The Samsung 16-50mm Power Zoom ED OIS ($349.99) is the first compact power zoom lens available for the NX mirrorless system. Its retractable design is similar to the 20-50mm f/3.5-5.6 ED , but that lens omits the power zoom mechanism and optical stabilization system. Its narrow aperture won't excite many photographers like the big, pricey Samsung 16-50mm f/2-2.8 S ED OIS ( at Amazon) , but it's a lot smaller and a lot less expensive. If you prefer a light kit and shoot with an NX mirrorless camera, the 16-50mm Power Zoom is the way to go.

The lens measures 1.2 by 2.6 inches (HD), weighs 3.9 ounces, and supports 43mm front filters. Its field of view is roughly equivalent to a 24-75mm lens on a full-frame camera, and its maximum aperture narrows from f/3.5 to f/5.6 at its longest focal length. The minimum focus distance is 9.4 inches, which can get you close enough to your subject to capture images with a shallow depth of field, even with the lens's modest aperture.

You can adjust the focal length or the focus using the front ring around the lens (its function changes depending on whether the camera is set to manual or autofocus), and there are also control buttons on the barrel to zoom in and out. The lens also has an iFn control button, which allows you to launch an on-screen control menu to adjust shooting settings when paired with a compatible NX body.

I used Imatest to check the quality of photos captured by the lens when paired with the 20-megapixel NX3000. At 16mm it records 2,327 lines per picture height on a center-weighted sharpness test, which is better than the 1,800 lines we use to mark an image as sharp. The outer edges of the image are often a problem area with compact zoom lenses like this, as we've seen with the Sony 16-50mm Retractable Zoom ($298.00 at Amazon) and Olympus M.Zuiko ED 14-42mm f3.5-5.6 EZ ($224.00 at Amazon) . But even at f/3.5 it scores 1,962 lines. There's a moderate improvement in sharpness at f/4 (2,402 lines) and resolution peaks at f/5.6 (2,552 lines).

See How We Test Digital Cameras

At the 24mm position the maximum aperture narrows to f/4 and the lens shows 2,422 lines on a center-weighted test, with edges that top 2,000 lines. There's moderate improvement at f/5.6 (2,516 lines). The story is about the same at 35mm f/5 (2,655 lines) and f/8 (2,794 lines). At 50mm f/5.6 the lens scores 2,636 lines and improves a bit at f/8 (2,755 lines). If you shoot in JPG mode distortion is automatically corrected, but if you work in Raw you'll have to contend with about 2.4 percent barrel distortion at 16mm. Lightroom doesn't yet include a profile for this lens, so you'll have to make corrections manually.

The Samsung 16-50mm Power Zoom ED OIS is one of the better kit lenses that you can buy. It's quite sharp, can capture wide-angle scenes and zoom to a classic field of view for portraits, and it's optically stabilized for sharper images and steady handheld video. But it's still a kit lens, and its narrow f/3.5-5.6 aperture doesn't capture as much light as a prime lens or the pro-level Samsung 16-50mm f/2-2.8. If you're starting out with a Samsung camera it's a better option than the 20-50mm zoom, which lacks optical stbailization, or the 18-55mm NX Standard Zoom ($499.00 at Amazon) , which is noticeably larger and doesn't cover as wide of an angle.

Best Lens Picks

• The Best Fujifilm Lenses for 2020
• The Best Leica M Lenses for 2020
• The Best Micro Four Thirds Lenses for 2020
• The Best Pentax SLR Lenses for 2020
• More Lens Reviews
• More from Samsung

Further Reading

• Tamron Details Affordable 70-180mm F2.8 Zoom Lens
• The Best Sony Mirrorless Lenses for 2020
• The Best Nikon Lenses for 2020
• The Best Canon Lenses for 2020
• Oops! $13K Camera Lens Sells for $95 Due to Prime Day Error