# Samsung Leaving the Camera Business?



## Canon Rumors Guy (Sep 19, 2015)

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According to <a href="https://translate.google.com/translate?hl=ko&sl=ko&tl=en&u=http%3A%2F%2Fwww.newstomato.com%2FReadNews.aspx%3Fno%3D585549">Korean web site NewsTomato</a>, an industry insider is saying Samsung is getting out of the camera business. The NX division within Samsung has lost money every year since its inception.</p>
<p>All marketing activity from Samsung for cameras has pretty much ended and they haven’t announced anything since the NX500.</p>
<p>I’d be lying if I said I was shocked if this turns out to be true, I’ve never felt Samsung was part of the mirrorless conversation, no matter how well specced their offerings were.</p>
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## TonyNorthrup (Sep 19, 2015)

This would be a shame, because Samsung has been the biggest innovator in the camera industry. They have a camera that runs Android, proper touch screens, and a mirrorless camera (the NX1) that tracked motion better than the 7D Mark II (in some circumstances) and could shoot faster. They adopted H.265 before it was cool.

Get this: You can update the firmware in their cameras directly from the Internet across Wi-Fi.

Nonetheless I rarely recommended their cameras... Cramming cool features into bodies is nice, but ultimately decades of Canon lens development trumps all.


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## ajfotofilmagem (Sep 19, 2015)

TonyNorthrup said:


> This would be a shame, because Samsung has been the biggest innovator in the camera industry. They have a camera that runs Android, proper touch screens, and a mirrorless camera (the NX1) that tracked motion better than the 7D Mark II (in some circumstances) and could shoot faster. They adopted H.265 before it was cool.
> 
> Get this: You can update the firmware in their cameras directly from the Internet across Wi-Fi.
> 
> Nonetheless I rarely recommended their cameras... Cramming cool features into bodies is nice, but ultimately decades of Canon lens development trumps all.


Yes. Reliability is more important than cool features. An enthusiast could get excited about Android and other amenities, but in this price range, it lacks an extensive line of lenses, flash and accessories, technical assistance readily available, etc.

There is a big difference between you who want the best camera phone, the one who wants the best camera "real". Samsung does very well for the first group, but not as well for photographers who seek reliability.


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## dolina (Sep 19, 2015)

Signs that the smartphone is smooshing the dedicated still camera market as a whole.

I expect more exits, mergers and diversification to other related and not so related fields in the coming decade.

When will the whole market's decline stop?


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## ajfotofilmagem (Sep 19, 2015)

Sporgon said:


> TonyNorthrup said:
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> 
> > This would be a shame, because Samsung has been the biggest innovator in the camera industry. They have a camera that runs Android, proper touch screens, and a mirrorless camera (the NX1) that tracked motion better than the 7D Mark II (in some circumstances) and could shoot faster. They adopted H.265 before it was cool.
> ...


By the way ...
Some regular participants of CanonRumors are gone missing: 

Marsus42
Surapon
Neuro


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## Sporgon (Sep 19, 2015)

ajfotofilmagem said:


> Sporgon said:
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They are still registered, just not posting so much now. 

Given how massive this site is on visitors we may well get Mr Ken Rockwell next !


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## lol (Sep 19, 2015)

At least in my part of the world, Samsung cameras have practically no physical presence. On the other hand, I recently got an S6, and I am amazed at the image quality from that. It beats my high end compact camera from a few years ago, but isn't going to worry a DSLR any time soon. So Samsung exiting the dedicated camera market isn't a big deal to me, providing they continue to push the limits of phone cameras.


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## distant.star (Sep 19, 2015)

.
Disappointed to see there is no way to block a poster. I thought there was.


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## Don Haines (Sep 19, 2015)

Sporgon said:


> ajfotofilmagem said:
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> > Some regular participants of CanonRumors are gone missing:
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One can only hope that they are off on vacation somewhere, having a great time, taking bazillions of pictures, and when they return we will be treated to a series of fantastic images....


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## Sunnystate (Sep 19, 2015)

For all we know that Tony guy may be any of those missing posters...

BTW he appeared on Sonny rumors also, fishing expeditions.



ajfotofilmagem said:


> Sporgon said:
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## ajfotofilmagem (Sep 19, 2015)

Don Haines said:


> Sporgon said:
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I also miss Bornshooter, and their beautiful girls in Glasgow. :-*

Will all our friends jumped ship and went to the world Sony? ???  ;D


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## LDS (Sep 19, 2015)

TonyNorthrup said:


> This would be a shame, because Samsung has been the biggest innovator in the camera industry. They have a camera that runs Android, proper touch screens, and a mirrorless camera (the NX1) that tracked motion better



Putting a phone into a camera may not be as a smart idea as putting a camera into a phone.

Samsung is bleeding and burning a lot of money in several of its business areas, may be forced to shutdown some. Its phone does sell, but with so low margins it really can't make big money, while forced to burn a lot in marketing.


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## Mt Spokane Photography (Sep 19, 2015)

distant.star said:


> .
> Disappointed to see there is no way to block a poster. I thought there was.



There is. Go into your profile and edit your ignore list.


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## distant.star (Sep 20, 2015)

.
Thanks. Seems an odd way to do it though.




Mt Spokane Photography said:


> distant.star said:
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## Mitch.Conner (Sep 20, 2015)

ajfotofilmagem said:


> Sporgon said:
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I don't know about the others, but I think if Dilbert looks in the mirror and says "Dynamic range" three times fast, neuro will show up. 

I hope they're well and just taking a vacation.


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## Mt Spokane Photography (Sep 20, 2015)

distant.star said:


> .
> Thanks. Seems an odd way to do it though.
> 
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## Mt Spokane Photography (Sep 20, 2015)

After reading the Translation of the article about the Samsung camera, I came away with the feeling that it was speculation based on info from a person supposed to be a industry insider. A speculation that was proved wrong last spring, but now being rumored again? I tried a different translation of the article, but it was also difficult to understand what was really being said.

The speculation is based on cuts in spending of marketing for the cameras. Samsung's has been working to clean up their many different units and boost profits. Their phone business has relied on growth for profits, and that's not happening. 

The imaging unit is certainly losing money, it will take a ton of money to design lenses, and establish a share of the marketplace. You cannot become profitable instantly, it will take years. If their financial considerations did not take this into account, and assumed a instant profit, they have experienced a rude awakening. 

The problem is that Samsung's market share for mirrorless cameras is decreasing, if it were increasing, there would be some hope. Developing new sensors is expensive, and they become obsolete quickly. A large volume of production is needed to recoup startup costs for a new sensor. I suspect that is another issue, asking for money to develop the next generation of sensors is falling on deaf ears.


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## Stu_bert (Sep 20, 2015)

Mitch.Conner said:


> ajfotofilmagem said:
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Yup, I would expect them to be on holiday somewhere


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## zim (Sep 20, 2015)

Stu_bert said:


> Mitch.Conner said:
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I suspect it's more likely to be work

Either way I hope they are all well


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## AvTvM (Sep 20, 2015)

>>"The camera industry insider said, "Samsung has issued a final order for the camera to factory production fell a horse." <<

hehehe! Just love the translation. Whatever it really may have meant in Korean. ;D


Other than that, Samsung is hurting and they just announced another 10.000 job cuts. Their higher-end phones just don't cut it against Apple and despite the highly capable, but APS-C only NX1 their mirrorless system (cameras, lenses, speedlites etc.) just don't cut it against Sony (and CaNikon). Looks like Samsung might be going were Nokia went ... actually I don't mind at all seeing that those Asian tigers also can't sustain their former growth forever until they reach the sky.


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## Click (Sep 20, 2015)

Mitch.Conner said:


> I don't know about the others, but I think if Dilbert looks in the mirror and says "Dynamic range" three times fast, neuro will show up.




Ha Ha Ha ;D ;D ;D




Mitch.Conner said:


> I hope they're well and just taking a vacation.



+1


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## mkabi (Oct 24, 2015)

*No more Samsung NX Cameras????*

I'm a bit late to this story if others have already read it.
But I am seriously surprised...

http://www.mirrorlessrumors.com/very-bad-news-samsung-will-really-kill-the-nx-camera-system/


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## Mt Spokane Photography (Oct 24, 2015)

*Re: No more Samsung NX Cameras????*

It was rumored some time ago, and Samsung denied it. It was rumored last Spring as well.


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## PhotographyFirst (Oct 24, 2015)

*Re: No more Samsung NX Cameras????*

Smart move on their part. It would have cost them way too much money and effort to get enough market share to be profitable in the long run. On top of that, the APS-C market seems to be shrinking quicker than m4/3 and FF.


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## Mt Spokane Photography (Oct 24, 2015)

https://www.imaging-resource.com/news/2015/09/23/rumor-busted-samsung-is-not-exiting-the-camera-business-at-least-not-the-on

"Good news, Samsung fans: Echoing Mark Twain's famous line, rumors of the demise of the company's camera division have been greatly exaggerated!

We first saw this story doing the rounds of English-language blogs a few days ago, after previously cropping up on the rather bizarrely-named Korean website NewsTomato late last week. The deal, so the rumor mill had it, was that Samsung was about to exit the camera business, something all of the stories attributed to an unnamed "industry insider".

When we first heard the reports ourselves, we didn't give them much credence, because frankly they didn't really make any sense. After all, Samsung has made a huge investment in its NX-mount camera line of late. With the launch of the Samsung NX1 late last year, the company debuted a brand-new image sensor and a super-advanced image processor, both of which it had developed in-house. And to our understanding, since the NX1's launch just ten months ago, it has been selling pretty well.

And it's not just the NX1 that has demonstrated Samsung's commitment, either. It has also been continuing to build out its NX-mount lens lineup, with more than a dozen distinct lens models now available for NX-series cameras. Finally, if you still had any doubts about the company's commitment, the speed and frequency with which it has been turning out updated firmware to hone and refine the NX1 to the needs of enthusiasts and pros alike should really tell you everything you need to know.

Why, then, would Samsung want to call it quits on standalone cameras so soon after setting itself the goal of redefining the high-end camera market? We couldn't come up with a good answer to that question, so reached out to Samsung themselves, to get to the bottom of it. Here's what the Samsung spokesperson told us:

Official statement from Samsung:

"Withdrawing from the camera business is not true and there is no official plan to stop production of cameras and lenses. Samsung continuously analyzes the varying needs and requirements of consumers in each market and region very carefully. However, we do not officially comment on rumors or speculation."

As is very often the case with such things, Samsung's official statement is carefully vague, but there may be a hint in there as to what's going on and the underlying cause of the rumors.

Notice the wording "cameras and lenses" in the statement. We wonder; might that be a particular reference to their interchangeable-lens NX line, as distinguished from their point & shoot models?

A decision to exit the point & shoot end of the market certainly wouldn't be any surprise: Apart from a few narrow niches (long-zoom, waterproof, and enthusiast pocket cameras like Sony's RX series and its competitors), we doubt anyone is making much money on fixed-lens cameras in this post-smartphone era. It's a low-margin, largely commodity business, with few opportunities for real differentiation, based on technical innovation. For a company like Samsung, with deep engineering and R&D resources, it makes sense to apply those abilities to products where they'll actually make a difference, namely interchangeable-lens cameras like the NX1 and NX500, with high-end capabilities.

Indeed, with the benefit of 20/20 hindsight, we've already seen a strong signal that Samsung has probably been planning to exit the point & shoot business for some time. Looking back, the company hasn't introduced a single new fixed-lens camera since January 2014. (That's when a slew of cameras including the Android-based Galaxy Camera 2 and long-zoom WB2200F made their simultaneous debut.) If it had occurred to us to look back at that, we could have predicted months ago that an exit strategy was probably already in effect.

We obviously don't have any confirmation from Samsung on this, but our analysis is that they've decided to exit the fixed-lens camera business, in favor of focusing all of their future efforts on interchangeable-lens cameras. And frankly, we'd call that a sound plan, given how moribund the point-and-shoot market has become since the arrival of smartphones.

So, that's the word from Samsung, and our interpretation of it. Our guess as to what happened is that someone heard about and reported on plans to exit the fixed-lens market, but missed that important qualifier, and the whole thing got blown entirely out of proportion by the internet rumor mill. From the statement received and our own analysis of the situation, we're confident in saying that Samsung's NX fans have nothing to worry about. Period. The company has made and continues to make major investments in processor and sensor technology, and there's no sign that they've taken any step back from the aggressive path they've charted for themselves there.


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