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The NX series concept cameras that Samsung displayed at the recent Photo Marketing Association trade show in Las Vegas weren't meant to be just the usual coming attractions. These product mock-ups were set front and center as a Big Statement from the Korean electronics giant.
"The NX will be the apex of all our capabilities," said Seung Soo Park, Vice President, Strategic Market Team, Samsung Digital Imaging Co. "We decided to weave everything together."
Precisely what "everything" is, Park wouldn't say, except that it will be the best of the company's LCD, processor, and lens technology. Considering Samsung's dominance in categories ranging from LCD televisions to cell phones, that's an impressive amount of technical horsepower.
This much we could glean: the NX will be a competitor to the Micro Four Thirds system, which has already been embraced by Panasonic and Olympus. Using an electronic viewfinder instead of the mirror-box and prism of a DSLR, the Micro Four Thirds cameras can be small, have interchangeable lenses, shoot videos, and serve up high-quality stills. Image quality higher than a typical compact camera can come because although Micro Four Thirds cameras are tiny, their sensors have the same real estate as those used in full-sized Four Thirds-format DSLRs, such as those from Olympus and Panasonic.
Instead of a Four Thirds chip, Samsung expects to use an APS-C-sized sensor.
Park also allowed that the lens mount will be a new format-not the same as the Pentax K-mount used on Samsung-branded DSLRs. And that makes sense, since a Micro Four Thirds competitor would need lenses half the size of conventional glass, which in turn, would require a smaller mount.
Although no one was detailing features officially, a video playing next to the concept cameras showed video capture and wi-fi connectivity in addition to bells-and-whistles photo features.
What this means for Samsung's efforts in the DSLR field isn't clear, either, though Park said Samsung will continue to work with its "partner" (Pentax) in that category. In addition to selling the GX-20, a DSLR that's virtually identical to the Pentax K20D, Samsung manufactures the sensors that are in Pentax DSLRs.
Vague, too, is the timing of the NX introduction. "Second half 2009" was as specific as we could get.
But it was clear that Samsung has a lot of faith in-and a lot riding on-this new camera. Park stressed how the NX would establish Samsung as a "real top-tier" imaging company.
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