Samsung NX 60mm F2 8 Macro ED OIS SSA Review | 54 Data compared

The LensTip review of the Samsung NX 60 mm f/2.8 Macro ED OIS SSA highlights this lens as a robustly built, well-featured option designed to expand the mirrorless NX ecosystem. Key advantages of the lens include its compact and well-constructed casing, negligible barrel distortion measured at just -0.19%, well-corrected coma, and minimal vignetting. It delivers very good image quality and sharpness in the frame center, alongside acceptable border resolution even when shot wide open. Optically, it also limits longitudinal chromatic aberration remarkably well, while the newly introduced Super Sonic Actuator (SSA) autofocus motor operates almost silently. However, the review points out several notable drawbacks. Key disadvantages include a highly problematic handling of flare and ghosting; the lens lacks efficient anti-reflection coatings, resulting in prominent artifacts and large quarter-circle arc flares when shooting near the sun. While the autofocus is quiet, it is sluggish, taking roughly two full seconds to rack through the entire focus range unless constrained by the focus limiter switch. Additionally, the built-in optical image stabilization is mediocre, providing an efficiency of only 2.5 EV. LensTip also noted...

Despite its excellent optical quality, the lens has notable physical drawbacks, primarily its large size which can dwarf compact camera bodies like the NX300. Users must frequently remove or reverse the lens hood when shooting at the 7.2-inch minimum focus distance to avoid interference with the subject. While it is currently the only native macro choice for NX owners and doubles as a capable portrait lens, its $599.99 price tag and tendency for the autofocus to hunt in close-up scenarios are significant considerations.

The Samsung NX 60mm f/2.8 Macro ED OIS SSA is a lens built for true 1:1 macro photography that delivers impressive real-world results in both macro and large-scale applications. Its robust build quality and considerable mass inspire confidence, featuring excellent handling with a large front focusing ring and a smaller rear iFunction controller ring. Photographers can benefit from a smooth Optical Image Stabiliser (OIS), a fast Super-Sonic Actuator (SSA) autofocus system, and user-friendly iFunction integration that allows quick physical adjustments to key camera settings like aperture and ISO. Optically, the lens maintains high sharpness across its standard range, keeping MTF figures well above critical resolution thresholds from f/2.8 down to f/22. Despite its high quality, the lens has notable physical and technical drawbacks. Its large size means it will dwarf compact NX camera bodies, which creates a specific risk where the camera's tripod mounting plate can snag on the lens barrel instead of resting flat. From an operational standpoint, the OIS cannot be toggled from the lens or the iFunction menu, forcing users to dive into the camera's main digital...

The Samsung 60mm Macro NX is a robust, professionally built macro lens designed for Samsung's APS-C mirrorless system and evaluated on an NX30 body. Optically excellent, it delivers a true 1:1 reproduction scale and ultra-sharp imagery from corner to corner, making it highly versatile for landscapes, portraits, and product studio photography. It exhibits almost non-existent distortion (0.03%), minimal vignetting, exceptional flare resistance, and no visible chromatic aberration. Mechanically, it features built-in image stabilisation providing up to four extra stops, an integrated iFn ring for easy setting adjustments, and a focal length equivalent to 90mm in 35mm format, which prevents photographers from casting shadows on close-up subjects. However, the lens's main drawback is its slow autofocus performance. Despite utilising a supersonic actuator (SSA) motor, the AF system frequently overshoots its target, resulting in a slow reaction time of nearly one second during standardized tests, rendering it poorly suited for action or sports photography. Additionally, the physical lens is noticeably big and heavy—extending 83mm from the mount—and completely lacks a physical AF/MF toggle switch, forcing users to switch focus modes entirely through...

However, the reviewer notes several downsides to the lens. A prominent negative is its large size and heavy weight, which scales closer to full-frame DSLR lenses than compact mirrorless gear. Additionally, the autofocus speed is slow when moving all the way from its minimum focus distance up to infinity. Finally, while the Optical Image Stabilizer (OIS) handles camera shake well at standard distances, it loses efficiency during macro shooting due to severe angular movement close up.

The Cameraderie review of the Samsung NX 60mm f/2.8 Macro lens highlights it as a specialized, functional tool for the NX system, featuring a versatile focus limiter switch. A key pro is the fast, snappy autofocus performance when the limiter is engaged for general shooting. Conversely, the primary con is the lens's slow autofocus speed, which hunts across the full range when the limiter is disabled, making it best suited for close-up work with the limiter off.

However, the lens does come with some notable drawbacks. Its electronic Super Sonic Actuator (SSA) autofocus motor is quiet, but it is slow to rack focus across its entire macro range, taking over a full second to travel from infinity to its minimum focusing distance. Furthermore, its short 18.7cm minimum focusing distance results in a tight 4-inch working distance from the front element to the subject, which can make lighting macro scenes difficult—especially if the included lens hood is attached. Minor optical flaws include a slight corner softness when shot wide open, alongside minor corner shading (vignetting) at f/2.8 that disappears completely once stopped down. Finally, the physical lens barrel lacks tactile distance scales or depth-of-field markings, and generalized diffraction softness begins to creep into images around f/22 and f/32. Despite these minor limitations, it stands as an economical, highly capable, and essential tool for NX system shooters interested in macro photography.

In this studio portrait photography review, Alessandro Michelazzi pairs the Samsung 60mm f/2.8 macro lens with the mirrorless Samsung NX-20 camera to photograph a Greek model named Fotini. The main purpose of the shoot was to evaluate the lens's capabilities for portrait work rather than macro photography, utilizing a single large softbox light set up on the right side of the subject to deliberately maintain high contrast without any fill light. Following the shoot, the reviewer processed the final images in Adobe Lightroom to balance color and contrast, adding a subtle blue tint as a creative styling choice. The review highlights several core pros and cons of using this specific equipment configuration for studio portraiture. On the positive side, the lens delivers exceptional sharpness, keeping with the fine-detail tradition typical of macro lenses, and performs brilliantly even when wide open at its maximum aperture of f/2.8. Michelazzi highlights that the lens and the Samsung NX-20 camera make a "great combination" for this workflow. However, a notable con embedded in the review's setup description is that the macro lens inherently produces...