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The Samsong GX-1S is Samsung's first Digital SLR and is really a rebadged Pentax iST-DS2. Note: The picture listed above is incorrect as it shows an Samsung Digital Compact and not the GX-1S Digital SLR. The compact sized high build quality DSLR is one of the smallest (Same size as Nikon's D40 - now that they too have realised that not everybody wants to carry a huge brick around with them on their travels!) The GX-1S is among the smallest digital SLRs available. It has a good, solid feel to it with its deep fingergrip, which makes for a very secure and stable hold. The camera feels well balanced with any of the D-Xenon or Pentax fit kit lenses. Only people with very large (HUGE) hands would find fault with the grip, in my opinion. The Samsung GX-1S is simple for a novice to use, yet has many bells and whistles that will keep the more knowledgeable camera user happy via the camera system menu. It takes excellent photographs with Samsung and Pentax kit lenses. The Megapixel race has put many a buyer off of some very good quality digital cameras recently. That's a shame as many cameras of 5 Megapixel and over produce excellent images and I would challange anyone to differentiate between a 6 and those of a 10 megapixel image. - Unless the picture is blown up to the size of an advertising billboard that is!!! I don't know many people who go bigger than A3 sized posters personally. The Samsung GX-1S or its sibling the Pentax iSt-DS2 at 6.3 Megapixel produce nice saturated images that will put any digital compact to shame - and hey - who needs "Live View" really? The bright viewfinder is a real pleasure to use. 11 point autofocus hunts occasionally in low light - but none more so than its contempories in this price range. These cameras and their ilk are becoming real bargains now as people fork out small fortunes for new "megapixel monsters". If only they knew!!! The bonus is also that many Pentax lenses can be picked up second hand nowadays with autofocus Pentax K-mount lenses currently available from ultra-wide fisheye zoom lenses to lightweight telephoto. Third party manufacturers such as Sigma and Tamron also offer a decent range of lenses. This is great news for budding photographers on a budget. Some reviews complain of vignetting on the std 18-55mm lens. I have not noticed this personaly - and I understand that it's not confined to the Samsung or Pentax kit lenses alone. There's some mention of the phenomina with other MAJOR brands low priced kit lenses in many reviews too so I wouldn't read too much into that! I've had great pleasure out of using my GX-1S and have recorded exellent images that no compact Digicam could ever have hoped for. At the right price, this is an excellent first DSLR that still holds its own against more expensive systems and I don't hesitate to recommend it despite its slightly older origins.Read full review
Having only owned this camera for a couple of days I am not in a position to offer a definitive review. My main reason for considering this brand of camera, was that along with 'Pentax' it would allow me to use the 'K fit' lenses that I already owned. Selecting this, rather than a Pentax, was mainly a matter of price consideration. First impressions are very favourable. The camera is comfortable to hold and controls fall readily to hand. With both the 18-55mm lens and the 50-200mm, balance is good and very much lighter than the 35mm SLR that I've been used to using, without feeling like a toy in the hand. It comes with a very comrehensive instruction booklet, which I would recommend be read cover to cover. Unlike many, it is in good English and quite understanderble.There is no doubt that the multitude of camera and image controls available will take some getting used to so for the moment I am relying on the cameras auto functions whilst learning the ropes. In this respect it seems to do a good job. Both lenses give good definition over the full focal length range. I have noticed that with the 50-200mm lens the auto exposure at 170mm and above is gradually falls off until at 200mm the resultant image is about 1 stop underexposed. Auto focus seems to do a good job, a bit disconcerting at first, feeling the lens rotate in your hands as it does it's thing - but I soon got used to that. One gripe with regard to the lenses, the supplied lens hoods which bayonet fit to the front of the lenses are both a very loose fit and tend to vibrate off as you walk. The pop-up flash appears to give good coverage for the purpose it's intended. There is a little drop-off at the edges with the standard lens at 18mm when photographing a plain wall at 15 feet, but at the normal focal length of 30-35mm showed none of this. The hot-shoe will allow the use of a more powerful flash if required. I can offer no comment on the supplied software. Since I have a multi-card reader fitted to my PC and software that will cope with RAW files should I need, I havn't bothered to install either drivers or photo manipulation apps. Overall impressions are very satisfatory. With the purchase of additional accessories it is possible to use off camera flash, remote control and much more. Since this is a Pentax in all but name, the wide range of Pentax compatible lenses and accessories are available to make a very complete system. I believe I can recommend this as a suitable purchase for anybody wishing to enter the realm of DSLR photography on a budget.Read full review
I have used this camera professionally, and was very surprised at the results. I was expecting it to be amateur level pics, but they were crisp, and looked great. This camera is actually the Pentax Pentax *ist DS2 re-badged, so you get the Pentax Quality and experience, with the Samsung price tag :)
Comes with two interchangable lenses. Produces very nice clear images. The camera however is very power hungrey. I bought this camera as a back for the Samsung camera I already own.