In summary
The NX 16-50mm f/2-2.8 S ED OIS zoom lens is one of the company’s sharpest lenses and an excellent match for the NX1 camera. It’s an ideal general-purpose lens for buyers of this camera.
Its fast maximum aperture range, particularly at shorter focal lengths, puts it in a premium class for kit lenses. And as well as capitalising on the sensor’s high resolution, its size and weight also provide better handling on the NX1 camera than the cheaper and slower kit lens (which is better suited to Samsung’s consumer CSCs). Highly recommended.
Full review
Announced in January 2014, well in advance of the NX1 camera, Samsung’s NX 16-50mm f/2-2.8 S ED OIS zoom lens is the first in a line of ‘premium’ lenses created with the NX1 in mind. Featuring a full metal barrel that is splash- and dust-proof, this lens is definitely professional quality and features some of Samsung’s most advanced technologies, with a sophisticated AF mechanism and complex optical design.
Side view of the Samsung NX 16-50mm f/2-2.8 S ED OIS without the end caps and lens hood. (Source: Samsung.)
Its optical design contains18 elements in 12 groups and includes three aspherical elements plus two ED (extra-low dispersion) and two XHR (‘eXtreme’ high refractive) elements. The aspherical elements minimise spherical aberration, while the ED elements control chromatic aberration. Using XHR elements produces a more compact and lightweight lens, while providing the same benefits as a greater number of standard optical glass elements.
The diagram above shows the positions of the exotic elements in the lens design. (Source: Samsung.)
Built-in optical stabilisation offers up to four f-stops of compensation, based upon CIPA guidelines. In addition, Samsung’s SPMC (Superior Multi-Coating) technology minimises ghosting and flare. Autofocusing is driven by an Ultra-Precise Stepping Motor (UPSM), which is both fast and quiet enough to use while recording movie clips.
The diagram above shows the use of the i-Function button. (Source: Samsung.)
Integrated into the lens barrel is Samsung’s i-Function button, the use of which is outlined below. It plays a similar role to the Function button on some Olympus lenses and makes it easier for photographers to adjust camera settings without taking their eye from the viewfinder.
The lens is supplied with front and end caps, a petal-shaped lens hood and a soft carrying pouch. It takes72 mm filters. The hood is made from plastic and relatively light in weight. It reverses over the lens barrel for storage.
Who’s it for?
Size- and performance-wise, the 16-50mm f/2-2.8 lens is best suited to the NX1 camera, although it can be used with other cameras in Samsung’s NX range, where it covers a useful focal length range, equivalent to 24.6-77mm in 35mm format. This provides a useful working range from a modest wide angle to portrait perspectives.
The fast f/2.0 – f/2.8 maximum aperture provides scope for low-light shooting and capturing a shallow depth of field to isolate subjects from distracting backgrounds. (The minimum aperture is f/22.) A nine-bladed iris diaphragm with a circular aperture creates attractive bokeh in wide-aperture shots.
The price tag for this lens is relatively high (although you can save up to AU$200 by buying from some local re-sellers). But it’s reasonable for the speed of this lens. Samsung makes another 16-50mm lens that weighs only 111 grams and sells for about AU$400. But it ‘s 1.6 f-stops slower at 16mm and two stops slower at 50mm.
Build and Ergonomics
The build quality of the 16-50mm f/2-2.8 lens is excellent and a good match for the NX1 camera. It has a metal barrel that is cool to touch and a very solid metal mounting plate. The inner barrel extends by just over 20 mm when the lens is zoomed in.
Internal focusing means the lens doesn’t change length during focusing, which will please video shooters. In addition, the front element of the lens doesn’t rotate, allowing easy use of angle-critical attachments like polarisers or graduated filters.
The focusing ring is located just behind the front element at the leading edge of the outer barrel. It’s 15 mm wide and carries a finely-ribbed rubber-like grip cladding, which is secure and comfortable to hold.
Slider controls for focusing, zooming and stabilisation are located in a ‘function zone’ on the left hand side of the lens, just behind the focusing ring, with a programmable ‘iFunction’ button above them. This button can be set to control any one of the same functions as the programmable buttons on the camera body. Its advantage is instant access to the pre-set function, which is adjusted by turning the focusing ring at the front of the lens barrel.
Adjustable functions include aperture, shutter speed, exposure compensation, ISO, white balance and Intelli-Zoom (which isn’t available when shooting raw files). Pressing the button lets you select the function via an on-screen display.
The 25 mm wide zoom ring is situated in front of the lens mount and has focal lengths stamped on its 4 mm wide smooth leading edge. These line up against a white line on the non-moving section of the barrel between the two rings. The trailing 26 mm of the zoom ring has a similar, ridged rubber cladding to the focusing ring.
Neither distance scale nor depth-of-field indicators are provided. Sliders on the left hand side of the barrel switch between auto and manual focusing and engage or disengage the image stabilisation system.
Manual focusing is handled electronically. Turning the focusing ring adjusts the focus motor, rather than making mechanical adjustments. The camera will need to be switched on for this to happen. The focusing range from 30 cm to infinity is spanned with a rotation of about 270 degrees.
The zoom ring rotates smoothly through about 90 degrees as you span from the 16mm to the 50mm focal length. As you zoom, the maximum aperture changes from f/2 at 16mm through f/2.2 at 20mm and f/2.5 at 24mm to f/2.8 between 28mm and 35mm.
The lens slopes sharply inwards towards the very solid metal mounting plate. It’s attached via a bayonet mount by matching the (rather small) red dot on the mounting plate with a slightly larger dot on the camera body. The supplied soft carrying pouch has a drawstring closure.
Performance
A natural partner for the NX1 camera, this lens was used for our review of the NX1 and proved a very competent performer. Imatest showed it exceeded expectations for the sensor’s resolution and delivered very high resolution at most focal lengths and aperture settings.
The highest resolution recorded in our Imatest tests was with the 28mm focal length at an aperture of f/3.5. Some edge softening was detected at wider aperture settings but resolution remained relatively high at apertures down to f/8, where diffraction began to have a noticeable effect. The graph below shows the results of our tests.
Lateral chromatic aberration remained well within the negligible band, edging into the low band with the 22mm focal length at the widest aperture settings. We suspect the camera includes automatic CA correction when processing JPEG files as the equivalent SRW.RAW files (which aren’t corrected) showed low-to-moderate CA.
Nonetheless, we found no visible coloured fringing in any of our test shots so we don’t see it as a major problem and CA is easy to correct when processing raw files.. In the graph below showing the results of our tests, the red line marks the border between negligible and low CA.
The expected barrel distortion at shorter focal lengths was confirmed by test shots but it was relatively minor, even in uncorrected raw files. There was very slight pincushion distortion at 50mm but none visible between 24mm and 28mm.
Vignetting (edge and corner shading) in uncorrected raw files was relatively slight. Traces of corner shading could be seen in shots taken with the maximum aperture settings for all focal lengths but they were difficult to detect in shots taken at the shorter focal lengths. By 50mm, corner darkening was easier to see. This level of vignetting would be easy to correct post-capture but is irrelevant to most shooting situations.
Autofocusing was generally fast, accurate and almost silent, which makes this lens a good choice if you want to shoot movies. It took approximately 0.8 seconds on average to rack from the closest focus to infinity.
Switching between auto and manual focusing was easy and the focusing ring turned smoothly. However, there are no stops at the end of the focusing range, although the camera displays a linear scale to help you estimate the focused distance in the EVF or on the monitor screen. A red bar indicates this distance and it moved relatively quickly as we turned the focusing ring.
The built-in stabilisation system worked very well, providing between two and three f-stops of correction (depending on the focal length setting and how steadily you can hold the camera). This is class-leading in a lens with this focal length range.
Conclusion
The NX 16-50mm f/2-2.8 S ED OIS zoom lens is one of the company’s sharpest lenses and an excellent match for the NX1. It’s an ideal general-purpose lens for buyers of this camera.
Its fast maximum aperture range, particularly at shorter focal lengths, puts it in a premium class for kit lenses. And as well as capitalising on the sensor’s high resolution, its size and weight also provide better handling on the NX1 camera than the cheaper and slower kit lens (which is better suited to Samsung’s consumer CSCs). Highly recommended.
SPECS
Picture angle: 82.6 degrees to 31.4 degrees
Minimum aperture: f/22
Lens construction: 18 elements in 12 groups (including three aspherical, two ED and two XHR elements)
Lens mounts: Samsung NX
Diaphragm Blades: (circular aperture)
Focus drive: Stepping motor (UPSM) with internal focusing
Stabilisation: Yes (OIS)
Minimum focus: 30 cm
Maximum magnification: 0.19x
Filter size: 72 mm
Dimensions (Diameter x L): 81 x 96.5 mm
Weight: 600 grams
Standard Accessories: Petal-shaped lens hood, front and end caps, soft carrying pouch
TESTS
Based on Large/SuperFine JPEG files straight from the camera.
SAMPLES
Vignetting at f/2.0, 16mm focal length. (Taken from an uncorrected SRW.RAW file.)
Vignetting at f/2.8, 50mm focal length. (Taken from an uncorrected SRW.RAW file.)
Rectilinear distortion at 16mm focal length. (Taken from an uncorrected SRW.RAW file.)
Rectilinear distortion at 50mm focal length. (Taken from an uncorrected SRW.RAW file.)
16mm focal length, ISO 160, 1/60 second at f/16.
24mm focal length, ISO 200, 1/100 second at f/16.
28mm focal length, ISO 200, 1/80 second at f/16.
35mm focal length, ISO 200, 1/80 second at f/16.
50mm focal length, ISO 320, 1/80 second at f/16.
50mm focal length, ISO 100, 1/500 second at f/5.6.
38mm focal length, ISO 400, 1/125 second at f/3.5.
18mm focal length, ISO 100, 1/100 second at f/11.
Crop from the above image at 100% magnification showing the relative absence of coloured fringing.
Slight veiling flare in a strongly backlit shot; 16mm focal length, ISO 400, 1/100 second at f/4.5.
Bokeh at f/2.8, 45mm focal length, ISO 200, 1/100 second at f/2.8.
16mm focal length, ISO 100, 1/250 second at f/11.
18mm focal length, ISO 100, 1/320 second at f/9.
16mm focal length, ISO 400, 1/640 second at f/11.
16mm focal length, ISO 100, 1/50 second at f/10.
50mm focal length, ISO 100, 1/160 second at f/11.
1106: 35mm focal length, ISO 200, 1/500 second at f/8.
Additional image samples can be found with our review of the Samsung NX1 camera.
Rating
RRP: AU$1499; US$1160
- Build: 9.0
- Handling: 8.8
- Image quality: 9.0
- Versatility: 9.0