Samsung released its EX1/TL500 in Hong Kong two days ago. Here is the press release revealing some nitty-gritty of it.
(18th May 2010, Hong Kong) Samsung Electronics, a leading brand in consumer electronics and information technology, today announced the launch of a series new digital camera, among which is Samsung EX1 -- the world's first F1.8 compact digital camera which supports full manual control. The new Samsung EX1 is equipped with the outstanding F1.8 Schneider Lens and 1/1.7-inch 10 mega-pixel CCD, which is definitely a breakthrough in the market of digital imaging.
Mr. Alex Chung, Director of the Consumer Electronics Team of Samsung Electronics Hong Kong Co. Ltd, commented, "The new Samsung EX1 digital camera has marked a new milestone for digital imaging technology. Besides the industry-leading F1.8 lens, EX1 also stresses the importance of the operating experience, which devotes for delivering prosumer shooting experience to the users with a compact digital camera."
The New Samsung F1.8 lens EX1 Digital Camera
An Ideal Companion for Stylish Users
Ultra Wide F1.8 Lens Capturing the Enchantment in the Darkness
Samsung today demonstrated another revolutionary achievement in digital imaging technology -- EX1 digital camera. EX1 is equipped with the high quality German Schneider lens with 24mm ultra wide angle, as well as the world's first extra large F1.8 aperture which is long awaited. With the superior lens, users can easily take vivid and natural photo in the darkness and can have a bigger room for adjusting the depth of field in order to highlight the subject.
Wider Scenery with Ultra Wide 24mm Angle
EX1 is equipped with F1.8 lens, which the lens does not only cover the common shooting angle, but also covers 24mm ultra wide angle, which allows users to capture wider scenery within a short distance. A coating has been specially added to the superior lens, which does not only help to reduce aberration and restore the true color of the picture, but also reduce glare and ghosting.
Perfect Image with 1/1.7-inch 10 Mega-pixel CCD Image Sensor
EX1 features a large-sized 1/1.7-inch 10 mega-pixel CCD image sensor with the high sensitivity ISO 3200. With the newly developed DRIMe III image processor, the noise in the picture which took in dim environment can be reduced tremendously. The EX1 is definitely an ideal companion for stylish users which delivers a convenient shooting experience and perfect image at the same time.
A Free Shooting Style Delivered by the 3-inch Rotating AMOLED Display
To further enhance the shooting experience, EX1 features a 3-inch rotating AMOLED display, which provides a high contrast ratio to deliver sharp and vivid colors. The AMOLED LCD minimizes the effect from reflection in the day time and reduces the difficulty of confirming focus the subjects under sunshine. With the rotating design, users can fully manage any shooting angles and take unique and artistic picture with high or low angle support; shooting with EX1 will become a joyful experience without constraint.
Newly Added Dual Dial and Front Wheel Key Design Break the Boundary
In order to enhance the operating experience, EX1 has newly added the dual dial design. Without entering into the menu, users can directly adjust different shooting mode, including Program AE, Shutter Priority AE, Aperture Priority, etc with one of the dial, and to adjust the drive mode, including Single image, Continuous shooting, etc with another. And EX1 also features the professional front wheel commonly found in DSLR, which ensures users can adjust the exposure directly. Users would not miss any valuable memories by simplifying the sophisticated operation of EX1.
Ultra Fast DRIMe III image processor and Smart Range Delivering Perfection
To further enhance the image quality, EX1 is equipped with DRIMe III image processor, which greatly boosts the algorithm power which is capable of processing massive and complex image data in a shorter time span, which can deliver sharp and vivid image with the compact body. EX1 also features Smart Filter, which allows users to take photos with special effect, including miniature, fish eye and vignetting.
Specifications
Image Sensor Type : 1/1.7″ (Approx. 1.09cm) High Sensitive CCD
Effective Pixel: Approx. 10 Mega pixel
Total Pixel: Approx. 10 Mega pixel
Lens:
Focal Length 24-72mm, 3x Compact Lens, Lens cap, Wide Convertor
F No. 1.8-2.4
Digital Zoom Still Image mode : 1.0X ~ 4.0X Play mode : 1.0X ~ 11.4X (depends on image size)
Image Stabilization: Dual IS (OIS + DIS)
* OIS (Optical Image Stabilization,3 stop, DIS (Digital Image Stabilization)
Display Type: AMOLED featuring 3.0" (7.62cm), VGA, Rotating
Focusing Type:
TTL Auto Focus (Center AF, Multi AF, Selection AF, Tracking AF, Face Detection AF, Smart Face Recognition AF)
Range
Normal : 40cm ~ Infinity (Wide), 80cm ~ Infinity (Tele)
Macro : 1cm~40cm (Wide), 50cm ~ 80cm (Tele)
Auto Macro : 5cm~Infinity (Wide), 50cm~ Infinity (Tele)
Manual : 5cm ~ Infinity (Wide), 50cm ~ Infinity (Tele)
Shutter Speed
Auto : 1/8 ~ 1/1,500 sec., Program : 1 ~ 1/1,500 sec., Manual Mode : 16 ~ 1/1,500 sec.
Night : 8 ~ 1/1,500 sec., Fireworks : 2 sec.
Exposure Control: Program AE, Shutter Priority AE, Aperture Priority AE, Manual Exposure
Metering Multi, Spot, Center-weighted
Compensation: ±2EV (1/3EV steps)
ISO Equivalent: Auto, 80, 100, 200, 400, 800, 1600, 3200 (Fullsize)
Flash Modes:
Auto, Auto & Red-eye reduction, Fill-in flash, Slow sync, Flash Off, Red-eye fix, Manual
Range: Wide : 0.3m ~ 5.2m, Tele : 0.5m ~ 2.5m (ISO AUTO)
* Flash EVC : ±1EV (1/2 steps)
Recharging Time: Approx. 4 sec.
Sharpness: 5 steps
White Balance: Auto WB, Daylight, Cloudy, Fluorescent_H, Fluorescent_L, Tungsten, Custom, K
Shooting
Mode Dial : Smart Auto, Program, Aperture Priority, Manual, Shutter Priority, Dual IS, Scene, Movie
Scene: Beauty Shot, Frame Guide, Night, Portrait, Children, Landscape, Close-up, Text, Sunset, Dawn, Backlight, Firework, Beach & Snow
Movie capture button: Dual Mode Dial -- Drive(2), Timer(2), BRK
Self timer : Off, 10 sec., 2 sec., Double(10 sec., 2 sec.), Motion Timer, Remote Controller
Effect: Photo Style Selector : Normal, Soft, Vivid, Forest, Retro, Cool, Calm, Classic, Negative, Custom RGB
Image Adjust : Sharpness, Contrast, Saturation
Smart Filter : Nomal, Miniature, Vignetting, Fish-eye
Edit: Resize, Rotate, Photo Style Selector, Image Adjust
* Photo Style Selector : Normal, Soft, Vivid, Forest, Retro, Cool, Calm, Classic, Negative, Custom RGB
* Image Adjust : Off, ACB, Red-eye Fix, Face Retouch, Brightness, Contrast, Saturation, Add Noise
Image Replay
Single image, Thumbnails, Multi Slide show, Movie Clip, Smart Album
Voice Recording
Voice Recording (max. 10 hours)
Voice Memo in Still Image (max. 10 sec.)
With Stereo Recording
Date Imprinting: DD/MM/YY
-----------------
Movie Clip
Recording Modes : Smart Scene Detection (Landscape, Blue Sky, Natural Green, Sunset Sky), Movie
Format : H.264 (MPEG-4. AVC) (Max. Recording time : 20min.)
Size : 640×480 (30FPS,15FPS), 320×240 (30FPS,15FPS)
Frame Rate : 30 FPS, 15FPS
Voice(On/Off/Zoom Mute)
OIS(On/Off)
Effect
Photo Style Selector : Normal, Soft, Vivid, Forest, Retro, Cool, Calm, Classic, Negative, Custom RGB
Edit: Pause during recording, Still Image Capture, Time Trimming
-----------------
Storage
Media
Internal memory: 22MB
External memory: SD Card
SDHC (up to 8GB guaranteed)
File Format
Still Image : JPEG, DCF, EXIF 2.21, DPOF 1.1, PictBridge 1.0
Movie Clip : Container : MP4, Video : H.264, Audio : AAC
Image Size
10M : 3648 x 2736 pixels,
7MW : 3648 ×2052 pixels,
8M : 3264×2448 pixels,
5M : 2592×1944 pixels,
3M : 2048×1536 pixels,
2MW : 1920×1080 pixels,
1M : 1024×768 pixels
Interface
Digital Output Connector
USB 2.0
Audio
Microphone : Mono
Internal Speaker : Mono
Video Out
AV : NTSC, PAL (user selectable)
HDMI 1.3a : NTSC, PAL (user selectable)
(HDMI Type D Built-in)
DC power input
20pin
Power Source
Rechargeable battery : SLB-11A (1,130mAh)
Connector Type : 20pin
Adaptor : SAC-48, USB/Charging Cable : CB34U05, AV Cable : SCC-AV34
Cradle : SCC-HD2
Physical Specification
Dimension (WxHxD): 114.4 x 64.6 x 30 mm
Weight: 356g without battery and memory card
Operating Temperature
0 ~ 40 °C
Operating Humidity
5 ~ 85%
Suggested Retail Price
HK $3,990
Comments
Sorry to hear about the story. At least we know something now ... er .. at the expense of your new camera. But at least it still works fine. If it suits you, I encourage you to send this account of the incident to Samsung via its website. They will then issue an automatic acknowledgement. Expect no feedback for a period longer than you would prefer. Send them the account repeatedly with an extra note saying that you're waiting for a reply. Say your request politely. They will reply eventually. That's my personal experience.
I have heard that if owning a Samsung camera make the person determined on anything, it is on not owning another Samsung again. That is a casual comment but may carry some truth in it.
A photographer from London who I met in Hong Kong had his Ricoh GX100 dropped for 3 feet to the ground. It came out unscathed and worked fine! I have yet to try the EX-1, but from what you mentioned it probably is no match for the GRD3's magnesium alloy body.
Happy shooting!
Nevin
I think you were saying that the flash is dead.
1) Reset the camera setting to the factory default (look up the user's instruction on how)-- mind that this will delete any specific photographic settings on the camera which you may wish to keep;
2) If it doesn't work, make sure that you are using the Program mode and set the flash to compulsory (still, look up the user's instruction on how).
3) If the flash still doesn't work, contact Samsung of your country for maintenance.
Nevin