Why has NX been such a failure?

[zuikologist]

Originally Posted by PAN F

Hi,
LTM adapters are available for the Samsung NX cameras but not M bayonet fitting adapters.

They work well with Canon, Leica and some Russian LTM lenses, less so with CV lenses.

[raytoei@gmail.com]

funny thread...i was thinking about contax nx system, which was a failure...

[emraphoto]

I used the Samsung ex-1/tl500 for a few years and found it to be a brilliant camera! Well built, fast and a 24mm f1.9 equivalent on the wide end.

[emraphoto]

The only gripe I had was that the battery life was balls.

[whtchocla7e]

Samsung NX100 + 20-50 + 30/2 + 16/2.5 all for half the price of the Nex-7 body... Everything fits in a jacket (summer is over already)... the battery lasts forever... There's nothing to dislike about this.

[Paul T]

Samsung have just announced an updated NX, the 300.

http://www.dpreview.com/news/2013/01...GA-touchscreen

can't quite tell if the new model takes an EVF.

In the context here of the suggestions that Samsung an't really interested in the enthusiast audience, I found dpreview's mention that Samsung don't hand out review cameras intriguing. I've known this with a few companies - normally the ones who are resistant to feedback, and hate reviewers who have the temerity to criticise.

Interesting that the new version has hybrid AF with phase detect. Would be great to see more manufacturers introduce this.

[btgc]

I've considered EX1 as a compact, then cooled down because of Samsung-unrelated reasons. I guess NX-something could be my next APS-C digital. I don't care if they aren't considered a heritage camera maker, as long as they offer good value for reasonable price.

[mep]

'sup streetawgs?...

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=JqFrE...aJOwiQ&index=7

[Gabriel M.A.]

Originally Posted by Avotius

Face it, Samsung's NX line of cameras and lenses has been a catastrophic failure.

No one buys them. I have never seen a person with one.

Yet there is a lot of lenses and bodies to choose from. Still, no one can be bothered.

What the heck did Samsung do wrong? Maybe they should have removed the name Samsung and it would have done better.

1) Lens reputation: despite the use of the Schneider-K brand, whose 35mm and "above" I highly admire and respect, is trash in their (Samsung's) offerings.

2) New lens mount. Bad move. Like Canon's "EOS-M", but at least they're supposed to take the (now-legacy?) EF mount, so it's not a closed system.

3) I've used their products; poor support, horrible user interface design, although everything else is above average (and hence good enough).

Had they used the m4/3 mount, they would have had a better chance. But try convincing a VP whose only experience is delegating work.

[j j]

Gabriel

1) Does not apply to the NX line. You must be thinking of the old DSLR line of a few years ago.

2) Applies to every APS C mirrorless except Pentax does it not?

[ZorkiKat]

I used to have an NX 200, and used it for about six months until recently. I found this Samsung highly under-rated. It is an excellent camera with lots of useful features but at only a fraction of what a Sony would cost.

The 20mp sensor is surprisingly good for such a low-cost camera. It's high ISO abilities are also good- at 1600, it is still free from noise.

The body is very compact. The layout for the controls is very practical. This makes access for changing values also very convenient. Until the NEX 6 or 7 came along, Sony's mirrorless cameras made access to controls very challenging by digging through layers of menus throught just a cursor or two.

The body fits the hands well too. It's so easy to have stable handling just by gripping it. This makes stable shots for movies too.

Lens adaptability was one of the two reservations with it. It takes most of the LTM lenses but not the ones with bulging rears. So my 15mm Heliar was out. And the other was the lack of a provision for electronic viewfinders, making the 3" rear LCD the only easy choice.

However, it did take other lenses easily. The M42 SLR lenses mated easily, making all that one ever wanted with Takumars, Jupiters, and Helioses an easy reality on digital.

The compact light body, and an adapted LTM 28mm made a very small camera which easily fit in the bag. When I had the Samsung, I had it with me almost all the time.

Here are a couple of shots from the Samsung NX200, with a mated M42 1.4/50mm Super Takumar:

[jasonhumor]

Their impression to me is more likely gimmicks rather than photography. Ive heard their phot quality seems average these days but not superior even though they have always top resolusion.

[Gabriel M.A.]

Originally Posted by j j

1) Does not apply to the NX line. You must be thinking of the old DSLR line of a few years ago.

Correct. I was thinking of that, hence my thinking about their reputation (which by definition involves the past). Samsung-brand (or should I state, "not other brand stated otherwise") glass does not inspire even further confidence.

Originally Posted by j j

2) Applies to every APS C mirrorless except Pentax does it not?

Correct. Other manufacturers have provided adaptors, hence their mounts are not exactly closed mounts. This (Samsung NX) one is.

[Gabriel M.A.]

Originally Posted by ZorkiKat

Lens adaptability was one of the two reservations with it. It takes most of the LTM lenses but not the ones with bulging rears. So my 15mm Heliar was out. And the other was the lack of a provision for electronic viewfinders, making the 3" rear LCD the only easy choice.

However, it did take other lenses easily. The M42 SLR lenses mated easily, making all that one ever wanted with Takumars, Jupiters, and Helioses an easy reality on digital.

I was not aware that it would take M42 lenses easily; must be quite a task to use it that way, though. My Lumix GF1 with the 90mm Summicron-M is already quite unbalanced, I can't imagine using a M42 Jupiter-9 on the Samsung NX.

Non-DSLR, of course.

Very nice shots, btw.

[Matus]

Answer to the original question: I actually do not know whether NX line is a failure as I have never seen sale numbers, but indeed one sees NEX or m4/3 much more often.

So - if the NX is a failure, than it is MARKETING failure. Nothing more or less. The camera - based on what I have read - is quite good. The fact that it does not support M lenses is irrelevant for 99.9% of potential buyers. So I simply think that Samsung underestimated the competitiveness of the mirrorless market and the fact that they do not really have a name like a high-end camera producer.

[Roger Hicks]

Originally Posted by Matus

Answer to the original question: I actually do not know whether NX line is a failure as I have never seen sale numbers, but indeed one sees NEX or m4/3 much more often.

So - if the NX is a failure, than it is MARKETING failure. Nothing more or less. The camera - based on what I have read - is quite good. The fact that it does not support M lenses is irrelevant for 99.9% of potential buyers. So I simply think that Samsung underestimated the competitiveness of the mirrorless market and the fact that they do not really have a name like a high-end camera producer.

Well, that or luck. Or of course a combination of the two. Sometimes things just happen.

Cheers,

R.

[dct]

Originally Posted by Matus

[...]So - if the NX is a failure, than it is MARKETING failure. Nothing more or less. The camera - based on what I have read - is quite good. The fact that it does not support M lenses is irrelevant for 99.9% of potential buyers.[...]

+1
Agreed from the bare numbers. The M lenses users and potential buyers is a small market. But it is a marketing failure - as you mention - to not build a new body capable of taking M lenses. Though the target market of this camera line is not the typical M lens user, the early announcement of Sony (or Fuji) that their new bodies (NEX, X) will adopt to the main stream of small legacy glass was an additional marketing push.

[ZorkiKat]

Originally Posted by Gabriel M.A.

I was not aware that it would take M42 lenses easily; must be quite a task to use it that way, though. My Lumix GF1 with the 90mm Summicron-M is already quite unbalanced, I can't imagine using a M42 Jupiter-9 on the Samsung NX.

Non-DSLR, of course.

Very nice shots, btw.

Thanks Gabriel.

M42 lenses on the Samsung NX200 required no more effort than having these lenses on DSLRs. In fact in many instances, quite easier. The Jupiter-9 (M42) is hardly larger than the Takumar 1.4/50. Having that lens on the NX won't be a struggle.

I've tried the LTM 30 J-9 too, and it also handled quite comfortably on the Samsung.

It was just a matter of gripping both lens and camera in the most natural manner, requiring none of the acrobatic finger movements required by some of the bigger DSLRs.

The most difficult lens, where I actually felt the lack or want of balance, was when I put an M42 400mm lens (the Astranar 'Girl-Watcher' lens from the 1970s) on the NX. The 35cm long lens was too much for the thin bodied CSC Samsung, but nonetheless worked for this moon shot from November 28 last year: