Samsung NX20 Flash

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Samsung NX20 Flash

The Samsung NX20's built-in flash is much more powerful than the small external strobe bundled with its siblings. It has a guide number of 11 meters (36 feet) at ISO 100, and is said to have 28mm (equivalent) coverage. Flash modes provided are: Smart Flash, Auto, Auto Red-eye, Fill-in, Fill-in Red-eye, 1st Curtain, 2nd Curtain and Off. Available flash exposure compensation ranges from -2 to +2 EV in 1/2 EV steps, and X-sync is at 1/180 second or less.

If you want more power, external strobes mount in a standard hot shoe on the top deck of the NX20. The most powerful Samsung strobe currently is the ED-SEF42A, with a guide number of 42 meters.

As well as strobes, the Samsung NX20's hot shoe also accepts a proprietary, body-powered external stereo microphone.

Flash Test Results

Coverage and Range
A fairly powerful flash with somewhat narrow coverage. About average exposure compensation required.


18mm	55mm

Normal Flash +0.7 EV	Slow-Sync Flash 0 EV

Coverage. Flash coverage from the Samsung NX20's internal flash is uneven at wide-angle (18mm), leaving corners a little dim in our flash coverage test image. Narrow coverage at wide-angle isn't unusual, though, and some of the corner darkening is from the lens itself. Coverage is more uniform at telephoto (55mm), though exposure is darker and some fall-off is still noticeable.

Exposure. Our Indoor Portrait test scene is bright with +0.7 EV exposure compensation, about average for this test. The camera's Slow-Sync flash mode produced an overly bright image at the default setting, though with a stronger orange cast from the room lighting from the longer exposure.

Flash Range: Wide Angle
6 ft	7 ft	8 ft	9 ft	10 ft	11 ft
1/40 sec f3.5 ISO 200	1/40 sec f3.5 ISO 200	1/40 sec f3.5 ISO 200	1/40 sec f3.5 ISO 200	1/40 sec f3.5 ISO 200	1/40 sec f3.5 ISO 200
12 ft	13 ft	14 ft	15 ft	16 ft
1/40 sec f3.5 ISO 200	1/40 sec f3.5 ISO 200	1/40 sec f3.5 ISO 200	1/40 sec f3.5 ISO 200	1/40 sec f3.5 ISO 200

Flash Range: Telephoto
6 ft	7 ft	8 ft	9 ft	10 ft	11 ft
1/80 sec f5.6 ISO 200	1/80 sec f5.6 ISO 200	1/80 sec f5.6 ISO 200	1/80 sec f5.6 ISO 200	1/80 sec f5.6 ISO 200	1/80 sec f5.6 ISO 200
12 ft	13 ft	14 ft	15 ft	16 ft
1/80 sec f5.6 ISO 200	1/80 sec f5.6 ISO 200	1/80 sec f5.6 ISO 200	1/80 sec f5.6 ISO 200	1/80 sec f5.6 ISO 200

ISO 200 Range. With the 18-55mm kit lens, flash exposure starts out bright at 6 feet at wide-angle, roughly maintaining the same brightness out to about 13 feet, then actually increases in brightness at 14 through 16 feet, indicating a range that's likely greater than the limits of our test. At full telephoto, flash exposure is a little dim at 6 feet but becomes brighter up to 9 feet, then decreases in brightness from that point on. We'd say usable range at full telephoto is about 9 feet.

Manufacturer-Specified Flash Range
Wide Angle	Telephoto
14.6 feet ISO 200	9.1 feet ISO 200

Manufacturer Specified Flash Test. The Samsung NX20's built-in flash is rated at a Guide Number of 11 meters at ISO 100. That works out to about 14.6 feet at wide-angle, and 9.1 feet at telephoto with the kit lens at maximum aperture at ISO 200. In the shots above, the NX20 produced a bright target at wide-angle, but flash exposure at full telephoto was a little dim, about 1/4 EV underexposed. Given the wide-angle shot was actually overexposed by about the same amount, and the brightness in our ISO 200 range series was better at 9 feet, we'd say Samsung's flash rating is credible. Our standard test method for flash range uses a fixed setting of ISO 200, to provide a fair basis of comparison between cameras. We also shoot two shots using the manufacturer-specified camera settings, at the range the company claims for the camera, to assess the validity of the specific claims.