Buzz, Buzz. Photokina Calling.

Samsung NX-1

So, Samsung comes out swinging at Photokina. The offering is their first pro prosumer camera, the NX-1. The specs are interesting. The sensor is a the first large BSI sensor on the market. It's 28 megapixels and, according to the specs, it will hammer out 15 frames per second in raw with full AF. The sensor is not covered by an anti-aliasing filter. It's got 4K video. It has enough interconnectivity to communication with Zylons from the Nipsor Galaxy. It's mirror less and, again, according to specs,  the EVF is competitive as is the touchable rear screen.

The camera can be bundled with two lenses that should make the heart of a system for any photographer starting from scratch. One lens is the well reviewed 16-50mm S series f2-2.8 wide angle zoom and the latest addition is a 50-150mm S series f2.8. That's pretty sweet coverage from 24-225mm. 

What remains to be seen is who will step up and embrace the camera system. Which photographers will take a chance and move from the current group of six and try it on for size. I think it's a big psychological hurdle in that all their previous products were resolutely NOT aimed at the hard core, professional user. I'm not as hung up on specs and speeds. I'm mostly drawn to cameras because they feel right and are highly (and enjoyably) usable. Samsung's last effort, the NX30 was a move in the right direction. To my mind they got the body dimensions just about right. What they stumbled a bit on, initially, was the crispness of operation. I wanted the camera to switch from EVF to rear monitor and back quicker. I want the menus to hesitate just a little less. And I definitely wanted the EVF to be higher res and a bit closer tracking to the color and tonality of the files. A recent firmware update got me closer...

If they are able to execute well on those things they'll have a hell of a competitive offering. I'm not sure there's much that will dissuade the hard core fans of any particular brand to jump ship but they might just have a good shot at all the new people entering the market.

As far as I am concerned they've done a just right job on the lens selection and the quality of their higher spec lenses. Now if they can follow through with a great body and close the circle...