January 14, 2010 at 18:14Nomobile.ru at CES 2010: reflections on one trend
He recently returned from CES 2010 and has already unsubscribed from it in the Itogi magazine and on the Nomobile.ru website ( this article ).
After that, a little more emotion. At the exhibition, as I already wrote, there was no smell of the future, but there was a smell of market conditions and the desire of companies to fall into the trend of Apple and Google. In this format - if these two companies have come up with something - you need to rush after them, and urgently. Moreover, even such big brands as Microsoft - Steve Ballmer’s speech with the tablet, this is an attack in its pure form towards Apple, and also unprepared. But I found few interesting and unique products, I was really glad only for the Lenovo U1 netbook-transformer, which combines a tablet and a netbook, two computers at once, and at a price of less than a thousand dollars (here we already wrote about it on the hub).
The main focus of the exhibition was still not on Android, but on 3D-TV, and a large mass of visitors hung in mini-cinemas, but I just had a good look at 3D at the September IFA, where this trend was indicated in full growth, and three-dimensional televisions went around side. It turned out that he walked the entire exhibition in two days. Most of the topics from the exhibition here, on the hub, have repeatedly been raised (readers, android, etc.). But I was hooked on the trend of the “mirror”, which turned out to be in the shadow of all of the above.
I was very interested in Samsung entering the new mini-camera market, and I expect big changes this year.
So, while only two companies are promoting the class of “expensive watering cans” a la rangefinder - Panasonic and Olympus. It is clear that this is not a DSLR (there is no mirror system there), but it’s not a soap dish either, something in between. 4/3 matrix, interchangeable optics are supported (including full-size lenses - through an adapter), removed in RAW. All cameras in this class are very good, I would say excellent. Beauties. Ideally, the entire set of carcass and several lenses should fit in a small handbag. Positioning - they say, this is the second camper camera for the professional or the main one for the prosumer, an advanced amateur. The main problem is the godlessly bullied price, and I don’t really understand, is it still a marketing miscalculation or indeed, the technological process gives a large cost. More inclined to the first version. But as for the behavior of the Japanese in the market, I’m witnessing some stagnation: this market is not expanding much, the Japanese are too passive, and Samsung, which has rolled out its answer, the NX10 camera, may well swing this swamp. And this is already interesting. The main question is: Are Koreans aiming at the same audience, or have they come from a slightly different perspective?
It is clear that the design and charisma of the Korean cannot even be compared with the Japanese: Japanese cameras look very vintage, they are thoroughbred, sort of small "watering cans", and by their inner sensation they are not good for the mass market, but just for those who are in the subject. But the topic is not a very large audience, well, actually, its price also narrows. And, perhaps, the Japanese do not reduce the price tag, because they understand that the audience will not increase much, the high price is building up just from the mass market. (Of course, Panasonic also has a GH-1, more like a DSLR, but for me the personification of the Micro 4/3 format is the two things in the picture - Olympus Pen and Panasonic GF1.)
Samsung has a different approach - it is certain that the price will be very low (which Koreans haven’t decided yet), and the camera’s design is a small SLR. It really is small, one third less than a normal SLR, and this is a plus. But it seems to me that the view can alienate the layman: it looks too much like those large cameras that are used by understanding uncles ... Paradox: the Japanese offer a soap dish format for those people who do not use soap dishes, and the Koreans - a mirror format for those who do not have a mirror are needed. Well, one can hardly imagine that a person will have the NX10 as a second device and a SLR as the first, these are still two similar cameras. Rather, the NX10 will be the main one, and the soap box in the appendage.
Actually, from large DSLRs in the NX10, only the matrix size is 1.6 APS-C sensors, well, the fastest autofocus in the class, as well as interchangeable optics (standard Pentax lenses - through the adapter, Koreans release their own line of accessories under the camera). 14 megapixels and bonuses in the form of an excellent 3-inch rotary AMOLED display and HD video recording. Although technologically this is a simpler solution than that of the Japanese, such a camera should give a better picture - due to the size of the matrix. And there will be much less noise than 4/3 mini-cameras (this problem is there).
Just in case, the picture from Wikipedia - the size of the matrix is 4/3 in the center, and around it light green - this is just the size of the matrix in NX10.
But the camera, although smaller than DSLRs, is still large. For comparison: the dimensions of the Panasonic GF1 are 119x71x36 mm and 285 g versus Samsung’s 123x87x40 mm and 353 g.
I talked with the vice president of Samsung, who was in charge of this area, and he told me that the NX10 audience is prosumers who are not ready to buy a DSLR, but who are not satisfied with the quality of soap dishes. And he said a strange thing for me - supposedly, DSLRs are a trend, but not everyone is ready for them, and having such a camera makes the amateur feel like he has a SLR ... so I don’t know how many people are ready to buy the device from for the feeling that he looks like a SLR? Mr. Vice President also said that interchangeable optics could attract a buyer. But again I doubt: is it right to focus the question on interchangeable optics? It is unlikely that this will drag an amateur into a niche, give him a compact size and a point-and-jester: pointed and removed.
In short, I got a little confused, but I know one thing for sure - if Samsung entered the market, it would be a carpet bombing - something would be driven into the minds of consumers, what will it be? And everyone is waiting for the move from other brands: Sony (first of all), as well as Canon and Nikon.
This class completely knocks the soil out from under video cameras, the latter will soon leave the mass market and occupy some niche, for example, the niche of Youtube cameras. And questions on microphotics are full. What is this market in Russia, is there segmentation within it, are the Japanese and Koreans fighting for the same audience or not? Which concept will win: “put the DSLR in the soap box” (Panasonic and Olympus) or “put the soapbox in the DSLR” (Samsung NX10)?
Question to habralyudi: what do you think about the fate of this class?
Related links:
photo album from CES exhibition
opinion of Nomobile.ru editor Alexey Goncharov about the trend of tablets presented at CES
After that, a little more emotion. At the exhibition, as I already wrote, there was no smell of the future, but there was a smell of market conditions and the desire of companies to fall into the trend of Apple and Google. In this format - if these two companies have come up with something - you need to rush after them, and urgently. Moreover, even such big brands as Microsoft - Steve Ballmer’s speech with the tablet, this is an attack in its pure form towards Apple, and also unprepared. But I found few interesting and unique products, I was really glad only for the Lenovo U1 netbook-transformer, which combines a tablet and a netbook, two computers at once, and at a price of less than a thousand dollars (here we already wrote about it on the hub).
The main focus of the exhibition was still not on Android, but on 3D-TV, and a large mass of visitors hung in mini-cinemas, but I just had a good look at 3D at the September IFA, where this trend was indicated in full growth, and three-dimensional televisions went around side. It turned out that he walked the entire exhibition in two days. Most of the topics from the exhibition here, on the hub, have repeatedly been raised (readers, android, etc.). But I was hooked on the trend of the “mirror”, which turned out to be in the shadow of all of the above.
I was very interested in Samsung entering the new mini-camera market, and I expect big changes this year.
So, while only two companies are promoting the class of “expensive watering cans” a la rangefinder - Panasonic and Olympus. It is clear that this is not a DSLR (there is no mirror system there), but it’s not a soap dish either, something in between. 4/3 matrix, interchangeable optics are supported (including full-size lenses - through an adapter), removed in RAW. All cameras in this class are very good, I would say excellent. Beauties. Ideally, the entire set of carcass and several lenses should fit in a small handbag. Positioning - they say, this is the second camper camera for the professional or the main one for the prosumer, an advanced amateur. The main problem is the godlessly bullied price, and I don’t really understand, is it still a marketing miscalculation or indeed, the technological process gives a large cost. More inclined to the first version. But as for the behavior of the Japanese in the market, I’m witnessing some stagnation: this market is not expanding much, the Japanese are too passive, and Samsung, which has rolled out its answer, the NX10 camera, may well swing this swamp. And this is already interesting. The main question is: Are Koreans aiming at the same audience, or have they come from a slightly different perspective?
It is clear that the design and charisma of the Korean cannot even be compared with the Japanese: Japanese cameras look very vintage, they are thoroughbred, sort of small "watering cans", and by their inner sensation they are not good for the mass market, but just for those who are in the subject. But the topic is not a very large audience, well, actually, its price also narrows. And, perhaps, the Japanese do not reduce the price tag, because they understand that the audience will not increase much, the high price is building up just from the mass market. (Of course, Panasonic also has a GH-1, more like a DSLR, but for me the personification of the Micro 4/3 format is the two things in the picture - Olympus Pen and Panasonic GF1.)
Samsung has a different approach - it is certain that the price will be very low (which Koreans haven’t decided yet), and the camera’s design is a small SLR. It really is small, one third less than a normal SLR, and this is a plus. But it seems to me that the view can alienate the layman: it looks too much like those large cameras that are used by understanding uncles ... Paradox: the Japanese offer a soap dish format for those people who do not use soap dishes, and the Koreans - a mirror format for those who do not have a mirror are needed. Well, one can hardly imagine that a person will have the NX10 as a second device and a SLR as the first, these are still two similar cameras. Rather, the NX10 will be the main one, and the soap box in the appendage.
Actually, from large DSLRs in the NX10, only the matrix size is 1.6 APS-C sensors, well, the fastest autofocus in the class, as well as interchangeable optics (standard Pentax lenses - through the adapter, Koreans release their own line of accessories under the camera). 14 megapixels and bonuses in the form of an excellent 3-inch rotary AMOLED display and HD video recording. Although technologically this is a simpler solution than that of the Japanese, such a camera should give a better picture - due to the size of the matrix. And there will be much less noise than 4/3 mini-cameras (this problem is there).
Just in case, the picture from Wikipedia - the size of the matrix is 4/3 in the center, and around it light green - this is just the size of the matrix in NX10.
But the camera, although smaller than DSLRs, is still large. For comparison: the dimensions of the Panasonic GF1 are 119x71x36 mm and 285 g versus Samsung’s 123x87x40 mm and 353 g.
I talked with the vice president of Samsung, who was in charge of this area, and he told me that the NX10 audience is prosumers who are not ready to buy a DSLR, but who are not satisfied with the quality of soap dishes. And he said a strange thing for me - supposedly, DSLRs are a trend, but not everyone is ready for them, and having such a camera makes the amateur feel like he has a SLR ... so I don’t know how many people are ready to buy the device from for the feeling that he looks like a SLR? Mr. Vice President also said that interchangeable optics could attract a buyer. But again I doubt: is it right to focus the question on interchangeable optics? It is unlikely that this will drag an amateur into a niche, give him a compact size and a point-and-jester: pointed and removed.
In short, I got a little confused, but I know one thing for sure - if Samsung entered the market, it would be a carpet bombing - something would be driven into the minds of consumers, what will it be? And everyone is waiting for the move from other brands: Sony (first of all), as well as Canon and Nikon.
This class completely knocks the soil out from under video cameras, the latter will soon leave the mass market and occupy some niche, for example, the niche of Youtube cameras. And questions on microphotics are full. What is this market in Russia, is there segmentation within it, are the Japanese and Koreans fighting for the same audience or not? Which concept will win: “put the DSLR in the soap box” (Panasonic and Olympus) or “put the soapbox in the DSLR” (Samsung NX10)?
Question to habralyudi: what do you think about the fate of this class?
Related links:
photo album from CES exhibition
opinion of Nomobile.ru editor Alexey Goncharov about the trend of tablets presented at CES