In many countries Samsung pulled out from the mirrorless system camera market. And while doing so their press text also added that note:
“We will continue to thoroughly evaluate market conditions and will make further adjustments to maintain our competitiveness in emerging Camera categories.”
So what do they mean with “emerging Camera categories“? Well maybe that new Samsung patent discovered by Engdtj.kipris.or.kr can give us some clue. The image you see on top shows a Samsung patent design for a completely new interchangeable mirrorless system for smartphones!
How it works step by step:
The mount is not fixed on the Samsung smartphone. It’s more of a plugin. To add the mount you have to detach a piece from the back of the camera.
And then add the “mount module”
It’s not clear from the image what’s the size of the sensor. But I doubt it’s APS-C. It’s much smaller.
If such a new system could be successful is yet unclear. The problem I see with that patent:
If you leave mount module and lens attached on the smartphone becomes big, clumsy and not very handy to use.
If you keep them separate you have to carry them “loose” and in pieces in your pocket.
But maybe I am to “old school” and I prefer to have a camera with proper controls than something like this.
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Thanks Jurji and GSMarena for sharing this!
33 Responses
Here is a thing.
1) The locking mechanism is called as “bayonet” and that is the ring part with the locking “wings” that is male part in lens and female part in the body. The bayonet is then screwed to the lens MOUNT (that is the plastique tube screwed to lens body back of the lens) and to camera body around “mirror box”.
2) The sensor would probably be a 1″ sensor and so on compete with other P’n’S cameras, but Nikon-Samsung co-operation would mean that Nikon 1 lenses are compatible with the new system. It would make HUGE difference to phone market!
3) The sensor could still very well be 4/3″ sensor, meaning Samsung is ready to jump to 4/3 consertum and support m4/3 bayonet that would give a huge benefit to everyone on camera market and among smartphone users. As m4/3 bayonet is the widest supported one ever.
You can get everything from DJI stabilization rigs to drones, Olympus/Panasonic still and video lenses, movie lenses from Zeiss, legacy lenses with an adapter! So example you want that Canon/Nikon lens you have to smartphone? M4/3 bayonet is the way to go with adapter!
A Samsung phone with 4K recording capabilty would make big difference for amateur movie making with m4/3 as there is already the full system available and even wider than Canon/Nikon has when it comes to supported systems (drones, cars, boats you name it).
But I bet to 2) as Nikon/Samsung with Nikon 1 bayonet is like a cheap option to make 1″ sensor and have some lenses available from the start. Samsung can’t do own 1″ lenses from clear table!
Samsung has its 1″ system with three lenses
This and the 9mm is what is shown in the patent.
That’s what I thought as well. Actually this is a “natural” evolution for a small sensor camera system, but IMO it’d be totally dumb to trash a powerful apsc system and substitute it with this…thing.
While I agree, few people were prepared to buy in to that system regardless of how impressive it seems from the sidelines (note: I’ve owned a fair number of Samsung NX cameras myself). Furthermore Samsung has done a lot of missteps along the way with NX they have never really had a clear vision of who it was for or what it was meant to be, this also puts off a lot on potential buyers.
This is why all the key camera people were transferred to the cellphone division when the camera factory closed.
I really hope this is not the announcement for the ces.
Totally uninterested in this product, yet I see it could have a use for someone.
Nikon will announce a new ff mirrorless camera that does everything nx did and more
Both Samsung and Nikon will deny the rumor that Nikon bought nx tech
And Samsung will officially discontinue thier camera division.
The new Nikon camera will have a new ff bsi sensor manufactured by a mystery manufacturer….not Sony.
It will definitely NOT have nx mount.
Nice crystal ball you have.
If you prove right, I’ll ask you about horse races!
For horse races you really need a crystal ball.
That is just reading rumors, using a brain and making the obvious conclusions. I might be not accurate in every detail, but I think this is right in general.
So basically a less functional, camera-specific, Samsung proprietary version of Project Ara?
It’s worked so well with the Galaxy NX, it’s worked so well with the Sony QX’s and it’s worked so well with the Olympus Air… Guaranteed not to be a flop 😉
I am also not convinced by these “solutions”.
Galaxy NX, as well as NX1, had one major problem – pricing. Well, Galaxy NX had a few others too.
NX1 had a price problem? Sure if you think the GH4 and the 7DmkII had a price problem too.
NX1 with its awesome 16-50/2-2.8 was almost $3000 at release, well into FF territory. A77II with only slightly slower (as aggregated over the whole zoom range) 16-50/2.8 is $1.5K, and it has much more established user base.
I am not saying NX1 is a bad camera, no, it is a great camera in its APS-C class. Just priced such that almost all people who are willing to pay such money for a camera buy FF. Plus add risk of starting a whole new system – people enter new systems from below, not from above, and before NX1 Samsung failed to create a user base because no cameras before it were really worth buying. I guess with all the rumors of Samsung dropping NX the very few who bought it see the risk turing into sad reality.
You must compare nx1 to 7dmk2 for stills and to gh4 for video. Nx1 has the best of both (actually better than both in the respective areas) yet was less expensive at launch.
Simply, it has not been understood, since ppl are lazy 😉
It was not less expensive than GH4, and quite a bit later.
Yup, but apsc, 4k with full sensor readout, higher iq, 1080 at 120fps and…another camera for stills 😉
Everyone forgotten about the Sony QX-1? seems like the same thing.
No, it is not.
It’s a sensor you put on on the back on your phone, that uses interchangeable lenses. Does not use the camera built into the phone.
This one is a camera module for a smartphone, integrated with it, not a totally separate device like Sony QX and Olympus Air.
It’s just a different way of mounting it to your phone, since the mount is built in on the phone and not the camera. Other than that it’s a separate sensor that clips on and sends pictures to your phone.
It also does not have a separate battery, memory card slot and does not have to connect wirelessly expanding too much energy on communication. All that also makes it much smaller and lighter. I.e., a totally different class of device.
The lenses would still be large, the phone will be a lot thicker, the phones battery will drain, and you will have 4 pieces instead of 2.
Now that Sonys cameras work so well and works on every phone, they seem like a better option.
A patent does not mean they are working on it.
Im astounded they haven’t built a smartphone with NX mini mount already!
Well, certainly they are working on it. Engenners will have designed and made a prorotype to get the patent.
Looks like you can swap practically the entire camera part of the smartphone. Such a module would then also have to cost as much as a camera. The only advantage is the adaptability of the system. You can decide how much camera your phone should have – but you would still carry just one device. Could work. It’s a more practical and reliable system than what Sony and Olympus have thus far produced.
You could also choose to upgrade just the camera or just the phone.
The way i see it, it’s just a different case/back to the phone, the phone camera is still under the new sensor you put on. And the phone is a lot thicker due to this, even without using the sensor.
Apple won the patent battle agains Samsung. Sammy has to pay cca. half billion USD to Apple. What about paying not cash but an imaging division ?