Samsung EX1/TL500 f/1.8-2.4 10.0 Megapixel Digital Camera Review

I’m sure I’m not the only photography enthusiast that has run into this problem. It’s nice to always carry a camera around with you but when it is a behemoth like my Canon 1D, slipping it in a pocket isn’t an option and carrying a camera bag around isn’t a much better one in most social settings. So what is a photographer to do when he can’t bring his gear out with him?

So is the Samsung EX1 (aka the TL500) the ideal companion to a giant DSLR for professionals? Is it an ideal device for an entry level photographer looking to for a little more capability from a compact? Let’s find out.

Features and Specifications

The Samsung EX1 fills the niche known as the “prosumer” camera, the sort of device that professionals will enjoy because it gives them some of the capabilities and flexibility they enjoy with their much larger, more expensive rigs such as a RAW shooting, image stabilization and an aperture that allows for dim lighting. More advanced intermediate photographers look for these sorts of cameras as they give them more options than smaller digital compacts at a price that’s a little easier to swallow than many DSLRs. In fact, I would argue that some higher end prosumer digital compacts are similar or even better equipped than some of the lower end DSLRs that are at roughly the same price point. I mean, an f/1.8 zoom lens will probably cost you quite a bit.

The EX1 is a 10.0 megapixel (3648 x 2736) camera with a built-in 5.2-15.6mm (equivalent to 24-72mm on a 35mm camera) f1.8-2.4 Schneider lens. It’s only a 3x optical zoom but again, the f1.8 aperture isn’t something you regularly find on a compact digital camera. Perhaps even more impressive is the top end is a f2.4, meaning the EX1 will allow you to shoot in low light without using the flash provided that you have a relatively steady hand. Or you could have shaky hands and it might work as well as the EX1 has built-in image stabilization.

The ring around the front of the lens is detachable, revealing a thread that allows for lens accessories including the LWCEX01 Wide Conversion Lens which we will be looking at as well.

Notable features on the front of the camera are a clickable wheel that adjusts shutter speed and exposure compensation as well as a IR receiver beside it for the optional IR remote shutter release.

Along with the dials controlling shooting and shutter modes is a small, built-in flash that pops up at the touch of a switch.

On the back is an articulated, 3.0 inch, 614,00 pixel AMOLED screen, allowing the user to more easily take photos at difficult angles. Unfortunately as with many smaller digital cameras, there’s no traditional viewfinder nor is there a hotshoe EVF option at this time. There are also a number of buttons, dials and switches. The menu is relatively easy to navigate and strangely, you have several different ways to do so as main dial on the back is clickable like a d-pad.

The only blemish on an otherwise solid feature set is that the EX1 only offers VGA video recording while many cameras that cost far less than the $449 US list price have HD video recording. It’s clear that Samsung intended the EX1 to be for photography rather than a crossover product with HD video, which is a niche it shares with only the Canon S90. For most photographers this won’t be a deal breaker but I can see how most consumers will see this as a missing feature.

What’s Included in the Box

The EX1 comes with few accessories (although there are some available for purchase). The box contains the camera, a camera strap, AV cables and a charger along with the necessary manuals.

First Impressions

Continuing the trend of bringing back old school looks to modern digital cameras, the EX1 is styled to look like classic range finders although it is a tad small to be mistaken for a Leica. The exterior is very clean for the most part and even the busy parts look good. The front, in particular, appears to be brushed aluminum anodized in a jet black while the rest is matte black with some silver accents.

The front rubber grip provides enough traction so the camera is easy to hold which is a good thing as it seems a bit too light for it’s size. People tend to emphasize lightweight materials but in terms of cameras, I prefer them to be heavy enough to feel substantial in your hand. Unfortunately, the EX1 falls into the category of too large to fit comfortably in a pocket but it is small enough to carry around without too much trouble.

Despite being lightweight, the EX1 looks and feels well built. The pieces look well fitted. The LCD screen is thin and swivels but doesn’t feel flimsy. Even the very small flap door that covers the HDMI and battery charging ports opens and shuts with a convincing snap. I still think rubber covers would be more enduring but I understand the aesthetic reasoning.

Operation

The EX1 easily adapts to its user. A beginner can switch it to automatic and shoot with no problems while a more advanced user can tinker and adjust the many options to their liking. Depending on how comfortable and familiar you are with a camera, you’ll find no real problems here. The slick menu interface reminds me of the sort of enormous, cutting-edge, high-end televisions that you see but can never afford…or at least the one on the Playstation 3.

It’s pretty hard to get lost as the camera basically tells you what each one of your button presses has done and doing whatever you just did usually reverses the effect. Key functions such as ISO or macro can be adjusted without going into the menu but further tweaks require a bit more digging.

Shooting doesn’t get much harder. The rear click-dial adjusts the aperture settings (in manual or priority mode) and the front dial adjusts shutter speed.

While the front dial is placed in a bit of an awkward spot for your index figure, I found it very easy to use with my middle finger while keeping my index finger on the shutter release. I’m not sure if this is the way Samsung intended but it makes sense to me. Depending on the size of your hand, your results may vary and I admit it probably isn’t the best place for that dial.

In manual or priority modes, the LCD changes in real time to show you what the lighting situation will look like so you can easily adjust shutter and aperture settings.

Movie mode is triggered by the red button on the rear panel and can be use in any shooting mode. However, adjusting the movie shooting options can only be done when the shooting mode dial at the top of the camera is set to movie (apart from through the menu options). While in movie mode, the shutter release continues to shoot regular photos rather than beginning a video recording but neither the shutter or aperture settings can be changed. Stills taken while in movie mode will be taken as if the camera were in automatic mode.

Strangely, the manual focus is operated by the zoom rocker and is difficult to use. Actually, the few times I managed to get it to work, the pictures have turned out out of focus despite appearing to be in focus in the live view. Not sure if this is a flaw with the hardware or if maybe there’s a problem that can be fixed in later firmware revisions.

The Flash

Like with most built-in flashes, the one on the EX1 is a bit of an afterthought. It isn’t powerful enough to light anything further away than a few steps but it will do the job in a pinch if you find yourself needing one for a group photo in a dimly lit area. However, as the lens is a f1.8-2.4 aperture, most of the time a flash will be rather unnecessary if you shoot wide open.

The Image Stablization

One of the main selling points of the EX1 is that it features two methods of image stabilization. The optical stabilization can be enabled in any mode through the menu options but the digital image stabilization is only available in the dual stabilization shooting mode. I suppose this is for situations where you need a very slow shutter speed in low lighting and don’t think the optical stabilization is enough.

Unfortunately, in dual stabilization mode, aperture and shutter speed options are set to automatic and can’t be changed manually. Therefore, I found this shooting mode a little clunky and redundant. For just about every situation, shooting in priority or manual will probably yield better results as you have greater control and the optical stabilization is enabled anyways.

Battery Life

The battery is small in size but I managed 294 shots on the charge, quite a few more than the reported 240 shot capacity advertised.

Unlike most cameras, the EX1 doesn’t charge through a external charger. Instead, it uses a USB charger much like an iPod which means you can leave the charger alone and charge off your laptop’s USB when traveling.

Image Quality

The EX1’s image quality is excellent and probably benefits greatly from the bright lens and image stabilization allowing you to shoot at lower ISO settings. The flexibility of the camera settings will let shooters more familiar with photography to tweak even further and get better results. Shooting RAW, for example, let’s you keep a lot more detail in pictures and isn’t something commonly found in most consumer compact cameras.

Shooting in RAW, however, increases file size significantly and slows saving time by quite a bit. In fact, if you shoot RAW files in multi-shot, it takes more than a second to save each file.

Noise

In order to test the noise handling capability of the CCD sensor on the Samsung EX1, we take a series of shots at ISO 80 all the way up to ISO 3200. All these are 100% crops of images shot in aperture priority.

The 1/1.7″ CCD sensor is no slouch.  At ISO 80 through ISO 200, noise is just about non-existent and at ISO 400, it is barely noticeable.  However, at ISO 800, it becomes rather noticeable and ISO 1600 is rather grainy but still usable.  Noise levels are actually not bad although in the process of compressing images into JPEGs, it appears as though the camera attempts to smooth out noise, sacrificing detail.  You won’t see this at lower than ISO 400 but images begin to smudge as ISO gets higher.  Even in the non-detail areas like the white wall, noise levels are very high.  I wouldn’t use this camera past ISO 400.  ISO 800 if I’m desperate but ISO 1600 and 3200 produce images that look like they’ve been sitting in a bucket of water for awhile.

Shooting in RAW will eliminate this smudging problem but the noise remains high at high ISO.

Video Quality

Here’s a sample from the Samsung EX1…

At 640×480 and 30 frames per second, it’s nothing to write home about. Video is clear and the colors are good, but the lack of a hood gives the camera the same issues with lens flare as most point and shoots.

Wide Angle

If the 24mm wide end of the lens isn’t wide enough for you, an attachment lens is available for the EX1.  A simple twist of the ring attached to the lens reveals a threaded outer edge to which you can attach conversion adapters.

The LWCEX01 is a 0.75x converter, meaning it will further widen the 24mm lens to 18mm.  It’s a pretty simple process and I didn’t see any visible difference in image quality as a result of putting more glass in front of the camera’s sensor.  The converter is built very well and feels extremely solid but on the other hand, that means it increases the size and weight of the EX1 significantly when attached.

It turns a 24mm shot like this…

…into a 18mm shot.

Perhaps the most important problem I found with the LWCEX01 is that I couldn’t find anywhere that actually sold it.  None of the usual suspects like Adorama or B&H had it listed online and I only found a Canadian online store I had never dealt with that had it listed for $199.99.  The price reflects the quality of construction but is still very steep.

Considering the EX1 retails at $449 US, another two hundred on top of that makes the setup very expensive.  I couldn’t possibly justify spending $650 on a compact digital camera when several DSLRs are roughly the same price.  Granted an 18mm lens will probably cost quite a bit on any DSLR system but even when you compare the EX1 to the Panasonic GF1 with a 20mm lens, the EX1 doesn’t win any price battles.

Final Thoughts

The EX1 is a good camera with some minor flaws. There are a few interface issues but nothing particularly annoying. The dual stabilization mode is a nice idea but mostly unnecessary. However, the problem is the price puts it to close to the range of cheaper DSLRs such as the micro 4/3rd’s mirrorless cameras which have similar features and size. It’s also quite a bit more expensive than most compact cameras which will not have the great bright lens or degree of control but usually cost half as much or even less as sub-$200 cameras are getting better.  That and they’ll shoot video in HD.

There are plenty of things to like about the EX1 including the fantastic f1.8-2.4 24mm wide lens and a clear, bright articulated LCD screen but the market is changing and there’s a reason there are few high-end compact cameras on the market. It’s a good camera but there aren’t enough pros to justify buying one.

Pros

• Image quality is excellent
• f1.8-2.4 is nice and bright, seldom seen on any compact camera
• 24mm wide angle
• Low noise up to ISO 800
• Great articulated rear OLED screen
• Shoots in RAW, lots of control
• Good battery life

Cons

• A little expensive
• Only shoots video in VGA, no HD option
• Mostly useless flash
• Dual stabilization option is limited
• Front dial isn’t ideally placed
• Manual focus is almost unusable

Overall Rating: 7.0 / 10.0

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Samsung EX1/TL500 f/1.8-2.4 10.0 Megapixel Digital Camera – Photo Gallery