Samsung NX cameras and audio/Mic Input - The reason for the flop in sales of the NX cameras...

Hi,

Today I was looking at some cheap action cameras, and than I saw the Denver 5000. When I look into its specifications, this 50€ camera has a mic input, and also a cheap infrared remote control. How handy is a infrared remote control, and it has been completely forgotten in the DSLR/Mirrorless camera world... WHY?!??!?!?!?!

And than I thought, even this cheap small camera as a 3.5 mic input for an external mic. But the NX500, a compact camera that records video in 24fps, doesn't offered a mic input. How can this be? I mean, when you record video, you also record audio, rigtht? So what is the purpose of recording good quality video, with distorted audio? On the other hand, if you design a cheap and compact camera to record video, on the fly, why are you forcing the users to also transport an external audio recording device? I mean what the hell is these guys thinking?

Today I talk to some youtubers, and they told me that the reason they didn't buy compact NX cameras, was the absence of a 3.5 mic input.

Samsung NX500 could have been the perfet camera for a lot of people. It was more important to add a mic input, than 4K for a lot of people.

Samsung could have nail it. I mean who the hell is running the Samsung stategy department? He should be fired on the spot. Don't they want to conquer the market? Samsung, could have here a great advantage over its competitors if they offered a mic input on their compact cameras. For me this is logical. Why? Well, the Sony A6000 doesn't have one (there are people spending a lot of money hacking their cameras to allow the use of external mics), and most of the other compact cameras, like the Panasonic LX100, ect....

The NX500 could have been a smash hit, but they insisted on delivering the same BS, that is, the absence of a mic input, and a lousy AGC. They did with the NX1000, the NX2000, The NX300, The NX3000, and now the NX500. HELLO.... McFly... HELLO is there anybody there? Think Samsung, Think...

Ok, they add a selfie screen, but this only hapens prior to the NX300M, because in a worl of selfies, they forget that this feature is of great importance, like they forget the mic input.

Why the absence of a mic input, if not only to make potencial buyers go away? When I first saw the NX500, I said to my self, "no, this can't be real? No mic input AGAIN?... ok, I don't want to know more about this camera... for me its a let down"

Thankfully, brands like Canon, and Panasonic, understand the market, and add both articularted screens, and mic inputs, to their cameras. But then again, the image quality of these cameras are worst than the image quality of the NX500, and the Canon M3, doesn't even offered 4K.

Thanks

I agree that it seems kind or arbitrary and silly to not include a mic input on the NX500, but I wouldn't blame that for the lackluster sales.  I'm sure most serious videographers would be looking at the NX1 anyway since it does the full-sensor readout vs. the NX500.

With that said, you could fairly easily record the audio independently and then sync it up with the video if it's a huge concern.  That would allow for even better audio than you can get by a mic mounted to the camera.

I agree a mic input would be nice, but the a6000 didn't have it either, and it still sold pretty well.  So I don't think mic input is the reason for the NX500 not selling as well as Samsung hoped.  Rather I think it's just reputation.  The target market for NX500 (photography enthusiasts) didn't think of Samsung as a 'serious' camera maker, so they didn't even consider Samsung, even though it could have been a good system for their needs.  Unfortunately, Samsung cutting back is not going to improve their reputation in the industry.

at that time Sony has a great davantage, that Samsung didn't have. A great image quality, and a fast AF.

I think most reviewers agree that the NX500's image quality is better than the a6000.  So I don't think that's the reason either.  As for fast AF, I think the NX500's AF is better than the a6000 in good light, and the NX500 has better AF tracking.  It's in low light that the NX500 falters.

Again, I think mic input is great, but I doubt it would have been the deciding factor for many consumers.

creaDVty wrote:

at that time Sony has a great davantage, that Samsung didn't have. A great image quality, and a fast AF.

I think most reviewers agree that the NX500's image quality is better than the a6000. So I don't think that's the reason either. As for fast AF, I think the NX500's AF is better than the a6000 in good light, and the NX500 has better AF tracking. It's in low light that the NX500 falters.

Again, I think mic input is great, but I doubt it would have been the deciding factor for many consumers.

This works great on top of the NX500 http://www.amazon.com/Zoom-Handy-Portable-Digital-Recorder/dp/B003QKBVYK/ref=sr_1_1?ie=UTF8&qid=1450215322&sr=8-1&keywords=h1+mic

I never use on camera mic only to synchronize audio. I find the extremal solutions much better. I agree I love the image quality out of the NX500 with the latest firmware update much better than my A6000 and the lenses are much better with the NX line.

flip 21 wrote:

can anyway, give me a good explanation, why, Samsung MX500 doesn't offfer a mic input? Only one reason,

It's very simple: it's a consumer model and very few consumers are going to add an external mic. If you want that capability you need a better camera. Samsung kept the models very clearly defined: NX500=consumer: no EVF, cropped sensor 4K, no mic input. NX1=Pro/prosumer: EVF, no forced crop sensor video, mic input.

When A6000 came out?  Don't make me laugh.  At the time, NX had a proprietary mic.  A6000 CAF was admittedly quite a bit better, but their SAF was only about on par, They got their super fast AF numbers by using a very wide lens, true cherry picking that was.

Because it's primarily a stills camera, it wasn't designed as a "run and gun" video substitute.  4k is in there because Samsung feels it is no longer the future, but a standard of today, it was already in their phones for crying out loud.  It wasn't exactly to target it at video shooters.  NX1 is not actually that much bigger in practical use, and if that gives you the tools you want, then it's worth it.  If you're using external mic anyway, syncing only takes like 15 seconds, so it's no real barrier anyway.  I get the feeling that people that complain about that, umm, lets just say that if that 15 seconds is too much work then they're probably taking a lot of bad shortcuts in their work....

Your argument is ridiculous. The NX500 is intended as a small pocket camera for travel and casual use. The people who use it for such are not going to be attaching microphones to it. It doesn't have a mic input because it takes up space on the body and the camera doesn't need one.

flip 21 wrote:

The Samsung NX30 is a consumer camera....

http://www.samsung.com/uk/consumer/cameras-and-camcorders/cameras/nx-cameras/EV-NX30ZZBGBGB

It has mic input....

I think they were thinking about the NX50, that might not come....

The NX30 was a more advanced consumer camera. It has the EVF, larger grip etc. that the true consumer models lack. The NX500 is a great camera (I have one and use beside my NX1) but it isn't made to use as an advanced video camera. As I said, Samsung designed their cameras with a very clear delineation.

flip 21 wrote:

I know but I want to have a camera that shoots on the fly, that is why I want a compact camera. I don't want to deal with syncing, and moving around with more gear.

I bet that users still buy the NX1. So what Samsung did was, in the end, to limit their potencial buyers, There is a lot of people who says the main reason they didn't buy this camera is because of a tiny, and inexpensive mic input. So stupid?!????!!?! Does Samsung ignores the feedback from users?!?!?!? Aren't they aware of this?

Have you submitted feedback to Samsung yourself? I don't see many people complaining about lack of mic jack on NX500. The NX500 was never marketed as a true video camera, and filmmakers would never even consider using such a camera, except for hobbiests that have little money for anything else. Why dont you buy the NX1? It is not that much larger camera. Buy a Tascam or Zoom mic, like I did and I sync it using software automatically.

I'm defending that skipping the mic input is a common choice for camera manufacturers targeting this class of camera. Not that the audio is good, I've never tried that mic because I heard bad things about it (didn't have money for it back then anyway). I would highly recommend separate recording even for cameras with mic input. There are some good ones available that would also mount to the hotshoe and are fairly small though the main unit doing the audio processing could use another free pocket or belt pouch.