Samsung NX500 announced, basically crams an NX1 inside the NX300 and all for $800

 

 

For those tempted by the power and performance of the recently released Samsung NX1, but don't want or need a beefy, weather-sealed, DSLR-like camera body, Samsung now has the solution to your conundrum. 

Along comes the new Samsung NX500, which is essentially an NX1 crammed in the body of an NX300. Yes, even in this compact, lightweight design, the NX500 houses the same 28.2-megapixel APS-C backside-illuminated CMOS sensor and DRIMe V image processor as its bigger brother, a native ISO range of 100-25,600 expandable to 51,200, and of course 4K video recording and Samsung's new Auto Shot mode. Autofocus performance should be on-par with the NX1, as the NX500 also shares the same combination of 205 phase-detect AF points and 209 contrast-detect areas.

According to Samsung, the NX500 should have similar image quality performance as the NX1 for both stills and video. But despite the technical similarities, there are some notable differences aside from the physical design. There's no 4K output via HDMI (only 1080p), no headphone or mic jacks, burst performance isn't on the same level as the NX1, and no 802.11ac wireless (so likely no wireless 4K video streams to your television).

The Samsung NX500 also sports a updated design compared to the earlier NX300, most notable of which is the sloped, more ergonomic handgrip.  There have also been slight adjustments and minor additions to the button and control layout.

Hitting US store shelves around March 2015, the Samsung NX500 will be available in brown, black and white colors and is priced at the shockingly affordable price of US$799.99 with the 16-50mm f/3.5-5.6 Power Zoom lens.

For more information about this new hot-rod compact ILC, including a thorough walkaround of design and features of the camera, head over to our Samsung NX500 First Impressions Review.