Samsung recently announced the Samsung NX500 mirrorless compact, which pretty much can be summed up as their NX1 camera in a much smaller package. Given that they’ve come a very long way since their first NX cameras, the NX500 is looking quite promising.
Featuring roughly the same specifications as the NX1, the NX500 is more or less the same camera that’s been made small enough that you can almost slip it into your pocket. It has the very same 28 MP APS-C sensor, DRIMe V processor, autofocus system and 4K video recording capabilities, which is quite amazing for a camera of this size. It will also have a tiltable 3-inch Super AMOLED Touch panel out the back, an ISO of up to 51,200 as well as a healthy amount of connectivity options namely WiFi, NFC and Bluetooth.
Still, it would have some downsides as a result from it’s small form factor. For starters, the NX500 will not have the 120 fps Full HD video enjoyed by the NX1 but will still record up to 60 fps and burst mode has been downsized from 15 fps to 9 fps due it not being possible to scale down the shutter mechanics. The compact will also be lacking it’s larger sibling’s weather-sealing too, so you won’t have the added benefit of water and dust resistance which is a pretty big bummer.
However, you still will be getting an extremely versatile compact camera for what it’s worth, though whether or not it will perform exactly as the NX 1 is up to debate, especially when it comes down to the handling but that will have to wait till we get our own hands on it.
We aren’t sure when the Malaysian release will be yet but the camera will start shipping in March this year at the price of $800 (about RM2852) in a kit that comes with a 16-50mm f/3.5-5.6 power zoom lens and will be available in black, brown and white.
