I've been thinking to write some post to compare what i have (NX) with what the market offer.
Nikon has just presented the DL lines and i really like this idea. I think that the main flaw of the line is the price, but beside that it is really the kind of product that people like me would enjoy.
The DL 18-50 is a great toy if you are a landscape shooter, but i am not.
I also dont like megazoom so the 24-500 is not my target.
The boring DL 24-85 is the product for me and i do my comparision with the low end NX3000, fitted with a 16-50, 24-77 equivalent, so very close.
To complete the equivalence we have this:
Nikon with a 24-85 f5-f8 (2.7 crop factor)
Samsung with a 24-77 f5.6-f9 (1.54 crop factor)
As you can see the aperture number converted to their equivalnce are not so exciting for both Nikon DL and Samsung NX. This equivalence is useful to understand what bokeh offer these lenses. There is 1/3 of difference so i will say that you will not get any advantage from the Nikon DL numbers.
On the other hand, you will effectively get '2 stops' more light with the Nikon at the tele end.
This sensible difference is mitigated by 2 facts:
1) if the sensor has the same performance of the best Nikon 1 sensor actually on the market (and i should be!), the DL series has a Dxomark rating around 500 iso where the NX is about 900. 1 stop difference in favor of the Samsung.
2) the smaller sensor will gather some more "light noise"
This makes the gap between the two camera smaller, but belive me, for a 1inch sensor is really a good archivement.
The Nikon weight 350g (105 x 61 x 50 mm), the Samsung NX3000 weight 385g (117 x
66 x
39 mm), so size is very similar, they are in the same class.
I think that the real difference between the two are:
1) AF system
2) Price
I expect the Nikon to be better in the AF compartment, from one side.
On the other side, if AF is not a real issue for you, i dont see any reason to pay 200-250$ more for a Nikon DL over a Samsung NX. This, putting a side the fact that the samsung is an interchangeable lens!
