SamsungECX 1

Released into the late 1990s — panorama switches, dated LCDs, and a few genuinely brilliant lenses hiding inside plastic shells, the Samsung ECX 1 is a premium compact built around a Schneider-Kreuznach Xenar 38mm f/2.8. For context, samsung's quiet attempt at a premium German-glass compact.

Format

35mm

Year

1996

Lens

Schneider-Kreuznach Xenar 38mm f/2.8

Min. focus

0.7 m

Flash

Built-in

Battery

1× CR123A

The Schneider-Kreuznach Xenar 38mm f/2.8 sits in the daylight sweet spot: sharp wide open, well-corrected against flare, and small enough to disappear in a jacket pocket. Standard 35mm keeps it compatible with whatever Kodak, Ilford, Fuji or CineStill stock you find on the shelf today. A single CR123A lithium cell powers everything including the motor; still cheap and stocked at most camera shops. The built-in flash will fire whenever the meter decides it should, so learn the override before your first night out. Minimum focus is 0.7 m, close enough for a coffee cup or a face but stops short of true macro. A quirk worth flagging up front: The Schneider Xenar gives it surprising character for the price. The mild-normal focal length flatters faces and street scenes alike without either looking forced.

The Samsung ECX 1 hasn't been swept up by the algorithm yet, which is the entire window — get one before the rest of the internet catches up. One last detail: almost unknown outside Korea — a true sleeper.

• §1Samsung's quiet attempt at a premium German-glass compact.
• §2The Schneider Xenar gives it surprising character for the price.
• §3Almost unknown outside Korea — a true sleeper.