I can't wait to see when a company makes a "dockable" phone into a serious camera like this. Imagine having the Galaxy NX as your connected camera, but when you aren't actually taking photos, you just "pop" the phone out like a tablet/keyboard convertible and use it like a normal GS4. Whether it's Samsung with Android or Nokia with WP8, that could (imo) be a serious device.
You would have to ensure the lenses match up etc so I don't know if it's possible to "magnify" the normal 8MP or whatever camera it is with the lense on a real camera, and ensure that it stays unscratched (possibly add a closed shutter when not in use like normal cameras?) but if that could be pulled off it would be an impressive piece of engineering!
I'm not a fan of dockable phone solutions. It hinders the design of the phone too much. And personally I don't see the point. You're basically paying more for less.
Yes, it shoots raw. DPReview even suggested that with the Photo Mate Professional Android app, one could have a raw shooting & processing & publishing workflow all in-camera.
You don't want to take a camera away from viewing through the viewfinder and have to tap, tap tap on the screen just to change the aperture or shutter speed let alone things like exposure comp, ISO or turn on or off the flash. This camera is a joke to anyone who works seriously with cameras.
Dropbox integration? From your camera you want to upload 8, 16 or 32gb of data? If only Anand had the photography expertise that he has on CPUs he'd be singing a different tune. Check here. http://www.sansmirror.com/newsviews/android-mirror...
Well, I currrently do that with my Panasonic GH2 and an Eye-fi card connected to my Galaxy Nexus through a hotspot. So yes, I would do that. I don't usually shoot 16 GB at a time, but have uploaded probably 6 GB in a day with it. I agree I don't need the wireless data capability, but the Wifi is certainly useful and is being integrated by Panasonic in their new cameras.
And I doubt this camera is geared toward professionals. Did anyone say it was? But for a high end consumer / gadget person I think this could have a market. Early adopters often get half baked products but that doesn't mean that having android on the camera could not be useful for some people.
The points he's making at sansmirror are really just the points a non-techie would make about anything technical.
You're not forced to use the 3G, if you don't want to use it there is WiFi. This sentence really makes no sense at all: "The problem that needs to be solved is how do you retain photographer control during shooting while hooking seamlessly into a wireless digital workflow that flows through the cloud". What does he mean? He hates seamless automated features and insists to click through annoying sub menus on a werid dial control to backup images one by one?
"but it's absolutely the directions cameras need to go in"
I couldn't disagree more. The last thing this world needs is a higher magnitude of crappy pictures that are pushed to the internets directly from the camera "just because we can" . Forcing people to at least glance at the shots they took on a big screen before posting them at least ensures that some consider not posting every blurry crap shot they took.
Not really, with phone pictures everyone expects them to be crappy and also the process taking them and posting them is still quite slow. It's common knowledge that DSLRs/DMLCs automatically produce good images under every condition of every subject, right? And they also produce those fine images with >=4 fps in 20 MPix and RAW format and have far shorter focus and shutter release delays...
What are you talking about? This camera will produce photos near DSLR in quality, so there won't be a glut of crappy photos coming from it. Unless the photographer is totally incompetent. But you don't have to auto-post. It would be an option. Instead of having to go home, transfer to computer, and then share. I would love it. I dislike sharing terrible photos from my phone, but if I could do it from my DSLR? Great.
Also, you can check photos on the camera. It's not all that difficult to zoom in, verify focus and exposure, and then share.
Auto backup and auto post are two completely different things. You don't auto post everything from your smartphone, do you? But I am sure your phone automatically back up all your photos automatically to at least one cloud service.
One question: will it come in a wifi-only version? Uploading RAW images over mobile data doesn't interest me, but an ad hoc wifi connection for immediate transfer to my laptop workstation for editing and backup sure does.
I'm very happy that they pushed the viewfinder out from the screen. Good thinking! I wonder if the screen automatically turns off when it sense your face to the viewfinder - much like holding a phone to your ear.
This is a typical solution waiting for a problem that will never exist. I fail to see any positives of this camera:
1. It is not a good camera since it lacks manual photographic controls (you know, buttons and dials) 2. It needs a data plan but cannot do much with it. How many do you already have ? Phone ? Tablet ? Now this camera ? 3. It is SLOW because of Android.
Basicaly what Samsung needs to do is incorporate proper BT/WIFI connectivity into a camera, not just the bullshit android/ios apps. Proper WIFI tethering. We usualy already have a smartphone that can do the comms part, connecting the camera to it and creating a proper workflow is the part that's missing. Hell there are apps for smartphones for flickr, facebook, google+ and the lot. All that's missing is proper integration.
One last comment: Why the EVF if the camera is fully touch controlled ? If you need to change ANYTHING, you have to look at the bloody screen and tap it. EVF is just another expense that won't be used much if at all.
The only positive thing is the app market. But if Andoid cannot fully control the camera inside and serves just for after shot workflow, then that's a negative again.
Lets just hope that the wireless connectivity is better than what they currently offer. I bought one of their current wifi cameras, used the wi-fi once, and didn't bother using it again. Why would i spend the money on a camera that takes great pictures, for the camera to destroy the image quality so as to send it as a smaller file. I just emailed myself a photo i took earlier in the week, the original file is 4.38mb, the emailed copy comes out at 473kb and looks horrendous.
I don't understand all the hate. When I change settings using the dials and buttons, I'm still looking at my screen. Maybe all you guys are so pro, you don't even need to confirm the correct settings. Perhaps your dials and buttons have braille on them, and you know exactly which one is for aperture and which one is for shutter, etc. Out of most of the regular people I know, we all look at the screen while we are using the dial and buttons anyway. So why wouldn't this work? Wouldn't this be even easier to navigate than to go through dials and buttons? I don't think this device was ever intended for hardcore DSLR users anyway. I mean they made it like a phone so most people can just pick it up and go.
My only concern is battery life and start up time. These are the two things that irritate me from android devices. With a quadcore 1.6 SoC, you really have to wonder. Will I only have enough juice for 2 hours of photography? Maybe 30 minutes only with flash.
Anyway I think this is a really awesome idea. It reminds me of when apple released the iPhone while we were all using those regular flip phones. It forces the other big guys to wake up if they want to stay alive in the camera business.
I agree. Absurd hate from people with no imagination (and presumably no DSLR's or they would have realized the limitations that crop up from time to time). But in regards to battery life, hopefully they will cram a huge battery into this thing. Space isn't as much of a constraint as in a phone, so the battery should be enormous. Not sure if it is swappable like most cameras, but changing batteries isn't a big deal if so. As long as boot up time is less than 30 seconds.
Well, I can think of a couple issues. When I'm changing settings, I'm still looking through the viewfinder because it's showing me what I'm changing. There's more limited information if it's an SLR as opposed to an electronic viewfinder, but I'm still able to do what I need to through the viewfinder (with the exception of reviewing the shot, which the electronic viewfinder already does). An electronic viewfinder model that I have I essentially never look at the display, as all the information it could is already shown in the viewfinder. I change mode, adjust settings, without ever looking at the main display. Why is that an issue? It helps me take pictures without having to recompose the shot because I already have it framed the way I want it.
The bigger problem with an electronic viewfinder (assuming it is) is that it will automatically preview the settings. In low-light conditions, this can be a major hindrance, as I've had to try to take pictures without knowing exactly where the camera was pointed (longer exposure).
The leveling isn't unique to the Samsung (Sony A77 and Nikon D7000 have it as well, for example), but it's interesting for them to include it. As much as I dislike Samsung as a company, it's an interesting model and the battery life would be interesting to determine. They're trying to play in the bigger leagues, so it'll be interesting how the lens quality, ISO, and other aspects of what people expect from a camera play out.
That was one of the few truly informed comments here... Frankly I think it's a miss for several reasons beyond the lack of manual controls (though that's certainly a big factor), but the concept has promise. I just don't think it'll be truly realized for another few years.
First of all, there's already plenty of super connected mirrorless cameras and DSLRs and compacts are getting there as well. With a current gen Panasonic Lumix G-series you even get NFC to make the initial connection as painless as possible (no need to type passwords, scan codes, etc) and once paired you can view and initiate image transfers from a phone/tablet as well as take full control of thecamera. Sony's NEX cameras have a similarly rich implementation (minus NFC) and they even let you install apps and additional features...
So what does having an Android powered ILC camera really add to that experience beyond unnecessary complexity and potential battery/performance downsides? Not much at the moment IMO, in the future it could lead to more open and customizable camera firmware which could really blow up the market but that will only happen if the concept even catches on and Samsung (or whomever) then commits to an API or some other avenue for customization.
Beyond that, this particular model is larger than lost other mirrorless models... Which isn't a bad thing in and of itself, mirrorless doesn't have to mean small and there's many advantages to a mirrorless camera with a good OLED EVF vs a DSLR... But this particular model doesn't do anything that smaller and possibly cheaper mirrorless models do (yet), while sacrificing size which is one of the two or three major advantages over a DSLR.
Sony's NEX system and Olympus/Panasonic's micro four thirds have a far larger share of the mirrorless ILC market, and more developed lens systems, without them jumping on board I don't see Android on cameras catching on in the short term unless Samsung pulls some impressive surprises on the software side (as far as letting developers truly run with it etc, some of Samsung's cameras have terrible interfaces to begin with).
I'm a big supporter of Android and I dig the concept in theory btw, I just don't think this particular model is anything special and I'm not too confident Samsung by themselves will really get it right even with a second or third gen product... I'm glad they're putting it out there tho.
Most SLR's even one level above the intro models have several ergonomically placed dedicated physical controls. My index finger controls shutter speed, my thumb controls aperture, and the rest of the parameters are accessible without going into a menu or taking my eye from the viewfinder. You use one for 10 or 20 hours and it becomes second nature, and impossible to go back to anything else.
We’ve updated our terms. By continuing to use the site and/or by logging into your account, you agree to the Site’s updated Terms of Use and Privacy Policy.
30 Comments
Back to Article
karasaj - Thursday, June 20, 2013 - link
I can't wait to see when a company makes a "dockable" phone into a serious camera like this. Imagine having the Galaxy NX as your connected camera, but when you aren't actually taking photos, you just "pop" the phone out like a tablet/keyboard convertible and use it like a normal GS4. Whether it's Samsung with Android or Nokia with WP8, that could (imo) be a serious device.You would have to ensure the lenses match up etc so I don't know if it's possible to "magnify" the normal 8MP or whatever camera it is with the lense on a real camera, and ensure that it stays unscratched (possibly add a closed shutter when not in use like normal cameras?) but if that could be pulled off it would be an impressive piece of engineering!
theduckofdeath - Sunday, July 7, 2013 - link
I'm not a fan of dockable phone solutions. It hinders the design of the phone too much. And personally I don't see the point. You're basically paying more for less.Gnarr - Thursday, June 20, 2013 - link
Does it shoot raw? If not, no real photography enthusiast will buy this over a dSLR with raw capabilities.bengildenstein - Thursday, June 20, 2013 - link
Yes it does.SeannyB - Friday, June 21, 2013 - link
Yes, it shoots raw. DPReview even suggested that with the Photo Mate Professional Android app, one could have a raw shooting & processing & publishing workflow all in-camera.Calin - Friday, June 21, 2013 - link
No real photography enthusiast will buy this - but anyway, the market for this type of device could be hugeSpunjji - Friday, June 21, 2013 - link
Why not?JimRamK - Friday, June 21, 2013 - link
Lack of physical controlscmdrdredd - Sunday, June 23, 2013 - link
I see a dial looking thing on it. And a couple of extra buttons.Mayuyu - Thursday, June 20, 2013 - link
What's the start up time?relentlessfocus - Friday, June 21, 2013 - link
You don't want to take a camera away from viewing through the viewfinder and have to tap, tap tap on the screen just to change the aperture or shutter speed let alone things like exposure comp, ISO or turn on or off the flash. This camera is a joke to anyone who works seriously with cameras.Dropbox integration? From your camera you want to upload 8, 16 or 32gb of data? If only Anand had the photography expertise that he has on CPUs he'd be singing a different tune. Check here. http://www.sansmirror.com/newsviews/android-mirror...
kkwst2 - Saturday, June 22, 2013 - link
Well, I currrently do that with my Panasonic GH2 and an Eye-fi card connected to my Galaxy Nexus through a hotspot. So yes, I would do that. I don't usually shoot 16 GB at a time, but have uploaded probably 6 GB in a day with it. I agree I don't need the wireless data capability, but the Wifi is certainly useful and is being integrated by Panasonic in their new cameras.And I doubt this camera is geared toward professionals. Did anyone say it was? But for a high end consumer / gadget person I think this could have a market. Early adopters often get half baked products but that doesn't mean that having android on the camera could not be useful for some people.
theduckofdeath - Sunday, July 7, 2013 - link
The points he's making at sansmirror are really just the points a non-techie would make about anything technical.You're not forced to use the 3G, if you don't want to use it there is WiFi. This sentence really makes no sense at all: "The problem that needs to be solved is how do you retain photographer control during shooting while hooking seamlessly into a wireless digital workflow that flows through the cloud". What does he mean? He hates seamless automated features and insists to click through annoying sub menus on a werid dial control to backup images one by one?
The guy at sansmirror is a dinosaur. :)
matty-marketing - Friday, June 21, 2013 - link
WiFi & ANDROID system rocks! but let's see its other features & a full review of Samsung Galaxy NX @ here :http://t.co/cC75eZ01pc
Daniel Egger - Friday, June 21, 2013 - link
"but it's absolutely the directions cameras need to go in"I couldn't disagree more. The last thing this world needs is a higher magnitude of crappy pictures that are pushed to the internets directly from the camera "just because we can" . Forcing people to at least glance at the shots they took on a big screen before posting them at least ensures that some consider not posting every blurry crap shot they took.
Spunjji - Friday, June 21, 2013 - link
Technology has already taken us way, way past that point.Daniel Egger - Friday, June 21, 2013 - link
Not really, with phone pictures everyone expects them to be crappy and also the process taking them and posting them is still quite slow. It's common knowledge that DSLRs/DMLCs automatically produce good images under every condition of every subject, right? And they also produce those fine images with >=4 fps in 20 MPix and RAW format and have far shorter focus and shutter release delays...evonitzer - Sunday, June 23, 2013 - link
What are you talking about? This camera will produce photos near DSLR in quality, so there won't be a glut of crappy photos coming from it. Unless the photographer is totally incompetent. But you don't have to auto-post. It would be an option. Instead of having to go home, transfer to computer, and then share. I would love it. I dislike sharing terrible photos from my phone, but if I could do it from my DSLR? Great.Also, you can check photos on the camera. It's not all that difficult to zoom in, verify focus and exposure, and then share.
theduckofdeath - Sunday, July 7, 2013 - link
Auto backup and auto post are two completely different things. You don't auto post everything from your smartphone, do you? But I am sure your phone automatically back up all your photos automatically to at least one cloud service.nathanddrews - Friday, June 21, 2013 - link
One question: will it come in a wifi-only version? Uploading RAW images over mobile data doesn't interest me, but an ad hoc wifi connection for immediate transfer to my laptop workstation for editing and backup sure does.I'm very happy that they pushed the viewfinder out from the screen. Good thinking! I wonder if the screen automatically turns off when it sense your face to the viewfinder - much like holding a phone to your ear.
haplo602 - Friday, June 21, 2013 - link
This is a typical solution waiting for a problem that will never exist. I fail to see any positives of this camera:1. It is not a good camera since it lacks manual photographic controls (you know, buttons and dials)
2. It needs a data plan but cannot do much with it. How many do you already have ? Phone ? Tablet ? Now this camera ?
3. It is SLOW because of Android.
Basicaly what Samsung needs to do is incorporate proper BT/WIFI connectivity into a camera, not just the bullshit android/ios apps. Proper WIFI tethering. We usualy already have a smartphone that can do the comms part, connecting the camera to it and creating a proper workflow is the part that's missing. Hell there are apps for smartphones for flickr, facebook, google+ and the lot. All that's missing is proper integration.
One last comment: Why the EVF if the camera is fully touch controlled ? If you need to change ANYTHING, you have to look at the bloody screen and tap it. EVF is just another expense that won't be used much if at all.
The only positive thing is the app market. But if Andoid cannot fully control the camera inside and serves just for after shot workflow, then that's a negative again.
hughlle - Friday, June 21, 2013 - link
Lets just hope that the wireless connectivity is better than what they currently offer. I bought one of their current wifi cameras, used the wi-fi once, and didn't bother using it again. Why would i spend the money on a camera that takes great pictures, for the camera to destroy the image quality so as to send it as a smaller file. I just emailed myself a photo i took earlier in the week, the original file is 4.38mb, the emailed copy comes out at 473kb and looks horrendous.jimmyzaas - Friday, June 21, 2013 - link
I don't understand all the hate. When I change settings using the dials and buttons, I'm still looking at my screen. Maybe all you guys are so pro, you don't even need to confirm the correct settings. Perhaps your dials and buttons have braille on them, and you know exactly which one is for aperture and which one is for shutter, etc. Out of most of the regular people I know, we all look at the screen while we are using the dial and buttons anyway. So why wouldn't this work? Wouldn't this be even easier to navigate than to go through dials and buttons? I don't think this device was ever intended for hardcore DSLR users anyway. I mean they made it like a phone so most people can just pick it up and go.My only concern is battery life and start up time. These are the two things that irritate me from android devices. With a quadcore 1.6 SoC, you really have to wonder. Will I only have enough juice for 2 hours of photography? Maybe 30 minutes only with flash.
Anyway I think this is a really awesome idea. It reminds me of when apple released the iPhone while we were all using those regular flip phones. It forces the other big guys to wake up if they want to stay alive in the camera business.
evonitzer - Sunday, June 23, 2013 - link
I agree. Absurd hate from people with no imagination (and presumably no DSLR's or they would have realized the limitations that crop up from time to time). But in regards to battery life, hopefully they will cram a huge battery into this thing. Space isn't as much of a constraint as in a phone, so the battery should be enormous. Not sure if it is swappable like most cameras, but changing batteries isn't a big deal if so. As long as boot up time is less than 30 seconds.secretmanofagent - Sunday, June 23, 2013 - link
Well, I can think of a couple issues. When I'm changing settings, I'm still looking through the viewfinder because it's showing me what I'm changing. There's more limited information if it's an SLR as opposed to an electronic viewfinder, but I'm still able to do what I need to through the viewfinder (with the exception of reviewing the shot, which the electronic viewfinder already does). An electronic viewfinder model that I have I essentially never look at the display, as all the information it could is already shown in the viewfinder. I change mode, adjust settings, without ever looking at the main display. Why is that an issue? It helps me take pictures without having to recompose the shot because I already have it framed the way I want it.The bigger problem with an electronic viewfinder (assuming it is) is that it will automatically preview the settings. In low-light conditions, this can be a major hindrance, as I've had to try to take pictures without knowing exactly where the camera was pointed (longer exposure).
The leveling isn't unique to the Samsung (Sony A77 and Nikon D7000 have it as well, for example), but it's interesting for them to include it. As much as I dislike Samsung as a company, it's an interesting model and the battery life would be interesting to determine. They're trying to play in the bigger leagues, so it'll be interesting how the lens quality, ISO, and other aspects of what people expect from a camera play out.
Impulses - Thursday, June 27, 2013 - link
That was one of the few truly informed comments here... Frankly I think it's a miss for several reasons beyond the lack of manual controls (though that's certainly a big factor), but the concept has promise. I just don't think it'll be truly realized for another few years.First of all, there's already plenty of super connected mirrorless cameras and DSLRs and compacts are getting there as well. With a current gen Panasonic Lumix G-series you even get NFC to make the initial connection as painless as possible (no need to type passwords, scan codes, etc) and once paired you can view and initiate image transfers from a phone/tablet as well as take full control of thecamera. Sony's NEX cameras have a similarly rich implementation (minus NFC) and they even let you install apps and additional features...
So what does having an Android powered ILC camera really add to that experience beyond unnecessary complexity and potential battery/performance downsides? Not much at the moment IMO, in the future it could lead to more open and customizable camera firmware which could really blow up the market but that will only happen if the concept even catches on and Samsung (or whomever) then commits to an API or some other avenue for customization.
Beyond that, this particular model is larger than lost other mirrorless models... Which isn't a bad thing in and of itself, mirrorless doesn't have to mean small and there's many advantages to a mirrorless camera with a good OLED EVF vs a DSLR... But this particular model doesn't do anything that smaller and possibly cheaper mirrorless models do (yet), while sacrificing size which is one of the two or three major advantages over a DSLR.
Sony's NEX system and Olympus/Panasonic's micro four thirds have a far larger share of the mirrorless ILC market, and more developed lens systems, without them jumping on board I don't see Android on cameras catching on in the short term unless Samsung pulls some impressive surprises on the software side (as far as letting developers truly run with it etc, some of Samsung's cameras have terrible interfaces to begin with).
Impulses - Thursday, June 27, 2013 - link
I'm a big supporter of Android and I dig the concept in theory btw, I just don't think this particular model is anything special and I'm not too confident Samsung by themselves will really get it right even with a second or third gen product... I'm glad they're putting it out there tho.Gmarley - Thursday, June 27, 2013 - link
Most SLR's even one level above the intro models have several ergonomically placed dedicated physical controls. My index finger controls shutter speed, my thumb controls aperture, and the rest of the parameters are accessible without going into a menu or taking my eye from the viewfinder. You use one for 10 or 20 hours and it becomes second nature, and impossible to go back to anything else.shorty lickens - Saturday, June 22, 2013 - link
If they had a standby mode they could reduce startup times. My D40 might be lacking in many ways but at least it can start shooting in about a second.529th - Saturday, June 22, 2013 - link
I'm sure your photos won't be private even before YOU decide to share them.