Samsung EX1 review

We review the Samsung EX1 - with its fast, bright lens, this compact will turn heads

Samsung have made huge progress in the compact camera market in a relatively short amount of time going from strength to strength. They have set their sights high attempting to offer a professional compact at an aggressive price point in the market, but can they deliver? 

For a compact camera the body is a bit too bulky for a pocket and is better suited to being carried in a bag or small case. The camera body feels solid and well built with the lens protected safely behind the cap and the screen rotated inward out of harm.  

A stand out feature for this model has to be it’s 3” rotating AMOLED screen. Perfect for shooting low down macro shots, composing self portraits and avoiding glare whilst taking shots. Colours and detail on the screen are clear and crisp. Perfect for both reviewing images and altering menu options. 

Having a lens cap and swivel screen does bring drawbacks to a compact camera. One real advantage to having a compact is it’s accessibility. With the EX1 you will quite often miss shooting opportunities fiddling with the screen and lens cap. The additional optical viewfinder (sold separately) would change the way you used the camera and give it a more accessible feel.   

Otherwise startup is smooth and control setup is made as simple as possible with the menu dials. Even the menus have a scroll wheel on the front so you can get in and navigate around them quickly.

The power button is encompassed by a dial that that can be used to set the timer, continuous shooting and the bracket mode. Bracket mode takes a variety of images at different settings and exposures. 

The second dial offers all your shooting modes in one simple turn. Dials do seem a little loose and easily turned by accident. You will find yourself having to check them each time you use the camera, especially if you are relying on the automatic settings.

Smart mode is a perfect point and shoot setting, it will set all aspects of the shot for you.  All you need to do is decide whether you want the flash, compose your shots and shoot. The lens can be noticeably loud when it is continually focussing automatically.

A plethora of manual controls and raw image support make this camera a worthwhile consideration for advanced photographers. Exposure and aperture are easily controlled together with their separate dials.

3x optical zoom may not meet the needs of all photographers but for close range shots it is superb. The short focal length and shallow depth of field makes macro images look stunning. This really is a camera for the more enthusiastic shooter who likes to get up close to subjects. 

Technically though this camera is impressive. The short lens keeps images sharp and image distortion low. Even in the lowest of light the flash is rarely needed and noise is minimal in un-cropped images. Processing speeds can be a little slow at times and this may lead to use of the flash, which does a good job of compensating.

One battery charge offered around 225 shots with minimal flash usage and a couple of minutes of video from full. A little disappointing for a camera of this size and price, a charged spare is certainly recommended for a solid days use.

No HD video on a camera of this calibre is a huge disappointment. One-touch recording allows you to shoot 640 x 480 at 30fps allowing 5 photos to be taken throughout. Video quality is clear although exposure can be patchy and the 3x optical zoom is very slow.

Overall for the price you pay you are getting a solid camera. Beginners and intermediate photographers have room to improve their skills, whilst professionals will benefit from its accessible control system. An additional wide angle lens, optical viewfinder and hot shoe flash are also available to compliment the camera’s default setup.