Samsung Digital Imaging Sales and Marketing vice-president Sh Lim reported at AP that “Samsung has no plans to launch any more NX cameras this year.“
This is a surprising news considering that we are close to the biggest event of the year…Photokina! I think Samsung is reorganizing their entire camera roadmap. And by reading the article you really start to believe that they are may switching the NX software entirety on Android!
Hmmm, not a good time for Samsung…NX still hasn’t grabbed any significant percentage of the mirrorless market.
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I think there is not a big point to pay attention of using her own OS or Android. Her image engine is suck! Please acquisite Kodak for the technology.
I’d like to see Samsung license Olympus’s JPEG engine. Olympus could use the money. Both companies would benefit a lot.
And IMO that’d be NX’s greatest weakness taken care of.
Possibly, Samsung is shifting it’s strategy. Maybe going in a different direction. They have to do something, not getting much traction with their current offerings.
At least they have the finances to backup pretty much any moves they make.
IMHO that is not really a bad move, now while I do think the current NX interface is fine, its the real imaging part its lacking. Switching to Android means just switching to a platform where its more acceptable to furnishing functions. Its not saying one cannot just port the embedded control / UI as the camera control app on the future Android NX. And it do open up possibility like dedicated app that hack into the camera part.
It all boils down to how one build upon it. Lets re-iterate, Android is the underlying platform .. when one see that one can see it easier why the recent app support hype. In reality its not app support hype. its moving the do it only 1 function embedded system to a more open platform of an OS for the hardware and give the capability to evolve and give functions.
I think this is actually , in long term , good for the camera(s) and not just NX
If they will make an Android NX PHONE, I will drop the iPhone and any CSC like it’s hot. They already have the reasonable priced, fast primes to keep it pocketable. Any high ISO and jpeg engine problems would easily be overlooked for the convenience of. Adding just one thing. Samsung is definitely in the #1 position to do this starting with their Galexy camera that LOOKS like a phone, but Sony might also be able to do something based off the RX100.
Samsungs biggest problem is either lack of funding or the bean counters in their camera division have taken over like a bad case of pubic crabs. Every chance they get to step up and make a impact with a new camera they fall short. The lenses are fine, the cameras are over priced with glaring weaknesses and short falls. Not only that, ther lack of timing puts just one more nail in their coffin. Everyone is lusting after retro cool cams like the fuji x, the omd, the m9’s, the nex 7, and here Samsung is releasing plastic looking starwars vomit like the nx20, it defies human logic.
Samsung has no clue about what drives camera lust.Instead of creating a break through watershed product like a nikon F or m3 or om1 to build a camera reputation on, they build cameras which look and feel like they are strictly meant for a women or a man’s purse.( yes, a murse, we’ve all seen those.)
And now they’ve one up’ed their crapulance and cancelled the rumored release of the nx r…something nx users were all praying and looking forward to. And im not a sony fanboy or m43 fanboy as i have 2 nx cameras and 4 lenses myself and a m43 camera, but samsung is effectively spitting on the faces of all their users, whatever ones are left. I bought their stuff because of the lenses, the prices on sale were fantastic, otherwise it woulda all been fuji or sony nex for me or even m43.
Samsung keeps wishy washing over everything they do, and all it’s doing is pissing their little user base off. Now i dont expect a revolution in the next samsung nx camera but for shats sake, i expect their to be a “camera” released. that is the least Samsung could do, but no, it’s own users are not important enough. and now enter the android gimmick.
Samsung reps if you are reading this, try to FIRE some of the useless bean counters and murse lovers you have in the camera division, fire any ex minolta employess you seem to have hired and you might , just might stop some of the bleeding you got from your self inflicted wound.
Samsung is totally loosing ground, when it was one of the first players in the APS-C mirrorless market.
NEX-5R is much better than NX210 and costs less. NEX-5n is much better than NX200 and costs less (probably it costs less even than NX1000). NEX7 is much better than NX20 and costs the same, more or less.
Fuji X-1 Pro is much better than any other mirrorless camera, it’s in another league, and, second hand, it costs marginally more than NX20.
Will android save NX line? I don’t think so, even if, when they open the system, some apps could be developed to get focus peaking and other missing software features.
But NX is lacking good DR, is lacking high ISO IQ, is lacking IBIS and many other features. The sensors in all the other APS-C mirrorless are way better. Besides, NX cameras are ugly (apart for NX200/210, perhaps), which makes them undesirable for those ppl concerned with the camera look.
NX200 would be fine if it costed 300$. NX20 would be fine if it costed 500$. They cost twice than that or more, unfortunately.
I swear, all Samsung had to do to make their cameras sell even a little more is if they made the exterior look like a Leica m6 or ANY rangefinder. That’s ALL they had to do, they can’t even get that right.Make a shell of a rangefinder and put it over the nx100 or x10 or whatever, but NO, Samsung has to design the fugliest cameras around.With a Leica shell, they could at least hide their faults for a short time, but no, even looks are not their concern…cause building a comparable camera to their competition sure as hell aint their concern either.
Well, on the flip side if Samsungs nx stuff does go on sale, it gets reduced quite a bit. Fuji X on sale will never drop low enough to be a great deal.
The Problem with the NX is it just isn’t a camera designed for photographers who are going to spend the money on it. I owner a NX11 and I own a NX20. I’m have started doing more serious amateur stuff, and it can not keep up with me, locks up, I’ve had whole sets of photo’s currupted with rugged SD cards, and regular cards fry. I’ve replaced the whole camera once already because you couldn’t take three pictures without it locking up but continuing to heat up.
And of course there is a serious shortage of lens’. a single macro lens that is decent but is $600, a series of Pancake Lens, two different kit lens’, a decent 80mm, and a 50-200 f5.6 and a 18-200 at f6.3
The Processor is subpar preventing using it’s burst mode, in any serious way. So kids sports games are out of the question. And if you are shooting indoors, or without Studio Lighting the Camera does not take a great picture, only because it lacks the lens’ to do so. You need a decent 50 Prime, a 20-50 f2.8 and a 70-200 f2.8 or f4 at least (to replace the current 50-200)
Samsung has serious issues. And serious amateurs are going to move to the Sony or MFT system or they are going to move to the a DSLR. (I’m moving to a DSLR)