Samsung NX500 Conclusion: Does the “smaller, lighter NX1” live up to its big brother’s reputation?

posted Thursday, May 28, 2015 at 5:28 PM EDT

After finalizing all our lab testing, image quality analysis and real-world Shooter's Report, we're ready to bring you the final conclusion to our Samsung NX500 review. The compact rangefinder-esque mirrorless camera comes as an update to the NX300, however, it has in fact more in common -- under the hood -- with the larger, beefier NX1 flagship camera from late last year. Sporting the same 28.2-megapixel APS-C sensor as the NX1 as well as a similar DRIMe Vs image processor, the NX500 shares many of the same impressive features as its larger sibling, including high-resolution image quality, a very high 51,200 maximum ISO sensitivity and crisp 4K video recording.

In both our real-world shooting experience and lab testing, the NX500's image quality is very good, especially with low to medium ISOs. On the speed and performance front, the NX500 is a good performer with snappy autofocus thanks to the hybrid AF system with on-sensor phase detect pixels (though it struggled in low-light), and the continuous burst performance was quite good for the most part as well.

The design and ergonomics are by and large very similar to the earlier NX300, though Samsung did make some subtle, welcomed improvements to the body styling, grip contour and physical control layout. The build quality of the little Samsung NX500 is also quite nice with a very solid feel, nice brushed aluminum top plate and nicely-textured leather-like grip surrounding the majority of the camera body.

For all the details on Samsung's latest lightweight ILC, head over to our completed Samsung NX500 Review. We suggest starting at the beginning to get the lay of the land, or you can jump over to our Shooter's Report to get a sense of how the camera performs in the real world. However, if you're ready to skip to our final verdict, complete with our Pros and Cons list, head over to our Samsung NX500 Conclusion to see our final thoughts.