The First Impressions Of Samsung NX1

Samsung is realising more of the potential of digital technology with a camera that promises fast auto-focusing, incredible continuous shooting rates, a high quality EVF and a tilting AMOLED rear screen. We're looking forward to seeing how the sensor performs.

Samsung drops the gloves and fires a shot across the bow of more entrenched manufacturers like Canon, Nikon, Pentax and Sony with the Samsung NX1 introduction , the company's first truly pro-level NX body.

Manufactured of thixotropic magnesium alloy, the NX1's body is tough, weather-sealed, and offers plenty of the controls and features pros expect, such as an LCD status display on the top panel, dual control dials for quick setting changes, and an optional battery grip, just to name a few.

Of course, being a mirrorless camera means it's not an SLR despite what looks like a pentaprism housing which actually contains a new XGA OLED electronic viewfinder with 100% coverage and 1.04x magnification. Also unlike most pro SLRs, the NX1 boasts a 3-inch Super AMOLED touchscreen monitor, using the same excellent display panel as its enthusiast-level sibling, the NX30, but with a more rugged tilting system in place of a more flexible but perhaps more delicate fully-articulated mechanism.

But the NX1's enhancements aren't just skin deep. Under the hood, you'll find a brand new backside-illuminated (BSI) 28.2-megapixel APS-C CMOS sensor with 205 embedded phase-detect AF sensors, coupled to a powerful new multi-core DRIMe V processor. And that pairing is capable of capturing full resolution stills at up to a whopping 15 frames-per-second with tracking autofocus, as well as recording 4K video. And because its 2014, the Samsung NX1 is not only equipped with built-in Wi-Fi and NFC, the faster IEEE 802.11ac standard is now supported, as well as "always-on" Bluetooth connectivity.

Available from mid-October 2014, the Samsung NX1 will ship in two configurations for the US market initially: body-only for about US$1,500 or bundled with the Samsung 16-50mm f/2-2.8 "S" OIS lens, a battery grip, a second battery and a dedicated battery charger, all for about US$2,800.

Samsung has also simultaneously announced the second optic in its "S" series of premium, dust and splash resistant lenses alongside the NX1: the Samsung 50-150mm f/2.8 "S" OIS, which will retail for about US$1,600. The two "S" zooms roughly correspond to the very popular 24-70mm and 70-200mm f/2.8 full-frame zoom lenses much loved by pros and advanced amateurs alike.