Samsung EX1 review

Its video mode is disappointing for a brand new camera. The maximum quality you can record is just 640x480 at 30fps in the MPEG-4 format. There's no HD video option, despite having a direct movie record button. Samsung does allow you to pause and restart recording and you can also zoom. What's more, you have the choice of either recording the zoom motors or muting the soundtrack until you've finished zooming.

In terms of performance, the EX1 impressed us and never really got in our way. Shot-to-shot time is under two seconds in JPEG mode and just over two seconds in RAW. The only time it started to slow us down was when we shot multiple RAW images in quick succession. When you do this, you're presented with a warning that it's 'processing' and you can't do anything with the camera for a good few seconds while it clears its internal buffer. This problem doesn't crop up in continuous shooting mode however, as RAW capture is disabled – it will happily shoot at around 1.5fps until you run out of memory.

On the whole, Samsung's EX1 is a great camera and it's good to see another manufacturer take a stab at building a compelling enthusiast compact camera. The lens is excellent and it produces very high quality images that will be suitable for decent-sized prints, but there are a few quirks. Given its many similarities to the LX3, it's impossible not to compare the two, and the Panasonic feels more polished.

The EX1 does have some advantages over the LX3 – the biggest being the articulated AMOLED screen and the great lens – but the Panasonic also has some attractive features that the Samsung doesn't. The innovative sensor design is chief among these, but the LX3 also offers 720p video recording – it's £35 cheaper, too. All of this means the LX3 does just enough to edge it, but considering the LX3's replacement, the Lumix DMC-LX5, is just around the corner, we'd advise waiting until you've read our forthcoming review before making a final decision.