Samsung NX roadmap & (possibly) discontinued lenses?

bpjod wrote:

andre95 wrote:

To me it seems Samsung knows rather well what they are doing. If one follows their whole product development from start to now, then this seems like a rather nice and coherent strategy. They are just still in the process of building things up, in particular with the NX1 as targeting professionals.

Another thing which has been evident so far is that they work on their portfolio continuously, but slowly. Nowadays, the overall lens setup for a "niche" camera manufacturer without a real professional segment (yet) is pretty good and comprehensive. A longer tele is really the only thing which is missing, but all other focal lengths are basically covered.

Of course there is room for improvement, but to me it seems like a pretty well thought-through strategy. I'm pretty sure we'll see more of Samsung - but it will take time (at least on the side of the lenses).

And to be honest, so far it has paid off pretty well for us customers that Samsung was the underdog (at least in Europe/Germany, don't know about US). Prices were extremely low given the performance. This may start to change now, given the pretty stable prices of NX500 and NX1.

Just my 2cents,

I agree with you as far as a lens lineup goes, but I'm not so sure I agree with you that Samsung knows rather well what they are doing overall. I have wanted to get my hands on a NX1 for many months now but the NX1 and the S lenses are as rare as unicorns here in Canada. The Camera Store (which the OP was talking about) and Henry's seem to be the only two camera stores in the whole country which carry Samsung photo gear. Best Buy has some of their lower end, older products and even when I go into a Samsung Store (think Apple Store, but Samsung's equivalent) they do not have the NX1 or any S lenses, just a couple older bodies and 4 older lenses. One would think that if anywhere in Canada would have their flagship camera, it would be the Samsung Stores.

Now I realize Canada is not a densely populated country, however we are a fairly affluent country and Canadians like to spend their money. Furthermore, I seem to recall reading that while m43 and smaller sensored cameras are stealing the market in Europe and Asia, in N. America, APSC and full-frame are still going strong. Samsung already has an established brand here. Given the preceeding, one would think they would like to make inroads into the photography market in Canada. Instead, they've only gotten into a couple of camera stores and one of them, as the OP mentioned, looks to be backing out.

Based on this evidence, Samsung seems to me to NOT "know rather well what they are doing", at least from a marketing, distribution and sales accounts perspective here in Canada. Others in other locales have expressed similar concerns with finding product in stores, so I don't think Samsung Canada is the only distributor to be criticized.

My Samsung contact assures me that Samsung Canada is currently working on "driving distribution and increasing our partner base".  I guess these things don't happen overnight but obviously they they have not abandoned the Canadian Market.

I also have found it frustrating to buy NX products in Canada.  It is difficult to be a consumer and you really want to support the product and make a purchase but then can't find a retail store to sell it to you.  I waited so long to get the 50-150S lens....but I am a dedicated NX user.  New purchasers may not feel the same way.