No one told here that it is for US buyers. Just get your eyes slightly above.
..... and, if you buy it from Amazon (for $698.95, at this moment), for example, you get hassle free returns (if needed) and US warranty. And 2 day free shipping if you are Amazon Prime member :). So buying straight from Korea does not look very attractive for US buyers.
@markr04: How good is the 16-50mm PZ in comparison to the 16-50 S lens?
The price right now including the 16-50 PZ lens (a very good quality, black compact lens that is also silent for video) is $699, including shipping. So, for $50 you get this nice lens. The lens by itself sells for $299 (white); $349 black.
So anyone buying an NX 500 with lens for $699 and unbundling and selling the body for $649 and the black $349 lens for anything more than $50 is just making a nice profit, off you... So, if you already have the lens, why not do the same thing and not buy the $649 body? Buy the bundle, and sell the lens (but only if you already have it).
body on ebay ($649 including shipping)
http://www.ebay.com/itm/Samsung-NX500-Wi-Fi-Only-Body-Black-33-Languages-Selectable-/261448228812
The NX500 is very good at acquiring focus lock and if CAF is enabled, maintaining autofocus, in normal lighting conditions. If I shoot a continuous burst with CAF, I usually get a higher percentage of shots in focus compared to the Sony a6000.
One of the features that has been touted for the NX500 is its ability to record 4k video without the need for an external recorder. There are currently only a few cameras that offer this feature, and even fewer at this price point. Unfortunately, the NX500's 4k video mode has limited usefulness because it is cropped 1:1 from the sensor, which is about a 2x crop -- a 16mm lens looks similar to a ~32mm lens.
Another reason the 4k is difficult to use is because it will record only to H.265, a video codec that is highly efficient but still very new, and is unsupported by most nonlinear editors. Samsung does include a software to convert H.265 to H.264.
http://betterfamilyphotos.blogspot.com/2015/04/samsung-nx500-review.html
Kit with various other stuff (SD card, tripod, bag etc) at $699
http://www.amazon.com/Samsung-Digital-Camera-16-50mm-Battery/dp/B00T6RTXT2/
Smaller kit at $679
http://www.amazon.com/NX500-Mirrorless-Multi-Coated-Carrying-Microfiber/dp/B00TQ9ZFZ6/
Taking advantage of crop mode and a zoom lens to stay dry while shooting birds in the rain:
Image quality is superb, with excellent detail levels and well controlled noise levels right up to ISO6400. Video performance is also impressive, especially for this size of camera, as 4K recording has traditionally been associated in this sector with larger cameras like the NX1 and Panasonic Lumix GH4.
http://www.ephotozine.com/article/samsung-nx500-review-27272
The NX1 video quality seems better in my opinion.
I've been using LX100 for some of my projects and it does come out really well, especially when paired with gimbal, the fast lens really helps at low-light/indoor, with wider 4K/cleaner video than GH4 can with slower 12-35mm f2.8. I was initially interesting on the NX500 for bcam, but too many limit been put on the camera to make it useful for me.
@MarcioK The LX100 is a great camera, and easier to use than the NX500. The advantage of the NX500 is interchangeable lenses. According to DPReview, Samsung has indicated they will add focus peaking during video shooting in an update to the NX500.
@markr041 Thanks for the peaking answer - deal breaking for me, because peaking is more useful for me when I have to change focus during recording (for a static focus shot only magnification is enough).
This and some other quirks made me choose the LX100 for now - maybe with some future firmware updates and a lower price I'll get a NX500.
I have some questions for a Nx500 owner.
-Overheating?
-How's the 1080p image similar to Nx1?
-1080p recording time limit 29"or 15"?
-Clean HDMI output at 1080p?
-Battery usage?
-The 4K image it doesn't looks bad at all, what about against the lumix FZ1000 or GH4?
I'm think of using this camera for video mainly with the SmallHD EVF and a small cage, using manual lenses and external audio recording, not so much different as using the Blackmagic Pocket.
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