Rumors have been flying since September: Samsung’s exiting the camera enterprise, it reassigned the NX camera workers elsewhere within the firm, it instructed salespeople in some nations that the NX1 had been discontinued (see abstract at Petapixel). I typically pay little consideration to rumors, however I strongly consider that this newest one is probably going true. No confirmations, both on or off the file, simply a wide range of items coming collectively in my head.And I hope it is true. Because that is one case the place the sum would undoubtedly be better than its components, particularly if the deal contains:Nikon shopping for its 1-inch and APS-C sensors from Samsung, and dealing with them to develop a full body (in the event that they have not already)Nikon buying the mental property for the NX system expertiseNikon utilizing Samsung’s NX lens manufacturing lineSamsung, which dropped out of the dSLR enterprise years in the past, has had a tough time making inroads in a mirrorless market dominated by Sony’s A sequence and Micro Four Thirds-mount companions Olympus and Panasonic. Toss in Canon and Nikon should you take into account interchangeable-lens fashions as an entire, which would come with dSLRs. In the stagnant and shrinking camera market, there simply is not sufficient room for too many gamers, and an enormous, diversified firm like Samsung would not actually have a monetary incentive to maintain plugging away like “The Little Engine that Could” for not a number of reward.It’s form of unhappy, as a result of Samsung makes wonderful, main edge-cameras; the NX1 is one among my favorites. But persons are legitimately reticent to purchase right into a system with a “new” lens mount. When launching their mirrorless strains, all the opposite gamers instantly launched adapters so that individuals may use their present dSLR-mount Canon, Sony, Olympus and Panasonic lenses. But Samsung by no means had that avenue to fall again on, since its dSLRs did not have a lot of an put in base or breadth of lenses.Nikon, alternatively, has a stable presence within the camera market, each from a market and a mindshare perspective and throughout market segments from entry-level to skilled. But its dSLRs gross sales are sinking. And sadly, within the fashionable mirrorless class, it misstepped. The Nikon 1 sequence has its charms, however with a 1-inch sensor, tiny lens mount and not using a small choice of meh lenses and comparatively excessive costs, it actually would not have a lot of a future, and virtually fully lacks enchantment for professionals.Also, whereas Nikon has improved its cameras’ video capabilities, it would not have anyplace close to the experience that Samsung does — that firm was making camcorders earlier than they have been digital — although Samsung by no means had a giant presence in something however the low cost fashions. It has been implementing current-standard 4K in its cameras, although, one thing HD-only Nikon must meet up with.Nikon additionally lacks a sensor enterprise, not like Canon and Sony, which makes it tougher for the corporate to drive the expertise route. Though lots of Canon’s sensors are inclined to charge under opponents with respect to dynamic vary (take a look at any of them on dxomark.com), proudly owning the biz doubtless helped to facilitate the event and implemention of its on-chip autofocus expertise.The results of a deal like this could be an influx of income and massive value cuts for Samsung, on the identical time giving Nikon all of the items it wants to repair its mirrorless technique actually rapidly. One of probably the most troublesome adjustments in camera expertise when shifting to mirrorless from a dSLR is the flange-back distance: the gap from the sensor to the lens mount is quite a bit smaller in a mirrorless than in a dSLR, which requires a giant mirror mechanism between the 2. That requires redesigning lenses, which takes time; time that Nikon actually would not have. There’s an Olympics in 2016, and Canon and Nikon historically make large professional pushes for that. Sports shooters nonetheless use a number of dSLRs, however a number of them just like the smaller mirrorless our bodies, that are nice for taking pictures video and much more handy in lots of conditions. I feel Nikon most likely must have a mirrorless for these photographers, if it hasn’t already misplaced them. This deal would make it doable to ramp up rapidly sufficient for that; the NX1 is already quick and climate sealed, and I may see Nikon bringing it on top of things, so to talk, plus Samsung already has some very good, pro-quality NX-mount lenses to match.One potential impediment to creating it work, although, is that Nikon must recover from any worries it may need that an excellent mirrorless camera would possibly erode its dSLR gross sales. Because they’ll. And that is a very good factor. dSLRs nonetheless have their place — optical viewfinders are exhausting to let go of — however mirrorless fashions have tons of benefits, together with providing extra compact methods. (Unless you are Leica.)When Sony purchased Konica-Minolta in 2006, it used that expertise to energy its entree within the dSLR enterprise. The relaxation is historical past. (On the opposite hand, the more moderen Ricoh-Pentax acquisition hasn’t appeared to have made any waves.) I feel a deal like this may very well be simply as essential for Nikon. Whether it could be as profitable stays to be seen.
https://www.cnet.com/tech/computing/rumors-say-nikons-acquiring-samsung-camera-tech-we-say-win-win-opinion/
Rumors say Nikon’s acquiring Samsung camera tech: We say win-win
