Conclusion
Pros:
- Extremely well-built with outstanding control mechanics
- Weathersealed against moisture and dust
- Very fast and quiet autofocus with excellent accuracy
- Very good central image sharpness at maximum aperture
- Excellent cross frame sharpness at small apertures
- Beautiful color and contrast
- Good flare control with bright light sources in the frame
- Manageable distortion and good control of vignetting
- Very nice bokeh for a standard zoom
- Image stabilizer good for 2-3 stops
Cons:
- Notable lateral chromatic aberration
- Strong linear flares with bright sources just out of frame
- Autofocus slows down in dim light
- Some minor corner and edge softness at wide apertures
The Samsung 16-50mm f/2-2.8 S OIS is the premium standard zoom for the Samsung NX system, and Samsung has done a great job overall with this optic. The lens is sharp, has nice bokeh, great color and contrast, a fast focus motor and image stabilization. It is also an impeccably well-constructed lens with outstanding mechanics and an extremely solid build. It’s not a perfect lens, though, and is let down a bit by worse than average chromatic aberration control and a few other relatively minor optical flaws. In all, I think it’s an outstanding optic, and would be the first lens I would want to purchase with the NX system. The $1149 price means it’s not a cheap lens, but there’s nothing to complain about with regards to price. The optics and build quality combined with an ultra-fast aperture and optical stabilization make the lens worth the asking price.
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Image Samples
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