What Samsung is not doing is selling cameras apparently.
Like many others. I was wondering what happened to the NX20? NX1? or whatever camera Samsung were allegedly going to show at the CES show. Is this new camera postponed? cancelled? being re-designed? Its already been put on hold once, as there was supposed to be an additional camera to the NX200.
Several things occur to me about Samsung.
They make very decent cameras and lenses.
The NX200 sensor is excellent, one of the best I've ever used.
Samsung however don't seem to have found themselves a niche in the mirrorless / CSC market.
They strike me as followers rather than trend setters.
Unlike other companies they seem unwilling or unable to respond to what people actually want.
They seem to see their position as somewhat downmarket of companies like Fuji and Sony.
Unlike Fuji, who seem to have re-invented themselves, they have no real photographic history.
Unlike Sony, they haven't gone out and bought some photographic heritage, as Sony did with Minolta.
They don't seem to let their R & D dept., who seem quite inventive, have their head.
Consequently they seem to be languishing in last place in the mirrorless / CSC / E.V.I.L league tables. They apparently only sold 120,000 mirrorless cameras last year. Sounds a lot, but when you consider that Fuji sold 70,000 of the x100, a somewhat niche camera, you get an idea of how little this is.
So what can they do? Assuming of course that the money men at Samsung think its a good idea to continue with a range of cameras other than their compact and point and shoot offererings.
Well they could:-
Work on their own ideas instead of coming up with Panasonic clones (NX10) and Sony clones (NX200)
Be aware that the retro, faux rangefinder, lookaleica market is a large (and lucrative) one.
Build on their obvious strengths, such as sensor and lens design and think about coming up with a "sexy" body that might attract some headlines, to show off that sensor and the lens range.
Attempt to position themselves a little more upmarket. Not easy, with their lack of photographic "gravitas" but Fuji managed it, why can't Samsung?
Actually read some of the criticisms of their cameras and take them on board. I'm not the only one who has said what a good camera I think the NX200 is, but its lack of a viewfinder is just a wrong decision for the type of customer who is going to consider buying it.
All of this is as a prelude to the finish of my review of the NX200, which is coming up soon with a piece on the 20mm pancake lens.
I've been impressed with Samsungs no nonsense approach to camera design, less so by their misunderstanding of what people might want. The fact that many CSC users and potential buyers are not all point and shoot upgraders and that many are serious experienced photographers, seems to have eluded them. Just look at the fuss over the Fuji X-Pro 1.
Samsung have come up with a sensor in the NX200 that is almost as revolutionary as the one in the NEX-7, and it could be argued that it actually produces better IQ. The fact that this seems to have had virtually no impact on either their sales figures or profile amongst the photographic community is an indictment of just how poor their marketing, advertising and development strategy is.
Everybody else seems to be aware of this, why aren't they?