Samsung 45mm f/1.8 NX i-Function Lens Review

Samsung 45mm f/1.8 NX i-Function Performance

Sharpness at maximum aperture is already outstanding across the frame and stopping down the aperture to between f/2.8 and f/4 results in a further increase in sharpness towards the edges of the frame.

Resolution at 45mm

How to read our charts The blue column represents readings from the centre of the picture frame at the various apertures and the green is from the edges. Averaging them out gives the red weighted column. The scale on the left side is an indication of actual image resolution. The taller the column, the better the lens performance. Simple. For this review, the lens was tested on a Samsung NX20 using Imatest.

Only slight traces of chromatic aberrations were picked up by Imatest during testing. These low levels of fringing will be virtually invisible in normal picture taking, even on close inspection.

Chromatic aberration at 45mm

How to read our charts Chromatic aberration is the lens' inability to focus on the sensor or film all colours of visible light at the same point. Severe chromatic aberration gives a noticeable fringing or a halo effect around sharp edges within the picture. It can be cured in software. Apochromatic lenses have special lens elements (aspheric, extra-low dispersion etc) to minimize the problem, hence they usually cost more. For this review, the lens was tested on a Samsung NX20 using Imatest.

Falloff of illumination towards the corners is very well controlled for a wide aperture lens with the corners only being 0.5 stops darker than the image centre at f/1.8. Stopping down to f/2.8 or beyond results in visually uniform illumination.

A slight amount of pincushion distortion is present in images taken with this lens. Imatest detected 0.589% pincushion distortion, which is even across the frame, so it should be easy to correct in image editing software afterwards if required.

A deep circular lens hood is provided with this lens as standard, which does an excellent job of shading the lens from extraneous light that may cause flare of loss of contrast. Contrast holds up well when shooting into the light.

Add your message