|
Samsung NX 18-200mm f/3.5-6.3 ED OIS iFn ( EX-L18200MB ) - Review / Test Report - Sample Images & Verdict |
|
Lens Reviews -
Samsung NX
|
|
Page 3 of 3
Sample Images
Click on a thumbnail to view the original file (opens in a separate window). Please note that the originals are FULL SIZE samples
(=several megabytes) thus requiring a significant amount of bandwidth so please take care of the limited resources here.
| Make |
SAMSUNG |
|
| Model |
NX200 |
| ISO Speed |
200 |
| Focal Length |
200.0mm |
| Aperture: |
f/6.3 |
| Exposure |
1/400s |
|
| Make |
SAMSUNG |
|
| Model |
NX200 |
| ISO Speed |
200 |
| Focal Length |
40.0mm |
| Aperture: |
f/9.0 |
| Exposure |
1/400s |
|
| Make |
SAMSUNG |
|
| Model |
NX200 |
| ISO Speed |
200 |
| Focal Length |
180.0mm |
| Aperture: |
f/6.3 |
| Exposure |
1/500s |
|
| Make |
SAMSUNG |
|
| Model |
NX200 |
| ISO Speed |
200 |
| Focal Length |
120.0mm |
| Aperture: |
f/6.3 |
| Exposure |
1/1000s |
|
| Make |
SAMSUNG |
|
| Model |
NX200 |
| ISO Speed |
200 |
| Focal Length |
18.0mm |
| Aperture: |
f/6.3 |
| Exposure |
1/500s |
|
| Make |
SAMSUNG |
|
| Model |
NX200 |
| ISO Speed |
200 |
| Focal Length |
18.0mm |
| Aperture: |
f/10.0 |
| Exposure |
1/160s |
|
| Make |
SAMSUNG |
|
| Model |
NX200 |
| ISO Speed |
200 |
| Focal Length |
35.0mm |
| Aperture: |
f/10.0 |
| Exposure |
1/200s |
|
| Make |
SAMSUNG |
|
| Model |
NX200 |
| ISO Speed |
200 |
| Focal Length |
200.0mm |
| Aperture: |
f/6.3 |
| Exposure |
1/500s |
|
Verdict
The Samsung NX 18-200mm f/3.5-6.3 ED OID iFn is the weakest Samsung NX lens that we've tested so far although given its extreme 11x zoom ratio this is hardly surprising. The performance is actually pretty decent at 18mm and 24mm between f/5.6 to f/11. However, from here on things are strictly heading downwards. At 50mm the quality is Okayish but at 100mm and 200mm the results are very poor specifically at f/6.3. Stopping down improves the situation a bit but the outer image region remains very disappointing at 200mm. The relatively high amount of lateral CAs doesn't help either in terms of subjective image quality perception. Vignetting is only a real problem at 18mm @ f/3.5 and only if you are not using Samsung's distortion auto-correction. The latter is actually a good idea due to the rather heavy amount of barrel distortion at 18mm.
So the optical quality isn't really impressive but what about the mechanical implementation at least ? Well, Samsung did a good job here. The quality of the used materials is better than average and the lens is also assembled pretty tightly. The AF operates fast and basically silently. Make sure to use the latest firmware in your camera - initially we weren't happy with AF accuracy both in the lab (although it didn't matter here) as well as in the field but the situation improved somewhat after a firmware update. This is not a lens problem but a weakness in the camera AF for whatever reason - contrast AF systems shouldn't really have an issue here. Samsung's optical image stabilizer (OIS) certainly comes handy given the rather slow max. aperture at 100-200mm (f/6.3) but it seems slightly less effective than in other systems.
The pricing of the lens isn't quite as aggressive as for other Samsung lenses (here in Europe at least) and relative to the optical performance a price tag of 550EUR/800US$ is just asking too much. Not recommended.
Mechanical Quality:
★★★★★
Click here for an explanation of our star ratings
|
