Samsung GX-1S Digital Camera Review - Samsung Digital Cameras:

The Samsung GX-1S is a small, lightweight, 6-megapixel DSLR with a Pentax lens mount, 11-point autofocus, and a kit price around $800. It looks very similar to Pentax's DSLRs, which are tough, nicely styled, and easy to use. Predictions point to the sub-$1000 DSLR field as the expanding market for digital cameras, so it makes sense for Samsung, a company with ambitions in the photographic industry, to produce a model for this field.

It's good to see more variety of decently powerful SLR form factor digital cameras in the lower price ranges coming out. I'm a big fan of low barrier to entry.

I went for a wander through the local zoo with a friend of mine, and his girlfriend a couple of weeks back, so, of course I took my camera. Now, he's a geek (like me), but has never got into photography - in fact, he only recently bought his first digital camera (a Canon IXUS of some sort). After seeing me shooting with the D70, and the (selected and processed) results, he's now looking for a low end D-SLR to start getting into photography with. If the only options on the market were from Canon and Nikone, then there probably wouldn't be enough price pressure to bring the market down to his price range. As it is, there's a veritable plethora of options - the Pentax *istDS (most annoying model name EVER), the Nikon D50 and D70S, the Canon 350D. the Olympus E300 and E330 - the list goes on an on.

It's great to see, and hopefully will result in some great new photographers coming through the ranks.