The possible new Samsung game changer, the Samsung NX1 will be announced on September 15. I am working to get the 100% correct specs. But I have been told it has a lot of brand new amazing features. Top Image quality, top evf and top autofocus performance are expected to be delivered by the camera…
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Gamechanger?
Samsung has nog even found any stable ground.
Looking by popularity on the DPreview poll, less then 1.5% of people are waiting for news from SamSung
Samsung has a great system, they need some high end products to draw interest from the traditional photographer crowd. As it is, I have no issue using NX30, 16-50mm f/2-2.8, and 85mm f/1.4 professionally for weddings. First mirrorless camera I have been comfortable doing that with. My main complaint with this is the NX30 is consumer built, so a little more durable camera would be perfect.
An ‘OK’ camera, with an anonymous look and NOT a bargain price, from a newcomer (which Samsung is in this sector) is not enough to draw attention. That’s what I’ve been repeating for a couple of years.
They need groundbreaking performance at an attractive price and possibly a nice look to be interesting for enthusiasts and – more difficult – pros.
That’s why, having invested in nx lenses, I’m a bit worried about nx1. The ‘mamiya’ thing points me to a bulky and unpleasant look, but I hope the rumor comes from someone who only saw a raw prototype of the final product.
For the rest, I hope the rumours are true. Samsung desperately needs to surpass Sony in IQ and AF performance and finally have a good evf on par or better than Fuji. All this at a price which must be lower than x-t1 (to attract customers) and much lower than the full frame and great performing Sony a7.
Otherwise they’ll sell very few of them.
P.s. The only thing I hope is right about the ‘mamiya’ rumor is the fact that this camera was styled as a big rangefinder, with no hump. So I hope the nx1 also is a rangefinder, but rather like Fuji gf670, if it has to be similar to some old/retro camera.
IMHO, two issues that will let Samsung win the photographers:
1. Sony and Panasonic each uses Carl Zeiss and Leica lenses and this “Famous Brand” lenses strategy is the criteria to draw the attention of this potential customers:
After careful comparison, I have found that Carl Zeiss and Leica lenses have the exceptional colors which please my eyes: The colors are strong, they are naturally well balanced even at the low light conditions. Not like the off balanced colors from other lens manufactures which tends to get worse at the low light conditions, either too much yellow or too much red. I have a consumer camera with Schneider-kreuznach lenses made by Kodak and its colors are as good as those above mentioned German lenses, if not worse. Since Samsung used Schneider-kreuznach before, why not pick it up again for their mirrorless camera? It will bring up photographer’s interest again if Samsung doing so.
2. Without good JPG engine (in-camera post-processing engine), even the photos from Leica’s X serial camera looks dull, and cannot fully make use of the excellent colors of the lenses. Panasonic’s recent FZ1000’s JPG looks better than before and it made me thinking to get one as well…
What Samsung has to do about the JPG are: Adjust the white balance to get the most accurate color. Adjust the Highlight/Shadow to increase the D range and the exposure to make the photos close to what human eyes feels.
I agree on the second point, while about the first one I have to say that nx lenses are indeed the best part of nx system. They are, on average, very good to excellent, sharp and decently priced.
They rather have to produce some bodies on par with their lenses.
From what has been written recently about the NX1 it is almost sure it will be APSC and no FF. And I hope it will really be something groundbreaking, since Samsung is known for mixing excellent parts into a mediocre whole. I know Viking79 will dissagree, but despite the facts how fantastic the specs of NX30 look on paper, none of its reviewers was amazed by it. Good, solid camera, but there are dozens of good cameras and being good is not enough for a company without name and history.
Exactly, I agree 100% with you. Average cameras sold at high prices are a suicidal strategy for a newcomer.
It’s Samsung. Just look at what their competitors are doing (i.e., Sony and Panasonic) and that’s what they’re going to do. Samsung’s market strategy is to copy their competitors and add a bigger screen, spending exponentially more on marketing than they do on engineering.
Unfortunately, Samsung was the first APS-C mirrorless camera to market, beating Sony by at least 5 or 6 months. NX issue is actually lack of marketing, not lack of engineering.
“Samsung was the first APS-C mirrorless camera to market”
Not quite:
http://www.dpreview.com/products/ricoh/slrs/ricoh_gxr_a12
The Ricoh GXR is a special case. It could arguably be considered as a modular compact camera, rather than an interchangeable lens camera. The M-mount module made it into a mirrorless ILC, but that one was released later. But sure, putting semantics aside, the Ricoh hit the market before the Samsung NX.
I do agree with viking79, though, that Samsung suffers from a lack of marketing, at least in the West. If they really put their marketing muscle behind their cameras, like they do with their smartphones and TVs, the NX system would be more well-known and sell better.
They do a completely wrong marketing.
They “conquer” forums’ mods or blogs’ keepers by sending free hardware, so that they don’t allow ppl to say fair/bad things about their products. Only good things are allowed to be said about nx on those places.
But they don’t send samples to review to trusted and reliable sources (perhaps since they are afraid of the virdict?).
If you look at the reviews around the net, most of them are made by the so called ‘imageloggers’, that are ppl getting free cameras from Samsung in exchange of “wom” advertising. They have to continuously post images, boosting the nx name, on furums and blogs.
I think this a hugely lame form of marketing.
The game changer has been available for many years: The Samsung 85mm F1.4 lens. No other mirrorless system has such a lens (with AF). It is plain incredible. I look forward to get a new body for my favorite lens.
I don’t agree here. While I also consider this an outstanding lens, I don’t think it could save nx from oblivion, if a decent high end body does not come out.
Fuji x has the 56/1.2, which is of course different, but at least as good as the 85, but the bodies are way more advanced than Samsung’s.
If given the opportunity to choose at same pricepoint, I’d get x-t1 with 56mm over nx30 with 85.
Perhaps the best new feature will be the ability to finally take good photos, at least as good as the competition.
People have been taking good photos for over a century, with all kinds of cameras, so that ability has been there all along, at least in the hands of a photographer who possesses that ability. The photographer have by far the greatest influence on whether a photo turns out to be good, and the lens is also more important than the camera.
From the user redcrow on DPR:
“My source told more about NX1.
Surprise!!! NO Retro style!
NX1 is not definitely designed for light user, but more for professional/advanced user. Yes, it is THE flagship of NX line up.
NX1 is expected to be a great AF performer.”
Seems in line with what was rumored here on mr (same source?).
Just one remark: if nx1 is big and heavy as rumored, nx line still has NO option for the advanced user wanting a small/light body (ala a6000). This will kill nx, IMO.