Samsung to stop producing cameras and lenses?

This is starting to look quite plausible. It makes a lot of sense. Let's see what Nikon can do with these sensors, and whether they actually have any interest in catering the pro video market.
 
I am curious to see if they can come up with something which performs as well in low light on the FF side of things.
 
Edit - judging from the time stamp of the post, this is the site that must have had the news first.

http://www.nikon-mirrorless.com/art...io-will-launch-new-mirrorless-system-soon-r3/

C100Scottie said:
I am curious to see if they can come up with something which performs as well in low light on the FF side of things.
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NX1 has a Backside Illuminated sensor, so it depends how much Nikon might want to scale it up.

A poster on CR - not a mod, but just a poster - says Nikon will use this company's processor/SoC (not Samsung's).

http://www.prnewswire.com/news-rele...ut-image-processor-the-mb86s27-300166680.html
 
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Consider Samsung can do 6.5k at 120fps full readout and compress into H.265 which is a lot more process intense than Sony's and it didn't overheat lol, that should Nikon very big boost, it also frees them from Sony's control on sensor supply and 6 month late start.
 
What about lenses? Let's not forget, Samsung introduced a whole new mount. The camera is the least of it. People can - and did - buy an individual camera, like the NX1. But in order to make it a business, you're asking people to spend multiples of that investment in the camera on lenses and accessories. That's the problem. People are happy to drop $1K - $2K on a camera, but then you're asking them to spend another $5K - $10K in lenses and accessories. And it takes a huge investment to build lenses for a new mount that will cover the whole spectrum of what a photographer may want. That's a huge investment for both the manufacturer and for the customer.

If Samsung exits the photography business, it won't be a case of abandoning a few cameras that grow obsolete - it means destroying substantial investments in lenses that thousands of photographers made. No wonder people are sticking to Canon and Nikon - at least there's the idea that these companies will hopefully stick around. But otherwise? Who else are you confident about? I'm waiting for Pentax Casio Fuji to go at some point. Even Sony - may or may not, they introduce mounts and lenses here and there, but is there any long range followup that gives you confidence they'll stick around and support all that stuff for years and years?

To be honest, that was one reason why I stayed away from Samsung cameras - I didn't want to spend a fortune on lenses. I have Nikon stills cameras and lenses - when I bought the Pana GH3, it was with the idea that I can use the Nikon lenses on it with adapters, so if worst came to worst and Panasonic abandoned the m4/3 mount, I'd still have my Nikon lenses - which is why I bought very few m4/3 lenses (I have the Pana 12-35 2.8 zoom). My question was - what would I do with a bunch of Samsung mount lenses if Samsung decided to skip town?
 
It is a no-brainer that Nikon would use its own mount on a new version of the NX1. And if the acquisition happens there is no doubt in my mind that Nikon will eventually have the absolutely best mirrorless DSLRs in the market and hopefully a full cinema camera as well. And for those who didn't know, you can actually mount Nikon and Canon lenses on a Samsung NX1 as well. There is an app for that, ooopss sorry!, there are lens mount adapters for that!
 
BTW. The administrator at nikonrumors.com is having a heart attack about not being able to be the lead in the rumor mill about the possible acquisition! He is sounding so pathetic is just funny! LOL!
 
This makes a lot of sense for Nikon, but I am still highly skeptical. Sony's aggressive move into the high end is going to eat Nikon's lunch in the end if they don't do something drastic like this. Is there any precedent for a strong Korean > Japanese corporate partnership on a scale like what is being rumored?
 
John Caballero said:
And if the acquisition happens there is no doubt in my mind that Nikon will eventually have the absolutely best mirrorless DSLRs in the market and hopefully a full cinema camera as well.
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THIS! I've been anticipating the demise/Sony acquisition of Nikon for several years -- it would be a gigantic shame to see the end of Nikon as an independent firm. The reality is that smartphone cameras will continue to eat away everything but the high end for still cameras. No reason Nikon can't continue to do well with their conventional strengths; and march towards more robust video capabilities -- and hopefully eventually give us a real cinema video offering.

It goes like this, I am ready to replace my main still camera (D800E); which I will keep as a better backup than current. Why the hell would I get a D810 with the A7RII (cost difference not a factor for me) as an option?? Much better hybrid offering and gives me a lot more versatility.
 
It goes like this, I am ready to replace my main still camera (D800E); which I will keep as a better backup than current. Why the hell would I get a D810 with the A7RII (cost difference not a factor for me) as an option?? Much better hybrid offering and gives me a lot more versatility.
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Like I said, if Nikon really acquires the tech from the NX1 and partners with Samsung for the sensors it will have the best mirrorless DSLRs in the market. But, we will have to wait to see if the rumor is true in the first place, don't we?
 
John Caballero said:
Like I said, if Nikon really acquires the tech from the NX1 and partners with Samsung for the sensors it will have the best mirrorless DSLRs in the market. But, we will have to wait to see if the rumor is true in the first place, don't we?
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I was saying why would I buy a D810 instead of the A7RII, which offers me more value (primarily because of video capabilities)? Bringing hypothetical products into the mix is kind of pointless.

I think a lot of Nikon shooters are increasingly asking themselves; why would I dump more money into Nikon when they're prospects aren't great and they are too conservative and prideful to respond to a changing market?

I read Thom Hogan's response to the Samsung/Nikon rumor. How is he flailing?? Pretty sound reasoning to me. I think the Korean/Japanese issue is enough to be highly skeptical of this....
 
I wouldn't buy neither a D810 nor an A7Rll as this point. Mr. Hogan sure went into hyper mode! LOL! We shall soon enough find out how the drama unfolds! I love this episodes when they happen. Show-business!
 
John Caballero said:
Mr. Hogan sure went into hyper mode!
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His premises are all wrong too. The most common sense says that Nikon can benefit from the latest Samsung tech because otherwise they have to seek other sensor manufacturers and special order the R&D and production for their own use. They have relied on Sony and Toshiba in the past but getting the state of the art research and foundries from Samsung - or, at the very least, their production - is a solution to most of their problems. It's a win-win for both companies, in fact. Those who own NX mount are slightly SOL but one can still use the third party lenses too.

hojomo said:
... Is there any precedent for a strong Korean > Japanese corporate partnership on a scale like what is being rumored?
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Ya, Samsung bought Sony sensors for their smartphones recently when they weren't happy with their line for a particular series.

Korean companies don't really have to work with anyone. These Korean chaebol (conglomerates) are so huge, they can maintain anything they feel holds promise.

But I did find this online after a quick search.

http://www.koreatimesus.com/s-korea-japan-tech-firms-join-forces-to-develop-5g-network/
 
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John Caballero said:
BTW. The administrator at nikonrumors.com is having a heart attack about not being able to be the lead in the rumor mill about the possible acquisition! He is sounding so pathetic is just funny! LOL!
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Hmm. I don't know... I for one find his list of reasons pretty convincing, but YMMV.
 
OldCorpse said:
Hmm. I don't know... I for one find his list of reasons pretty convincing, but YMMV.
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Well, there are quibbles. item per item?

1) Not credible rumor is sort of a "proof of a negative". I didn't hear this, so it must not exist. The MR guy got it via his Samsung contacts, so the Nikon people may be pretty quiet about it up until things break in the open.

2) The know-how of Samsung vs. Nikon - as many posters on NR have mentioned, Samsung is just a much bigger company that does semiconductors, memory, general electronics, etc. Some of it can be purchased from any third party but it's nice to make a package deal with sensors included.

3) Nikon wants a full frame mirrorless but Samsung is incapable of helping there. Why? Because they had never made a full frame camera? But they have also made a slew of sensors in various sizes. Which translates better to full frame than Nikon, which always buys the third party solutions.

4) Except, Nikon isn't buying Samsung or its camera division. Samsung is closing theirs and, in all likelihood, this is a major partnership, with Samsung serving as a major subcontractor to many/most Nikon cameras by providing the components that are its main area of business. Nikon may have to pay for some intellectual property but it's likely to be a package deal regardless.

5) Korea vs. Japan, antipathy, old animosity. Didn't anyone watch the 2002 World Cup. It was co-hosted by both nations. It went off just fine (except the final ... grrrr)

6) Publicly traded companies should have more leaked info. Well, they do in fact have it. This is it. And, naturally, it is not always the case anyway.

7) A subject of agreement. Adding the NX-mount makes no sense. So, they won't make the NX mount. Problem solved.

8) Nikon won't gain the Samsung base. This is a very silly argument. Nikon, if this goes through as rumored, will buy the expertise and the manufacturing capabilities. That's the area where it's been lacking. Nikon has its pluses but Samsung can also cancel a lot of its minuses. Such as having to buy from Sony.

9) Nikon is "too proud to beg". Well, in this exchange, Samsung is the big dog and Nikon management can't be this dumb to miss that point. besides, if they can't finalize this deal, Nikon will have to go buy its sensors from someone else anyway. Ask BMD or AJA how quickly that can go wheels up.

10) Bad rumors are prevalent. That's the nature of rumors. But they pretty much nailed that whole Samsung-going-out-of-the-camera-business thing well ahead of time.

Well, that was my official rebuttal to the official rumor of the state of address. Or something like that.
 
I think the primary argument would be: what does Samsung have that Nikon needs? Apart from sensors? I mean, is there anything camera-related that Samsung has special tech for that Nikon would covet... I think not. Samsung was a very young camera company - it is not likely that they have some novel tech that Nikon desperately needs - Nikon has been in this field for decades. The only thing is sensors, where absolutely Nikon would benefit - but I kind of don't see why Samsung has to sell this to Nikon... why not keep the sensor division and simply sell sensors to whoever may want then, including Nikon or Canon or whoever else... just be a sensor OEM - that's what Samsung does already in other fields. Meanwhile, selling the sensor division to Nikon is not such a simple matter - that's a very complex thing, from design to manufacturing. I'm not sure Nikon has the infrastructure to absorb and keep developing such a division - where would the design engineers come from? From Samsung? Integrating Korean engineers into a Japanese company is not a long-term plausible thing (are they going to move with their families to Japan? Stay in Korea under Japanese management?), that leaves hiring - what expertise does Nikon have in running such an operation? You need quite a bit of expertise in specialized design and manufacturing - none of which Nikon has, as Nikon is a strictly camera and lenses company. I don't see a quick and easy transfer of the sensor division to Nikon, and for that matter I'm not sure Samsung doesn't want to keep it anyway and just turn sensor OEM to sell to all and sundry. That's my official rebuttal to your official rebuttal :)
 
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