4 ms·

No answers here... for me the meta-question is why are they so bad at user-facing software? (I don't really know about the quality of the firmware, it gets the

No answers here... for me the meta-question is why are they so bad at user-facing software? (I don't really know about the quality of the firmware, it gets the job done, I guess). I like their cameras -- I own an NEX5N, a6000 and an RX100 -- but interacting with their mobile and desktop apps is always such a terrible experience.

novok 6y ago
My theory is most of imaging software & hardware is in Japan, and software is not a strong point there since it doesn't pay well. I bet it would be better if they could pay like FANG. Instagram alone probably make more money than the entire photography industry. Samsung NX was going towards the 'smartphone pro camera' that we should be at by now, but they pulled out because they probably saw the future of it.
m463 6y ago
Hardware companies never do software well. It's a freebie. Strangely, some are starting to do software better -- so they can monetize data they collect.
- starky 6y ago
  I wouldn't say never. But it really comes down to how a business views their product. If they view it as a hardware product that is supported by some software, then it will be shit. If they view it as a whole end-to-end solution where the entire experience is the product, then they will more often do it well. Photography is weird in that the people still buying cameras pretty much just want the same old Canon/Nikon controls and menus that they are used to, and have a workflow already in place. It is really difficult to get these people out of that mindset even though it would be amazing if you were able to take a photo, it would get automatically uploaded to the cloud, where you can access and edit/publish it through any device. Even though this would benefit a lot of professionals, many wouldn't want to change their workflow to allow this.

4 ms·

No answers here... for me the meta-question is why are they so bad at user-facing software? (I don't really know about the quality of the firmware, it gets the

by dimatura 6y ago

novok 6y ago
My theory is most of imaging software & hardware is in Japan, and software is not a strong point there since it doesn't pay well. I bet it would be better if they could pay like FANG. Instagram alone probably make more money than the entire photography industry. Samsung NX was going towards the 'smartphone pro camera' that we should be at by now, but they pulled out because they probably saw the future of it.
m463 6y ago
Hardware companies never do software well. It's a freebie. Strangely, some are starting to do software better -- so they can monetize data they collect.
- starky 6y ago
  I wouldn't say never. But it really comes down to how a business views their product. If they view it as a hardware product that is supported by some software, then it will be shit. If they view it as a whole end-to-end solution where the entire experience is the product, then they will more often do it well. Photography is weird in that the people still buying cameras pretty much just want the same old Canon/Nikon controls and menus that they are used to, and have a workflow already in place. It is really difficult to get these people out of that mindset even though it would be amazing if you were able to take a photo, it would get automatically uploaded to the cloud, where you can access and edit/publish it through any device. Even though this would benefit a lot of professionals, many wouldn't want to change their workflow to allow this.