Samsung to discontinue its camera sector and focus on appliances and smartphones

rykn21x wrote:

Hi there i'm new in dpreview and is looking for some information regarding samsung nx cameras.. i just want to ask if it still make sense to buy an nx300 camera with bundled 2 lenses for the price of $400 (i live in doha qatar). I'm reading all kinds of stuff about samsung closing the nx line (which i came across here) and is now mixed feeling about buying the nx300 (brand new).

I played around the nx300 and other dslr (nikon d7000 and canon 60d and sony a6000) but really loved the simplicity and picture output of the nx300 better and the price point is cheaper than those 3 brands.

I have several Nikon DSLRs (D40, D90, D300, D7000, D7100) and several NX cameras starting with the NX100. Then the NX200 when it was released, an NX300 and most recently a used NX30.

For quite a while Samsung's NX cameras were criticized because they didn't have the solid "build" of typical DSLRs but that hasn't been a problem with any of my NX cameras and I appreciate the lighter weight.

In recent tests I compared Samsung's and Nikon's 18-55mm kit lenses at several focal lengths using the NX30 and a D7100 (the Nikon lens was the latest, improved version, intended for use with Nikon's recent high resolution DSLRs). I found that they gave similar results in the center of the frame but near the corners of the frame, the NX30 images retained most of the center sharpness and contrast but the D7100 images weren't nearly as sharp and had much less contrast than the center of the frame.

If you want the fastest AF performance and tracking, the D7000 might be what you'd want to consider, but for image quality I often prefer Samsung's cameras since the NX lenses are generally very good. That's for affordable lenses. Nikon makes many superb lenses but they often sell for from $2,500 to over $16,000, so just as with the NX1 and it's "pro" lenses, they're not for me. For the future even if Samsung's camera/lens support totally disappears, my Samsung gear should still be keeping me happy for well over 10 years. And if not, one of my backups or a used replacement would be better and cheaper than buying lots of insurance.