My very first experience with a 'pancake' lens was with a 45mm f2.8 Pentax lens in the 70's or 80's. It was a first and an oddity and not too popular at the time. As time goes by I've owned one for quite some time Micro Four Thirds system and have a couple of pancake lenses for that. Small, light and compact they make a pocket sized camera and lens combo. I had recently added the NX20 and although the pancake lenses are probably better of the Compact cameras in the NX range are more suited to SLRs like the NX20, the extra 1 1/2 stops of This lens over the kit zoom can make all the difference in low light. I was able to briefly test out all three of Samsung's pancake lenses to decide which one I would ultimately buy. I had considered the 30mm as a probability, but I might want to add either the 16mm or 20mm at a later date. The test lasted a few minutes each, but only in the immediate vicinity of each shop.I was able to get a relative impression of each lens, but the shots were rather dull and basic of buildings and not worth posting here or anywhere else. I've since bought the 30mm and also ordered the 20mm. A fairly good performer all round, with only five elements, in optical design it resembles the classic 60-70s standard lenses from Praktica (East German) and Zenith (Russian), which the younger photographers probably never knew or used. The cameras were cheap, but for performing very well for their price and often around a third or less of the cost of the closest Japanese alternatives. They used mostly 4 or 5 element lens designs (6 in the later Helios f/2) and were good performers with that, but not quite with the more advanced ones Comparable to Japanese 6 or 7 element designs for ultimate performance. According to some independent reviews, this lens is capable of outperforming the Panasonic and Olympus equivalent models, all of which are quite good, although the Panasonics have a slight edge over the Olympus in terms of optical performance. It's also said to be a modern one designed 50mm standard lens from a given brand (neither Nikon nor Canon). That aside, this lens is almost on par with the better standard primes used on some APS-C and full-frame cameras. That's excellent for such a simplistic design. Some Independent reviews have rated this lens "excellent" for its optical performance and place it in the middle of the top tier for its resolution. Edge performance is slightly lower but improves when slowed down by a few stops and is close to mid-range .This is very good! The lens visually follows other Samsung lenses. The body is a strong black plastic material with the usual metal lens mount. The focus ring is rather thin and very far forward; there just isn't room for anything else. The familiar blue band encircles the body .While there may be a case for a metal body in certain larger and heavier designs, with a lens this compact it really isn't needed and there would be little to gain. With careful handling and storage when not in use the lens should last for several years. The design used here is for absolute compactness, minimal weight and volume and a few design compromises necessary. Barrel distortion is slightly larger than normal even with a zoom, but should not be overly noticeable in reality. Most cameras have the correction done in-camera , but can be corrected in software, e.g. Lightroom, in the worst case. Color fringing due to chromatic aberration is also a bit more pronounced than normal, but can be corrected in a similar way. More importantly for some, the lens does not have an internal optical focusing system, but instead physically extends when focusing at shorter distances. Focusing speed is no worse than the kit lens and can be marginally faster as the travel required is much less and the mass to be moved is less. Focus accuracy seems very high in the NX20 thanks to Samsung's excellent system to be good. Due to the small size, there is no room for the iFn system or optical stabilization in the lens body. The former is a minor issue, but more care is needed to avoid camera shake or other causes of camera movement. A more stable stand, a better camera hold with perhaps one hand supporting the body and lens from below, or a tripod can help. A higher ISO setting and faster shutter speed can also solve the problem. It's worth noting that Olympus has a comparable 25mm pancake lens (50mm equivalent) for its Micro Four Thirds system, but Panasonic does not. Olympus has its IOS in the camera body, but Panasonic uses a similar system to Samsung. Their 25mm offering is the Leica designed one , but Panasonic-branded "full-size" lens that also omits IOS, although arguably large enough to accommodate. Interestingly, the iFn system i Included in the slightly larger 20mm lens, which looks similar, although again lacking the IOS system. However, it is common for wide-angle lenses to lack an internal IOS, although there are some exceptions. The lens is probably best for street photography but can be used for anything. It can be a little short for portraits (46mm is equivalent to 35mm which is traditionally recommended, but is too short for head and shoulders as this can lead to exaggerated features), although Samsung does suggest in some literature that this and the 20mm are both perfectly capable of taking portraits but should be fine for duos to large groups. The f2.0 aperture is for a Modestly priced lens quite fast these days, and offers capabilities that the slower kit lens might make less easy. It doesn't come with a lens hood, although one is available as an optional accessory. The hood is rather flat, screwing in rather than a Bayonet system that the longer lenses like to use and can help reduce flare a bit.Due to the compact dimensions d It's lens accepts the rather small 43mm filters (like all of Samsung's current pancake lenses) that you might not own. A very nice lens that would be a brilliant addition to any NX body.
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