Samsung NX200 Flash

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Exposure Flash High ISO NR Raw Comparison

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Samsung NX200 SEF8A Flash

Samsung hasn't included a popup flash strobe in the NX200, but it does provide a standard flash hot shoe for external strobes, and includes a small camera-powered strobe in the product bundle. Flash sync is possible at 1/180 second or less, and +/-2.0 EV of flash exposure compensation is available, in 1/2 EV steps. Flash modes include Smart Flash, Auto, Auto+Red-eye reduction, Fill-in, Fill-in+Red-eye reduction, 1st Curtain, 2nd Curtain, and Off.

The bundled flash strobe is model number SEF8A, and has a guide number of 8 meters at ISO 100. It has coverage approximately equivalent to a 28mm lens on a 35mm camera, and folds down snug against the top of the lens when not in use. As well as the bundled strobe, Samsung also offers three more powerful models compatible with the NX200: the SEF42A, SEF20A, and SEF15A.

See below for test results with the bundled SEF8A flash.

Flash Test Results

Coverage and Range
A fairly weak flash with somewhat narrow coverage. EV compensation had little to no effect on flash exposures, so our standard shot is a bit dark.


18mm	55mm

Normal Flash +1.0 EV	Slow-Sync Flash 0 EV

Coverage. Flash coverage from the Samsung NX200's bundled external flash was 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 was more uniform at telephoto (55mm), though exposure was much darker and some fall-off still noticeable.

Exposure. Our Indoor Portrait test scene was dim even with +1.0 EV flash exposure compensation at ISO 100, and adjusting the flash exposure compensation had little to no effect on brightness here. We'd recommend boosting ISO to help with the flash's range for scenes like this. 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 100	1/40 sec f3.5 ISO 100	1/40 sec f3.5 ISO 100	1/40 sec f3.5 ISO 100	1/40 sec f3.5 ISO 100	1/40 sec f3.5 ISO 100
12 ft	13 ft	14 ft	15 ft	16 ft
1/40 sec f3.5 ISO 100	1/40 sec f3.5 ISO 100	1/40 sec f3.5 ISO 100	1/40 sec f3.5 ISO 100	1/40 sec f3.5 ISO 100

Flash Range: Telephoto
6 ft	7 ft	8 ft	9 ft	10 ft	11 ft
1/80 sec f5.6 ISO 100	1/80 sec f5.6 ISO 100	1/80 sec f5.6 ISO 100	1/80 sec f5.6 ISO 100	1/80 sec f5.6 ISO 100	1/80 sec f5.6 ISO 100
12 ft	13 ft	14 ft	15 ft	16 ft
1/80 sec f5.6 ISO 100	1/80 sec f5.6 ISO 100	1/80 sec f5.6 ISO 100	1/80 sec f5.6 ISO 100	1/80 sec f5.6 ISO 100

ISO 100 Range. With the 18-55mm kit lens, flash exposure started out bright at 6 feet at wide-angle and slowly decreased in brightness out to 16 feet. We'd say the usable range at wide-angle is 8 feet at ISO 100. At full telephoto, flash exposure was already a little dark at 6 feet, and only continued to decrease in brightness from that point on.

Manufacturer-Specified Flash Range
Wide Angle	Telephoto
7.5 feet ISO 100	4.7 feet ISO 100

Manufacturer Specified Flash Test. The Samsung NX200's bundled flash is rated at a Guide Number of 8 meters at ISO 100. That works out to about 7.5 feet at wide-angle, and 4.7 feet at telephoto with the kit lens at maximum aperture. In the shots above, the NX200 produced a bright target at wide-angle, but flash exposure at full telephoto was dim, a little over 1/2 EV underexposed. Our standard test method for flash range uses a fixed setting of ISO 100, to provide a fair basis of comparison between cameras. We've now also begun shooting 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.