Perhaps, according to Reuters:
Japanese camera makers such as Canon and Nikon have long ruled the $22-billion digital camera market, but South Korean upstart Samsung Techwin is making a serious bid to build its brand to take on the big guns.
Read the rest on your own.
(HT to reader)
10 Comments
I wouldn’t say they’re exactly sneaking up.
Samsung Techwin has said all along that their goal was to become a top competitor. I certainly didn’t take them seriously….
Being one of the few people I know who uses Pentax DSLR gear, I have followed this story for the past two years with great interest. Most people don’t realize it, but Pentax is essentially a family-owned business — and it has been, or at least was, on the ropes a couple of years ago. It almost sold most of its equity to a Japanese lens glass manufacturer. But at the last minute, the Pentax board of directors pulled out.
I suspect that part of the reason for the turn-around was that Samsung came in as a white knight and made it possible for Pentax to continue on. The price for all of this was turning over the Japanese company’s top DSLR technology over to the Koreans — which may not be a bad thing for the Japanese. I suspect that there are better profit margins on the lenses than the bodies. And had Pentax not seen a real future, they may have had to stick with the point & shoot cameras and start phasing down their more profitable line of interchangeable lenses.
Anyway, the top end Samsung DSLR is identical to the Pentax top product except for kit lenses and, of course, location of manufacture. When I bought my last DSLR, I could have saved a couple hundred bucks by going with Samsung, but I did not since I didn’t trust Korean manufacturing QA on their first venture into this field. Also, the optional battery grip I heard (correctly or incorrectly) was only available for the Pentax version of the camera.
Now, I’m not 100% confident about my above business analysis, but it really does look like Samsung gave Pentax a second lease on life. Where that puts Samsung and Pentax in the long run, no one knows for sure — except Samsung definitely made a masterful move into making itself finally be recognized as a credible camera company. Next, Samsung has to master the more demanding technology of high quality lens crafting or simply continue to use imported lenses.
Samsung do make some half decent cameras, the GX10 has had some very good reviews, but they are nowhere near Canon or Nikon. Those two giants are really quite far ahead of any others in both market share, reputation and quality.
I have the Nikon D50 and love it. My next camera will be the Nikon D300 when I’ve saved up enough pennies. By that time mind you they’ll probably have a d400 out. It’s a pretty pricey piece of kit and I do have to keep the missus happy.
The only way as another poster said was to get their glass in order. Nikon and Canon make some excellent glass, and a lot of really good secondhand stuff is available at very reasonable prices.
Samsung have got their work cut out, I hope they do well. More competition tends to bring prices down.
Being able to make a decent body is the easy part of the DSLR business: it’s having the glass, accessories, worldwide service and easy rental options available which separates Canon/Nikon from the rest, and I don’t see Pentax catching up in these areas even in 10 years.
Tom
I think your information on the collapse of the Pentax-Hoya deal is dated. As of April last year it did look like the deal was off, but two months later it was on again and has gone through:
http://www.dpreview.com/news/0.....tement.asp
I too have used Pentax gear, since the 1960s, (I’ve also used Nikon and Olympus SLR still cameras and Canon video cameras from time to time) and keep coming back to Pentax when they get it right, so I followed this story with great interest. My memory is that the Pentax-Samsung technology-sharing tie-up came well before the Hoya deal was first crystallized so the timing and cause-and-effect relationship you suggest may not be entirely accurate. The Samsung GX10, essentially the same camera as the Pentax K10D (which I have used), is by all accounts a fine camera. Canon and Nikon do have tremendous market share dominance and brand recognition, and a far larger range of accessory lenses, flashes, etc. but in terms of quality of design and build, the Pentax K10D (and probably the Samsung GX10) is better than anything Canon or Nikon offer for less than double the price. Samsung is using Schneider glass, imported it is true, but of very high quality. The brand-name glass issue is important in consumer marketing, but most pros ignore ‘kit lenses’ anyway. (Pentax has always made great glass, but I usually end up using Tamron lenses on my Pentax bodies). I wish Samsung well, and will seriously consider buying a GX10 or its successor as a second back-up body for my Pentax. But they have a steep road ahead. Whether it is deserved or not, Canon is the 800 pound gorilla. Nikon has survived a number of years of poor planning (mostly on past name brand recognition and the vast number of people with a legacy of Nikon-mount lenses) but is now back in the game with its current models, the D3 and D300.
Samsung becoming the #1 digi cam manufacturer by 2010? Not going to happen. Gonna be really tough for them to even crack the Top 3 by then.
Like others have mentioned it all comes down to the quality of optics - its really what separates the men from the boys in this sector - and what makes optics design and engineering particularly difficult is that its a unique blend of ‘art’ and ’science’ to get it done right.
The top brands are at the top because their optics produce images that stand out above their competitors (compare an image from a $200 6MP Cannon vs. a $79 8MP Chinese off-brand and you’ll see the difference bigtime). Nikon (nikor lenses), Cannon, Olympus are all producers of superb lens standards. The other top brands have partnered with top optical manufacturers in their high-end products for a fighting chance — eg: Sony (Carl Zeiss), Panasonic (really makes a great, undervalued product IMO with their Leica lens line).
If Samsung does become #1, it will be because Koreans Must Have Bribed the Reviewers™.
There’s no doubt Samsung will make the top 3, but #1 in 2 years will be hard.
Samsung digital cameras are not that bad but if one had a choice, one would obviously go for a Nikon, a Canon, or a Sony for that matter. I mean look around you. How many people do you know actually own a Samsung digital camera? And I’m not talking about the one in all device that Samsung pushes every night on TV.
Bad Monkey, you’re right about the D3 and D300. A friend of mine who works in the newspaper biz said the other day that a lot of pro news photographers who formerly would only touch Canon gear have all defected to Nikon, specifically their D3. From everything I’ve read the D300 is the best prosumer camera out there.
Good luck to Samsung, but they’re going to struggle to get close to Canon or Nikon.