Samsung in the photo market

Good day to all Habravchans and Habravchanks!

Today I’ll talk about one of Samsung’s areas of activity - photography. We will slightly increase the dusty archive shelves and find out how it all began, and then move on to current developments and existing models on the market.

How it all began

Now one can hardly imagine that once upon a time the company was not represented in this market. Moreover, she once did not do electronics at all. However, this is another story - we won’t go that far. Samsung appeared in (then unified) Korea in 1938. The first and only company profile at that time was ... pic. Trade was not bad, and, gradually, a joint Korean-Chinese venture expanded. A qualitative breakthrough occurred in 1969, when a workshop for the production of black and white TVs was opened. Very soon, the company was reorganized and renamed Samsung Electronics, which determined a further development vector. Today, there is hardly any industry that Samsung is not affected by anyway. One of the most striking and important is photographic equipment and photography.

Photo hunt

The first Samsung camera was released in 1979. The SF-A pilot model could not compete with recognized industry leaders, but was made to last and easy to operate, in a word, fulfilled its primary task: introduced Samsung in a new market. The mass consumer favorably met the newcomer, appreciating the inexpensive, but reliable Samsung cameras. The next turning point was the signing of a partnership agreement with the German optical manufacturer Schneider-Kreuznach, in 1995.



For photography enthusiasts familiar with German optics, this became a guarantee of Samsung quality, and for the manufacturer itself - a noticeable breakthrough in the direction of professional cameras.
In the late 90s, Samsung also tried its hand at the SLR segment by launching its first DSLR - a non-autofocus Samsung SR4000 with Schneider-Kreuznach optics. It was a good camera, however, he could not compete on equal terms with the “bison” of the market. However, this was another step towards Samsung's success.

We are in the matrix

Shortly before these events, in 1994, Samsung set foot on a new ground in the rapidly growing digital photography market. The SSC-410N camera, which looked more like modern binoculars or a small video projector, was equipped with a 1/3-inch CCD-matrix with a resolution of 768 x 484 pixels, a zoom lens with an equivalent focal length of 40-120 mm and an integrated 4 MB memory module .



However, the model hit the store shelves only in 1997, and a year earlier a compact digital camera with a more familiar design came out - Samsung Kenox SSC-350N, which was also produced under the brands Apple and Fujifilm. Simple in maintenance and management, the camera was one of the first of its kind to cost less than $ 1,000.

At the PMA 2002 exhibition, Samsung announced itself in full voice, presenting to the public a new range of digital “soap dishes” Digimax from 2 to 4 MP.
At the same time, photography was integrated into mobile phones. Here Samsung immediately got down to business, in 2004, the first in the world to introduce a camera phone with a resolution of 5 megapixels. Soon, the first phone with a 7-megapixel camera appeared.

In 2006, the world saw the first digital SLR Samsung GX-1S, which became a joint work of Samsung and Pentax. It was followed by a 10-megapixel semi-professional SLR GX-10.

Mirrorless

In 2009, Samsung delighted amateur photographers with the introduction of the new NX-series cameras. At a reasonable price, the company has offered high-quality products that have been enjoyed by many sophisticated users.



NX uses an APS-C matrix larger than other companies. Unlike digital SLR cameras, NX uses contrast autofocus, which is much more difficult to manage and develop. The idea of ​​the creators of the new optics was to minimize the weight of moving parts to accelerate focusing, as well as to improve the optical stabilization system. The result of hard work was a delicate balance between image quality in the center and around the edges.


Samsung continues to improve in the creation of photographic equipment. The NX series made a very good impression on amateur photographers, and continues to replenish with new cameras, lenses and accessories. Samsung’s plans, neither more nor less, are to enter the first place in the market of mirrorless cameras, and by 2015 - the title of the best brand in the market of photographic equipment. In our opinion, these ambitions are well founded and realistic.