Samsung 30mm f/2 NX

5 out of 10 points

and

not recommended

by

arconovum

(4 reviews)

good optics.

terrible for video , pathetic auto focus, terrible warranty

As usual with my review of Samsung nx200, and various Samsung specific lenses, I have very little good to say, unfortunately Samsung seems to forget that a lot of competition exists in this market, and make things plagued with unacceptable flaws and defects. So without further ado here is my review of this lens.So this lens has decent optics, its light weight, not too expensive, Ifunction is fun etc.. etc.. and this is all expected. You get this from all other reviews of this lens on the web. Now I will tell you what you won't see in these reviews after 2 months of testing and usage. As I have said in previous reviews holds true here on the subject of auto-focus being imperfect and requires manual intervention. This lens cannot / should not be used at all for video. Auto-focus mode is far too slow to completely useless(this is no exaggeration), it often fails to be able to focus at all or will take about 5 to 8 seconds to finally focus in on the subject, and of course this is not just the fault of the lens but the camera. Also in Auto focus mode the lens does a lot of mechanical noise that gets recorded on the video, and is very loud.In manual focus mode its the same problem when in video mode, the lens focus ring rubs

and grinds and makes a lot of noise on the video when using the provided mic on the camera. Manual focusing is not direct drive so to speak, it's software trying to interpret your motions on the focus ring, and so you don't just turn a little to the right to get perfect focus , you have to start from zero every time from a totally blurred view and work your way back to focus again, and this you will do over and over 3 to 4 times before you get it right, forget this in a video, and never mind the picture perfect moment for anything in motion.In the end I cannot recommend this lens for the nx200 camera, because the two do not compliment each other the way a consumer would expect, a consumer of a point and shoot will expect to use the video abilities of a camera , without focusing issues and noise. As all lenses from Samsung , they are considered an accessory , no warranty is respected if it fails , Samsung will not repair it nor replace it, this is what I was told directly from Samsung while speaking to an agent and floor manager. This being my 3rd review I feel I should say this. You will find that I am very strong worded about my reviews, Yes I am , I don't know what Samsung are thinking but if they are thinking that somehow they are paving the way to a new diminished standard of making cameras and equipment, my advice is to re-think your strategy.

reviewed April 18th, 2012(purchased for $400)