital Photography / DSLR Cameras / May 2008Samsung GX20 anyone?
If so, what do you think of it - iso noise, exposure, af, build, functions, etc? I know it has pixel remap, image stabiliser, lens focal plane, sensor clean, water resistance, iso range,etc., so am intersted in its operation. It is quite abot cheaper than the Pentax K20D in the UK with its £100 rebate for the kit version. >If so, what do you think of it - iso noise, exposure, af, build, functions, >etc? I know it has pixel remap, image stabiliser, lens focal plane, sensor >clean, water resistance, iso range,etc., so am intersted in its operation. >It is quite abot cheaper than the Pentax K20D in the UK with its £100 rebate >for the kit version. The Samsung is usefully cheaper than the Pentax, at least in the UK. However the Samsung lacks two key features of the Pentax. One is the extended dynamic range mode and the other is the dual RAW format. If I was considering these two cameras, I would not hesitate to choose the Pentax over the Samsung for those two features. >>If so, what do you think of it - iso noise, exposure, af, build, >>functions, [quoted text clipped - 10 lines] > I was considering these two cameras, I would not hesitate to choose > the Pentax over the Samsung for those two features. It lacks another important thing: the name Pentax ;-)  SignatureFocus >>If so, what do you think of it - iso noise, exposure, af, build, >>functions, [quoted text clipped - 10 lines] > I was considering these two cameras, I would not hesitate to choose > the Pentax over the Samsung for those two features. I have not seen the extended DR making more than a little difference but the compressed pef would be the deal maker for me. Mind you I have not bought on and am waiting to see what they do with the fps and focusing in the K30D. >>If so, what do you think of it - iso noise, exposure, af, build, >>functions, [quoted text clipped - 10 lines] > I was considering these two cameras, I would not hesitate to choose > the Pentax over the Samsung for those two features. I don't see the lack of PEF as a problem DNG is widely supported, Lightroom is aware of the GX20 and memory is dirt cheap - 8GB Transcend class 6 SDHC is £20 (19/12MBs). The EDR is doable elsewhere (Photoshop) and likely better for it. But the price, I have the GX20 + kit lens is £460 UK (includes 10% off plus £100 rebate so £300 less than K20D) which is very good indeed. One can buy Pentax, Sigma, Tamron, Tokina lenses many of which are very good or better. >>>If so, what do you think of it - iso noise, exposure, af, build, >>>functions, [quoted text clipped - 18 lines] >can buy Pentax, Sigma, Tamron, Tokina lenses many of which are very good or >better. As I understood it from a review that I skimmed through (no time to read it in detail) it wasn't possible to shoot RAW + JPEG at the same time with the Samsung. Perhaps I got that wrong. If you feel you can live with the very slightly lesser specification of the Samsung, I agree it is a bargain at £460. A £300 price difference for what is basically the same camera is staggering. There seems to be no additional risk in buying the Samsung as they are in it for the long haul. Samsung have a full frame CMOS sensor under development and in pixel count at least, it is expected to beat the Sony 24MP full frame sensor that will go in the soon-to-be-announced Sony Alpha 900 and Nikon D3X. Samsung have no intention of making their own DSLRs and their relationship with Pentax is very sound indeed. Pentax are financially very strong and have recently become part of the very stable and strong Hoya group, along with Tokina, who make all the new Pentax lenses. So Pentax and Samsung are good choices. Buying a Sony DSLR would appear much more risky than buying a Pentax or a Samsung as their sales are running at only a tiny fraction of Sony's projections. The reason is that almost all Sony Alpha sales are to existing Konica Minolta SLR/DSLR and Sony DSLR owners, of which there are relatively few, and hardly any are new entrants to the Sony brand. >>>>If so, what do you think of it - iso noise, exposure, af, build, >>>>functions, [quoted text clipped - 28 lines] > read it in detail) it wasn't possible to shoot RAW + JPEG at the same > time with the Samsung. Perhaps I got that wrong. It will do RAW + JPEG and that's selectable from a RAW button > If you feel you can live with the very slightly lesser specification > of the Samsung, I agree it is a bargain at £460. A £300 price > difference for what is basically the same camera is staggering. As far as I am aware it is only the EDR and a reduced-size-21-fps mode which are missing: I do not need 21fps. At £460 it's a steal. I can get the Pentax 16-45 lens for £199 too. I'm sick of Canon's incremental upgrades. I was just viewing the Canon 450D samples on DPReview and have to say that the GX20/K20D hi-iso ones are less noisey yet the DIWA graphs suggests otherwise. Times are a changing. Canon might not rule alone for too much longer. Only bug is that Samsung has announced the G30X already due later this year. That promises to be something even better. Canon and Nikon need to get a move on. Competition is good for buyers. > There seems to be no additional risk in buying the Samsung as they are > in it for the long haul. Samsung have a full frame CMOS sensor under [quoted text clipped - 6 lines] > make all the new Pentax lenses. So Pentax and Samsung are good > choices. That's my understanding too. > Buying a Sony DSLR would appear much more risky than buying a Pentax > or a Samsung as their sales are running at only a tiny fraction of > Sony's projections. The reason is that almost all Sony Alpha sales > are to existing Konica Minolta SLR/DSLR and Sony DSLR owners, of which > there are relatively few, and hardly any are new entrants to the Sony > brand. I agree. I did not like Sony's NR-in-RAW method either. Samsung has opted not to do that. You can turn up NR in JPEG but by default it is off and as far as I am aware RAW is RAW. There's a good article on www.cameralabs.com on the K20D which shows its effects. >> Buying a Sony DSLR would appear much more risky than buying a Pentax >> or a Samsung as their sales are running at only a tiny fraction of [quoted text clipped - 7 lines] > far as I am aware RAW is RAW. There's a good article on www.cameralabs.com > on the K20D which shows its effects. Some comments on the Samsung sensor: "Thus, the best comparison that one can come up with is the ability to boost raw under-exposed tones in post processing. I have shown that one can boost Nikon D300 low ISO images by 4 stops where as one can only boost K20D images by 2 to 2.5 stops; at high ISO's the Canon 40D and the Nikon D300 have about the same noise at ISO 1600 as the K20D does at ISO 400 or the K20D has about 1.0 to 1.5 stops less dynamic range for images at ISO 1600, or only about 6 to 6.5 stops of dynamic range at ISO 1600 for medium high image quality". http://daystarvisions.com/Docs/Rvws/K20D/pg3.html >>> Buying a Sony DSLR would appear much more risky than buying a Pentax >>> or a Samsung as their sales are running at only a tiny fraction of [quoted text clipped - 17 lines] > high image quality". > http://daystarvisions.com/Docs/Rvws/K20D/pg3.html Thanks for the link. Revealing. The reviewer bought the K20D, uses it and likes it - he says many positive things about it. He investigated its noise/DR performance and his finding were upheld by some astrophotographers. So, it does not meet the D300 or 40D for silky smooth but they don't match it for detail either. It has facilities and price which better both. It performs well enough to use high iso speeds; a little NR, as with the others, and they are fine. I've looked at 100s of images from the K20D/GX20, 40D and D300 and there is little difference on noise or colour between them - to my eyes. I can see no obvious difference in DR either. I can show high iso shots where the 40D and D300 look iffy. In everyday use (maybe not astrophotography) the K20D/GX20 is an excellent camera. Likely Samsung will improve its CMOS design - given it seems to have made some mistakes regarding noise. But a camera is not forever. >>>> Buying a Sony DSLR would appear much more risky than buying a Pentax >>>> or a Samsung as their sales are running at only a tiny fraction of [quoted text clipped - 31 lines] > improve its CMOS design - given it seems to have made some mistakes > regarding noise. But a camera is not forever. The reason that you don't see a problem with 100s of images is that if exposed correctly in good conditions, there's no "need" for more than the comparatively limited usable DR that the samsung sensor offers - for display on screen or print with nothing more than minor tweaking in pp. That link however shows samples of a high contrast scene where shadows couldn't be lifted without excessive and intrusive noise. It's fairly normal in pp to lift shadows a couple of stops (particularly when EV -1.0 or so might have been used to save highlights), and that's mainly where lack of usable DR is going to impact on use of the camera. IMO it's a bad trade-off to gain very little in resolution - while the headline 15mp might be a seemingly attractive proposition for landscape photography, it's landscape photography where you can benefit from extended dynamic range through better sensor performance, and to a lesser degree 14 bit raw format. But if you don't shoot raw and post-process in that way, perhaps it matters less. The K20d sensor isn't very good - not only is it much worse than the Canon 40d / Nikon D300 sensors, but for DR performance it's not as good as the the 10mp Sony sensor in the K10d. It's surprising that few review sites pick up on this. My guess is that DPReview will, even if their gradient wedge test isn't well set up. >It will do RAW + JPEG and that's selectable from a RAW button Yes, I have now read the detailed review in last week's Amateur Photographer and it will do DNG+JPEG together. No problem. >> If you feel you can live with the very slightly lesser specification >> of the Samsung, I agree it is a bargain at £460. A £300 price [quoted text clipped - 3 lines] >are missing: I do not need 21fps. At £460 it's a steal. I can get the Pentax >16-45 lens for £199 too. That's a fine lens, far better than the kit 18-55mm which is a very disappointing lens. The review in last week's Amateur Photographer stated that the Samsung default mode exactly followed the Pentax EDR mode but with a 1/3EV exposure correction. That makes the decision to buy the Samsung a no-brainer. I would be interested to know where you obtained the prices you quoted for the Samsung as I haven't seen it that cheap in any adverts. >I'm sick of Canon's incremental upgrades. I was >just viewing the Canon 450D samples on DPReview and have to say that the >GX20/K20D hi-iso ones are less noisey yet the DIWA graphs suggests >otherwise. Times are a changing. Canon might not rule alone for too much >longer. Nikon have already overtaken Canon in DSLR sales volume! >Only bug is that Samsung has announced the G30X already due later >this year. That promises to be something even better. Canon and Nikon need [quoted text clipped - 24 lines] >far as I am aware RAW is RAW. There's a good article on www.cameralabs.com >on the K20D which shows its effects. Thanks, I will look that up. >>If so, what do you think of it - iso noise, exposure, af, build, >>functions, [quoted text clipped - 10 lines] > I was considering these two cameras, I would not hesitate to choose > the Pentax over the Samsung for those two features. Does the Samsing still carry a four-year warranty vs. the Pentax one-year warranty? >>>If so, what do you think of it - iso noise, exposure, af, build, >>>functions, [quoted text clipped - 15 lines] > Does the Samsing still carry a four-year warranty vs. the Pentax one-year > warranty? My understanding is that they offer a two-year warranty on DSLRs but someone did say three years. I'll have to check that out. the law in the UK though does not specify a time. Where in the uk are they selling the GX20 for £460 thanks > If so, what do you think of it - iso noise, exposure, af, build, > functions, etc? I know it has pixel remap, image stabiliser, lens focal > plane, sensor clean, water resistance, iso range,etc., so am intersted in > its operation. It is quite abot cheaper than the Pentax K20D in the UK > with its £100 rebate for the kit version. > Where in the uk are they selling the GX20 for £460 > [quoted text clipped - 5 lines] >> its operation. It is quite abot cheaper than the Pentax K20D in the UK >> with its £100 rebate for the kit version. I can buy a K20D locally here in Australia for AUD1249 body only, the the current exchange rate that is around UKP£600 |
Reply to this Message |
 Sign In
 Join
 My Latest Posts My Monitored Threads My Blog My Photo Gallery My Profile My Homepage Start New Thread Enable EMail Alerts Rate this Thread
|
©2008 Advenet LLC Privacy Policy - Terms of Use
This website includes both content owned or controlled by Advenet as well as content owned or controlled by third parties.