Cameras of the Decade?

[Mike Farley]

As we approach the end of the second decade of the new millenium (alrewady?), DPReview has played to the trolls by publishing its list of the 20 most important cameras (and an iPhone) of the last 10 years. A lot of it is not that controversial and there are some real contenders which were innovative in their day. Perhaps the most surprising inclusions are three models from Samsung, a star which flared briefly before the company abruptly exited the camera market five years ago. Ironically, that happened shortly after the launch in 2014 of the NX1, a model with specifications that would still be competitive now* and sparked a lot of interest at the time. The other surprise is the Nikon 1, a good system condemned to failure by Nikon's conservative marketing and unrealistic pricing, most likely to protect its DSLR sales.

https://www.dpreview.com/articles/13956 ... the-decade

* Which might merely demonstrate how little progress has really been made.

[davidb]

I was considering the Samsung NX1 but never got around to buying one. Who is the looser - me or Samsung?

I did buy a Nikon 1 although I haven't used it for a few years (although the camera bag I bought to carry the system does get used when I go to the bank!). Perhaps I should give it an airing?

[Mike Farley]

I was considering the Samsung NX1 but never got around to buying one. Who is the looser - me or Samsung?

I would say that you had a lucky escape. You would have been left with an orphaned system with few lenses and little support. Samsung would have invested a fair bit of capital into developing the system and I doubt if the company ever made a return. It had entered the market at its peak and sales were well into decline by the time of its departure. The situation was not as bad as today (it is anticipated that Nikon will make a loss for this financial year and Canon's profits will be down), but Sony was starting to increase its share and there was probably little room for another competitor. Samsung would have been left with little option other than to cut its losses.