Fred,
When it comes to equipment I buy, I spend very little time thinking about what others use, probably way too much time about what I need/want to use.
I'm not going to argue about the use of Nikon and Canon as viable professional cameras. They are and have been for a long, long time and we obviously know where you stand on that thought.
I and others have shot a billion images with dslrs in every type of situation.
In fact I just bought a 1dx, so it has it's place.
That doesn't mean that formats other an 35mm aren't considered and for high profile work Hasselblad, Phase and Leaf are used with great regularity. To a lesser volume, Leica and Pentax.
In fact that doesn't even mean that medium format is used less, just lately their is a lot of noise about the new Nikon. Internet noise doesn't always equate to real world use.
In regards to branding, I don't think the public has a lot of in depth knowledge about any segment of the professional photography industry. They may know Lady Ga Ga but most well heeled amateurs are probably more impressed by the cameras used for Sports Illustrated.
I'm sure you get these questions, I do almost every time I fly. What magazines do you shoot for? Nobody in the public would believe me if I told them shooting a series lifestyle advertising for Chase pays about 1000 times more than shooting the cover of Elle.
Next question. What cameras do you use? Say Nikon, Canon they go uh huh, If you answer Hasselblad they go ooh, and ah if you say Leica some will say yes, some just don't know, though most industry people say Leica is running at full capacity.
If I say Contax/Phase or RED I have to explain, though if the person asking is a photo geek, then thet're very interested.
I'll admit I'm biased. I'm brand agnostic as I own most of the brands mentioned (other than Samsung), but I love professional equipment. Big lenses, big lights, big stands, big trucks. I like large production.
I'll also admit I think cameras like the Nikon d800 and canon 5d2 are amazing devices for the money, though they do very little to inspire me. To me their like Toyota Camrys. They work, do their job well, but don't give me the same felling when I work.
I like equipment that is unique and not sold on every corner. I like things I feel I should treat as precious.
But back to the original theme of this thread. Samsung I hear makes good electronic equipment. I even looked at their latest phone, though I just thought it was a less than robust I-phone.
Taking that brand to a professional arena seems like a leap.
IMO
BC
P.S. The reason I bought a 1dx rather than a d800 was I like Canon's colors better, it tethers amazingly well with ethernet, the iso is a gazillion for some interesting low light work and I'll use it mostly for fast lifestyle, on figure fashion, 15fps cut frame video and cinemagraphs.
Also the lcd stays on when tethering, but the main reason was I already own 30 something mpx cameras that I find special on set and in post, so adding another 30 mpx camera won't change much for me.