Samsung sees gold in mirrorless camera market

JAKARTA. South Korean electronics giant Samsung Electronics Co. sees Indonesia as among the markets with the highest potential in Southeast Asia for the company’s mirrorless cameras.

Dany Setiawanto, senior manager for Samsung Southeast Asia, said that as the case in other Southeast Asian countries, the market for mirrorless cameras was growing as more people switched to technologically advanced cameras.

He said mirrorless cameras accounted for between 30 percent and 35 percent of the professional digital camera market in Southeast Asia, which was still controlled by digital SLR cameras (DSLR).

“Indonesia is seeing a similar trend as people are starting to shift to mirrorless cameras for their lighter and compact bodies,” Danny said on Tuesday. He said Samsung would sell its latest smart camera, the NX1, in Indonesia next month to tap into market potential.

Mirrorless cameras have gained popularity as they are smaller and relatively cheaper compared to DSLR, which still uses mirrors to reflect images onto the camera’s viewfinder. In mirrorless cameras, images are digitized, allowing for a lighter body.

DSLR camera sales are not only being challenged by the growing market of mirrorless cameras but also a rise in the number of smartphone users, according to Research and Markets, as quoted by Reuters.

The report shows that the global digital camera market is witnessing an increase in demand for personalized cameras. Camera producers are also targeting female customers with mirrorless cameras for their improved features and lightweight nature.

According to Danny, following the Samsung smart camera NX1, the firm will launch four other mirrorless cameras this year in Indonesia.

“We are currently in second place in the ‘mirrorless’ camera market in Indonesia, but we are aiming to be number one in the country,” he continued, without mentioning the current market share of Samsung mirrorless cameras in the country.

The Samsung smart camera NX1 was launched in Germany in September last year, followed by launches in the US and several countries in Southeast Asia, including Singapore and Malaysia.

The camera is able to capture a moment at a speed of 15 frames per second of continuous shooting. The NX1 is also equipped with Auto Focus (AF) System III, which ensures fleeting moments are captured in detail.

The camera also features wireless capabilities, including WiFi and Bluetooth. With an ability to take shots at a much higher ISO, the NX1 minimizes noise in dark environments. “Picture quality has always been our focus,” Gregory Augusta of Samsung’s product marketing division, said. “Samsung Smart Camera NX1 is able to operate with high ISO but still produce picture with low noise thanks to its adaptive noise reduction technology,” he continued. Meanwhile, South Korean Ambassador to Indonesia Cho Tai-young said in Jakarta on Wednesday that South Korean electronics giant Samsung Electronics Corp. had recently opened a new cell phone factory in Indonesia.

Cho said that the facility, developed with an investment of more than US$20 million, began operating last month.

“So they are now producing mobile phones in Indonesia,” he said on the sidelines of a CEO gathering at the Investment Coordinating Board (BKPM).

The facility will be located at Samsung’s existing factory complex in Cikarang, West Java. It is slated to produce around 800,000 cell phones annually, Indonesian officials have said. (Nadya Natahadibrata and Linda Yulisman)