Samsung EX2F Pro Reviews

Samsung cameras often provide better performance than their competition at the same price point and that's the case with the EX2F. After carrying this nifty little digital camera with me just about everywhere I've gone for the last few weeks the EX2F is now my benchmark point and shoot digital camera. If you want to channel the spirits of some of the greatest photographers who ever lived, hang this elegant little Samsung camera around your neck and walk some urban avenues for an adventure in straight shooting. The EX2F may look a bit retro and unergonomic, but it responds almost as if it were an extension of the photographer. In hand, the little EX2F feels just right. All controls are logically placed and come easily to hand. The EX2F's strongest appeal will be to straight-shooters because it was clearly designed for reactive photography. The EX2F is an almost perfect straight shooter's camera -- it is unintimidating to subjects, very responsive, and capable of dependably producing first-rate 12 megapixel RAW format digital negatives, jpeg image files, or HD video clips. The EX2F is obviously targeted towards advanced users, but this digicam offers much for mainstream shooters as well -- it is user friendly with icon driven menus, a well designed Smart Auto mode, and an adequate selection of scene mode settings. The EX2F would be a good choice for couples (or families) with one advanced photographer and a casual shooter spouse or significant other. After heavily using the EX2F for the past several weeks -- I award this snazzy little camera my highest rating.

Is the EX2F as good as a DSLR? Not quite. The EX2F, at the end of the day, is still a point-and-shoot, but a very good one. The camera produces quality photos, thanks to the large sensor and excellent lens. The AMOLED screen is also marvelous, as is the Wi-Fi. But users stepping up from a lower-end cam may find the lens’ short focal range and slow zoom unattractive. The $449 list price is a bit high for a point-and-shoot (although you can get it for lower), but you do get some nice advanced features not found in lower-end point-and-shoots. If you’re absolutely interested in stepping up to a higher-end camera that’s not a DSLR, consider investing in a mirrorless camera like Samsung’s NX, Sony’s NEX, or Micro Four-Thirds models from Panasonic and Olympus. Get yourself a nice pancake lens to keep the small form factor, but still have the option to add a different lens when needed.

The superb lens tops the impressive list of features, but numerous niggles hold it back

There's a lot to like about the EX2F, and it certainly represents a positive step forward in the advanced compact market. It features a specification that truly impresses, with a high-specification lens, impressive LCD screen and full Wi-Fi functionality, while also offering Raw and HD video capture, as well as great image quality. The camera is only really let down by a few niggles with performance and design - it's more sluggish when shooting Raw then it needs to be, while there are several questionable button designs and placements which cause issues when handling. One the whole however, the EX2F is a great advanced compact and certainly up there with the traditional heavyweights in this market.

The high-end Samsung EX2F point-and-shoot offers up fast lens, a swiveling OLED display, and excellent integrated Wi-Fi.

The only downside is, despite including bags of detail from centre to corner of frame, pictures can look better on the camera’s back than your own desktop.

So far it seems that the Samsung EX2F is something of a let-down, but that's definitely only relative to a few key competitors. The EX2F remains a serious photographic tool that concentrates on delivering high quality images with the minimum of fuss, yet can still be carried in your pocket. Unfortunately it just isn't quite as refined in terms of handling, performance or image quality as recent cameras like the Sony Cyber-shot RX100 or the Panasonic Lumix DMC-LX7. The Samsung EX2F is worth considering if you're in the market for a high-end compact - just make sure to test it alongside its rivals to see which one you prefer...

Samsung’s current fascination with Wi-Fi will please some and leave others shrugging their shoulders. As it stands the EX2F’s Wi-Fi feature is ok, it’s certainly something that similar competitors don’t offer, but it does stick a knife in the battery life. Brush that feature aside and focus on the EX2F’s core features and there’s plenty to like: the f/1.4 maximum aperture (which dips to f/2.7 at the 90mm equivalent) is right up there with the brightest available; the lower ISO settings deliver sharp, detailed images; and the vari-angle OLED screen is great for unusual shooting positions. There’s even a hotshoe for additional accessories (though we’d like to see more surface sometime soon) and the dual-dial, dual-thumbwheel-esque controls work well.

The Samsung EX2F is a good compact camera capable of taking high quality photos, with a bright f/1.4 lens with image stabilisation - this makes it extremely capable when shooting in low light situations. Noise control is a little worse than we hoped although colours are bright and vibrant, whilst still appearing natural. The screen is very good, giving multiple angles, as well as the option to protect the screen by folding it away, although the lack of electronic viewfinder will disappoint some. The camera offers high speed shooting at 10fps, although strangely this is only available when shooting JPEGs. When shooting RAW it's very noticeable how slow the camera is to write the photos to the memory card, as the camera will stop you from changing any settings. It would also be nice if there was a slightly longer zoom available, although the 1cm macro mode is impressive. Yet on that note, the camera doesn't automatically switch from normal focusing to macro - and if you have the camera in the wrong mode from the last shot, it will simply refuse to focus meaning you can easily miss a shot. Samsung's Wi-Fi sharing is one of the best we've seen on any camera, and it will let you share directly to social media sites, backup your photos, upload to the cloud, share to your smartphone and more. If this is of benefit to you, then this camera produces very good image quality and is recommended.