It looks like Sony is “copying” Panasonic. They just announced their G-alike A3000 camera (specs and info here at Amazon). As you know Mirrorless Cameras aren’t selling as good as DSLR cameras and this may be the way to go to attract classic DSLR camera owners….fake mirrorless cameras so that they look like DSLR cameras 🙂
Still, I don’t think the A3000 specs are as good as the G6. But they may launch a sort of G6/GH3 competitor soon too. Competition is good…it helps us to force Panasonic and Olympus to create better cameras and to lower the prices. Right now you can get the GH3 for $958 (with 4% reward included) at Amazon (Click here). That’s a bargain!
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Specs are not as good as Panasonic G6, but also its price is different. Aimed at a different target?
The buzz is that they are going after Rebel. It could work, or it could further damage the reputation of the mirrorless concept.
My hope is that this is just the first test shot of a serious trend; Sony is rumored to be going all-mirrorless for the Alphas, and maybe even drop the Alpha lenses eventually. If they succeed, that can only be good for all mirrorless systems. Fingers crossed.
I think it is either an attempt to make E-mount appeal to more users or bridge between the NEX and Alpha series, all related to perception. The result though seems to be a confusing model, that I am not sure needs to exist.
“Specs are not as good as Panasonic G6, but also its price is different. Aimed at a different target?”
The Canon 1100D and Nikon D3200. Both with kits lenses right now retail for around $400. And in some locations – the Panny G5 kit too.
It is aimed at kit lens shooters, aka the masses. IMO this is Sony’s try to penetrate the mass market, currently dominated by the CaNikon. Mirrorless right now IMO are still largely limited to enthusiasts (why IMO the sector stagnates), who are less perceptive to the price, but more perceptive to the price/performance ratio. For the mass market one needs a camera with long list of “good” number, starting with a “good” number for the price: $400, 20MP, 1080 FullHD video, ISO 16000 and CIPA 470. That’s a LOT of good numbers, making marketing’s job very easy.
The biggest implication for the m43 forum is the Panny’s response. I’m pretty sure that they would undertake something, to not to let Sony have the last word.
P.S. Mirrorless cam with a CIPA 470 rating! I’m pretty sure that’s the highest one.
I wonder how the new 20mp sensor performs.I think this is the classic camera company plan entice folk in with cheap low end products hoping they will move up the range there is a big gap between a D3200 and a D4
I know it comes at low price… but only 200k dot viewfinder? C’mon Sony thats pretty low even for antry level cam..
I meant entry level.
I think I’ve read somewhere that this an error and that it’s the screen resolution, not the EVF resolution (which is also very low, but not unusable)
The EVF is 1.44 million in all likelihood the same Epson unit as in the E-M5
The last part of my comment was misleadingly formulated, I wanted to say that 200k is a low resolution even for the screen (but usable, as the one of the E-PL1). Of course, an 1,44 Million EVF is fine, i’m very content with my VF-2.
“The Sony A3000’s electronic viewfinder is small and fairly low resolution by today’s standards, with a 201,600-dot LCD, with a choice of auto or manual brightness adjustment. A diopter wheel on the left side of the viewfinder allows adjustment from -4.0 to +3.5. As is common with EVFs, the viewfinder housing sticks out more than the average SLR. The lack of a rubber bumper raises the risk of scratching one’s glasses while using the A3000.”
http://www.dpreview.com/previews/sony-alpha-a3000/3
Specs sucks but looks much better than GH3.
Sony’s a tough competitor. Panoly need to be on guard cause sony might be weak in lenses but they got some fine tech ready. The a99 is a powerful beast! But I’ll stick to my e-m5 and my beloved primes 🙂
Don’t sweat it Sony will soon own Olympus imaging its only a matter of time
It does not appear that Sony would have any reason to wind down Oly imaging division and sell the carcass, even if they didi buy it, which I doubt. The Sony-Oly collab seems mutually beneficial to me.
Yeah, let’s destroy the same brand we paid so dearly for. Nobody at Sony is as stupid as you.
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Brand_equity
Weak lenses????? Common thats so 2010. Sony/Zeiss/Sigma are superb and plenty.
The lens lineup is still pretty weak. No quality fast zooms, primes are either too expensive or abysmal. That the Sigmas are still the best prime offerings under $1000 is pretty telling – in M43 land these lenses are only regarded as value offerings for people who can’t pony up for the native alternatives.
Sony may have the best camera body tech around, but it is still far, far behind M43 as a lens system… Hell, it’s even behind Fuji and Samsung in this regard.
I am not sure what we are discussing here. The Alpha system has great lenses, fast zooms and excellent primes. If you are referring to the NEX, then again you are quite wrong. The 24mm Zeiss put aside, I’ll let you compare prices with m43 – it is pretty much even. Btw, the 35mm f1.8 and 50mm f1.8 are both excellent and under 1000US. Admittedly, it doesn’t have the range of m43 (for obvious reasons), but it is hardly the disaster that you seem to make of it and I don’t see how Fuji has a better range.
Good camera for kids.
It’s definitely entry level. Thing is, the page linked below has a promotional video and several stills. The camera looks rather large to me, especially in people’s hands, but is being promoted as small and light weight. The weight I can believe, it looks to be all plastic. Very thick body. Definitely oriented towards the point and shoot crowd.
http://www.digitaltrends.com/photography/sony-alpha-a3000/#/10
Frankly I think they killed it with this one. If they get it into costco, it will sell very well. Other than enthusiasts, who buys cameras beyond a cell phone? Expecting parents. Most cameras I see are DSLR hauled around in baby strollers. The enthusiast market will remain no doubt. This will hurt Canon low-end models the most.
ironically the gx7 looks a bit like the nex7/nex6 🙂
What are u talking about? It is a revival of lumix L1 lauched in early 2006!
And the NEX design is a revival of the old Sony bridge and Cyber-shot camera designs like F-, R- and P-Series. First series launched before 2001…
‘As you know Mirrorless Cameras aren’t selling as good as DSLR cameras’ – are you sure? I think the reality might be quite different from what you expect if you look at the complete mirrorless & sub-compact market/high end fixed lens camera”s… One thing is sure, also in DSLR’s, the days are near that the mirror on OVF will disappear in favor of internal OLED designs.
Yep this is what i mean. Take this camera and the new Zeiss zoom F4. That small combo will cost you 1350 euro. It will deliver a killer picture quality no (M)43 camera can match ( just look at some minor samples). Now Oly will ask you 1500/1800 euro for the new EM1 body alone. I now it has IBIS smibis and is weather proof but it never can compete (due to small sensor) with the Sony kit. Hard times for M43. 1000/1500 euro extra for IBIS and weatherproof is a lot of money especially if the pictures are not that good.
That’s a compelling kit, and cheap. No point in speculating about IQ until its tested.
You’d be insane to pair up such an expensive lens with a body with such awful handling. This thing doesn’t have eye-level sensor, meaning the switch between the EVF and the awful, awful LCD has to be button operated. The Lumix G5 is still a better value proposition – better and more controls, less chunky, better menus, better video, flip-out screen with higher quality, and still pretty respectable image quality.
Not a bad camera still, I doubt people who purchase it will feel they did wrong, but let’s get real, this won’t be the one to sink M43.
No mate, this new Sony is a cheap toy with a sensor inside. In real life, Sony’s usability errors will cause more bad pics than Oly’s slightly inferior sensor. Sony need to learn to design usable cameras (they all have terrible UI), Olympus need to halve their prices.
Nope, the alphas have good ergonomics, and this one looks a lot like an alpha. So I think it will have similar controls.
But yeah whatever OT(roll), small sensor, wine wine, bla bla.
Wrong. It’s a nex.
“However, the illusion falls apart when you pick up the A3000. While the feel of the grip is indeed substantial, the rest of the camera looks and feels hollow from the back. Its appearance also screams low-budget, with few controls. The LCD is more coarse than we’re used to seeing these days, with disappointingly low 230,400-dot resolution; its 3-inch size amplifies the effect.
The small EVF is also disappointing, and what appears to be a rubber pad around the outside is actually hard plastic, a hazard to glasses-wearers.
Those who liked the menus of the NEX system cameras will feel right at home with the A3000’s menu; those who did not will carry on hating.”
http://www.dpreview.com/previews/sony-alpha-a3000
For the uses the audience for this camera will put the images to, m43 will easily equal the quality of this camera. You’re talking monitors and prints up to 8×10, or TV sets viewed from across the room. Only pixel peepers can complain about m43 IQ any more (and then only if they’re looking at the pixels through their a$$es).
But offering competitive IQ, small size, and an EVF at this price point is killer for the consumer market. If the EVF is high quality, Canon, Nikon, Olympus and Panasonic all better pay attention.
When the first time buyer come to see all they see is pixels from the 200K EVF and 230K LCD, much worse than the 921K screen from other competitor at similar price
And here u go again with ur small sensor bull$h1t. You are always whining about m43 but always come here with ur useless OT.
Enjoy ur apsc camera and shut up please
M43 and APS-C both use mid-sized sensors.
I can understand when FF users call M43 sensor’s “small”, but I find it quite hypocritical for an APS-C user to call M43 sensors “small”.
Well, they are smaller. The issue is whether it matters or not.
I love my M 4/3rds but this cheap sony is going to have nicer looking images at a fraction of the cost.
wonder what the video will look like?
Too bad it’s butt-ugly like the GH3 and the rest of the faux – SLR designed cams.
Nice one Sony, I may give and buy one.
“I love my M 4/3rds but this cheap sony is going to have nicer looking images at a fraction of the cost.”
–You are an idiot, you know that? See previous comment about pixel peepers and a$$es.
Too bad it’s butt-ugly like the GH3 and the rest of the faux – SLR designed cams.
–Too bad you’re so busy looking through your butt to understand most of the world PREFERS this style of camera.
http://www.dyxum.com/dforum/topic100871_post1203883.html#1203883
Zeiss lenses are generally really good, this one is no exception. As a showcase for the A3000, the pictures only prove it is likely very capable for an entry-level camera (would not expect anything else from a modern Sony sensor).
I don’t think the big review sites will be full of praise, though: the OVF in modern entry-level DSLRs is much better and AF-speed remains to be seen.
I think this cam is exactly what is needed to up the competition to m43
The new f4 16-70mm lens is also interesting cause now the m43 and NEX will be compared more than ever.
E-m1 with new 12-40 will be directly compared with upcomming nex and its 16-40mm
Panasonic tried that with G10 and failed. A3000 is even worse – it looks like it’s only made to attract P&S upgraders with DSLR looks. It doesn’t offer anything to existing E or A mount users nor an alternative to other mirrorless systems. It’s too big, even bigger than the DSLRs it was supposed to challenge. I hope it’ll fly off supermarket shelves for the sake of mirrorless, but I see nothing interesting for enthusiast photographer in this model.
$400 with a zoom lens and EVF? What current Oly or Canon can match that? Do you really think the typical buyer of this class of camera cares about what “enthusiasts” think? You’re not the target market, boyo. Sony doesn’t really care what you think of this camera.
It is called G5 and it cost $399 with kit for a while now
Not from Canon, but similar http://www.adorama.com/INKD3100K.html
Sony soon will take over all m43 at least have a bigger sensor
Dear Mr. Frame, as you know trolling is an art. Please allow me to help you just a little. How about this (changing as little as possible):
“Sony soon will take over all of m43’s market share; not in the least because their cameras have a bigger sensor.”
Still not really smashing, but much more readable. Side note: I think it may not be clear what Sony’s extra square millimeters could *mean* to our readers, so that deserves another well-thought-out comment.
Let me know what you think and if I can be of further assistance in the future.
Yours,
Oilymouse
i was really interested at first, as a cheap body for legacy lenses with evf and focus peaking could be cool. evf looked ok and I dont vare about the lcd, but real lack of direct control. Menu-tastic. will go for cheap nex 6 instead of this thing
At least the G-series are actually not dumbed down like the hideous plastic Sony.
Nex lens sucks and are so bigs.
This is rather a sub-entry level camera. 😀
The lens third from the left is actuall a travel coffee mug!
Says Sony to Olympus: “We’ll go in from the low end, you take ’em at the high end.”
Are Canon and Nikon on speaking terms? 🙂
Yes they are, since they never compete head to head, there’s always a shift as if they agreed not to incorporate exactly that of the competition. Just take a closer look at the two and you will start to see what I mean.
Ugh ! Giganormous mediocre lenses = big nonsense !
That 16-70 f4 weighs less than the Panny 12-35 or the upcoming Oly 12-40. That’s a 24-105mm equivalent constant aperture lens under 300 grams. I know I’ll be watching closely.
Do try to check your facts before posting. The new Zeiss is actually 3g heavier and 1 full stop slower. Mind you, I am sure it will be a good lens, but do be realistic about its size and weight. Also, estimated entry price is $1,000 so about what the Panasonic goes for now, and the same as what the Oly 12-40 F2.8 goes for. And since we don’t have any numbers for the 12-50 F2.8 it can’t yet be compared, but do keep in mind that the Oly does not have the additional weight of built-in OIS and therefore may be lighter still, despite its size.
Sony Vario-Tessar T* E 16-70mm F4 ZA OSS
308 g (0.68 lb)
Diameter 67 mm (2.62″) by Length 75 mm (2.95″)
Panasonic 12-35mm F2.8
305g / 10.8 oz
73.8mm x 67.6mm / 2.9 in. x 2.7 in.
Speaking about facts, where did you see that the 12-40 goes for 1000US?
And while, in your comparison, you didn’t forget the full stop advantage of the Oly and Pana, you did forget that the Zeiss has a better range. Significantly so.
“Speaking about facts, where did you see that the 12-40 goes for 1000US? And while, in your comparison, you didn’t forget the full stop advantage of the Oly and Pana, you did forget that the Zeiss has a better range. Significantly so.”
We don’t know the price for the 12-40 for certain but based upon the leaked Yen prices, it is likely to be in the $950 to 1050 range. And no, I didn’t forget about the longer effective range of the Zeiss. That is a very good range and hopefully for Sony users, it will improve upon the Sony 16-80mm f/3.5-4.5 DT Carl Zeiss Vario-Sonnar T* SAL-1680Z. As with all things photographic, there are always trade-offs. Each photographer has to determine for themselves what fits their need. If the optical quality is what I would expect from a Pro Zuiko lens, then the faster 12-40 f2.8 would be my choice. Other’s are welcome to their choices. In the end it is the actual photographs that will tell the story.
200k dot viewfinder? Come on, Sony. The Olympus C-8080 WZ compact/bridge camera I used to have in 2005 had a 240k dot viewfinder, and it was one of the major reasons which finally made me upgrade to a DSLR. That was eight years ago.
Give it a slightly more decent body, a good EVF, the sensor-based stabilizer you got from Olympus, and the on-sensor phase detection AF tech you gave them, then I might be interested…
IMO the A3000 is no *direct* competition to m43. The A3000 is targeted squarely at the masses, something O&P never really bothered to appeal to. (Main problems: relatively high MSRP and lack of marketing.)
The cam (together with Sony marketing) would make more people aware of the mirroless. In best case for Sony, it would also attract more users to the NEX and Alphas. If they are successful, they might further marginalize the m43 to much smaller enthusiast market. If they are unsuccessful, they risk stigmatizing the mirrorless by associating it in minds of masses with cheap crippled toy-cameras.
But, frankly, the effect I hope for the most, is the normalization of the MSRPs, bringing them down, closer to the street prices. And ideally, some of the price drops translating into cheaper cameras in the Europe.
I don’t think much more people will really get aware of mirrorless in any sensible way due to this camera, because I don’t think they’ll pay the smallest bit of attention to the fact that it’s mirrorless. In fact, judjing by the looks of this product it looks like Sony is specifically targetting those people for whom “mirrorless” is but a hollow sound while “deeassellar” is simply a strict synonym for “interchangeable lens digital photo camera”.
Right, even most buyers of entry level DSLRs aren’t aware what the mirror is for…
I’m sure this will sell like hot cakes precisely because it doesn’t look like a mirrorless. It looks blandly familiar, while at the same time it’s astoundingly lightweight and cheap. For those who think “deeassellar” is just another word for “digital cameras taking better pictures than a point and shoot or smartphone” it should be a no brainer (except for that shameful viewfinder which is likely to be a deal breaker for some, I believe).
I don’t think comparisons with any m43 camera including G-series are warranted because those cameras resemble DSLR’s only superficially. Compared to the “true”, typical bland entry-level Nikon or Canon bodies those morbidly thinnish cameras look truly funky, while this generously thick, healthy and chubby Sony will blend so perfectly into the crowd of very similar designs that few will ever realize it has some suspiciously unproven and supposedly torturous gimmicks inside (like that creepy, outlandish “mirrorless” thingie, you know).
a3000 look beautiful in front but ugly from the back… looks like some black rubber tube
Ok so perhaps it’s conception may have come straight from the parts bin but seriously, that camera will still take decent images and considering it’s $399 with a lens that’s simply amazing and Sony has done well to help mirrorless join the mainstream. Something others haven’t yet sincerely attempted to do.
I think reducing your cameras to a third of their price upon the release of the new model counts(olympus and panny) to an extent but what mirrorless needs is a permanent foot into the market door providing a camera/lens combo that’s always there at an attractive price for the consumers who end up with the canon rebel dslr and one lens around their necks till it falls apart.
The west has different ideas and tendencies to asia with regards to what camera one should purchase and why.
So far not one single company has found the answer or perhaps compromise to stranglehold that the consumer dslr has on that market and this move by Sony is another step toward overcoming the hurdle.
They are not “copying” Panasonic.
The marketing department says people want to buy DSLR like cameras, so let they think it is a DSLR.
In other words, Sony marketing department failed to explain what mirrorless are and suggested to managers Sony should do trick from this Samsung video http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=R5CBIvOuC_k .
Quote: “Ok so perhaps it’s conception may have come straight from the parts bin but seriously, that camera will still take decent images and considering it’s $399 with a lens that’s simply amazing and Sony has done well to help mirrorless join the mainstream. Something others haven’t yet sincerely attempted to do.”
First, I would hardly consider the kit lens “amazing”. It is a good kit lens, but it has serious corner and border sharpness issues from 24-35mm unless you stop it down to about F8. On the plus side it generally holds a good to very good center sharpness. throughout its range at all apertures. So an above average kit lens, but NOT amazing. But then perhaps you have not had the opportunity to experience “amazing” optics, in which case I can understand your over enthusiasm.
I do agree that Sony has contributed a large amount to the popularity and growth of mirrorless interchangeable systems are are to be acknowledged for it, but they aren’t, as implied, the only one.
G6 is so much good in video mode . Sony is far behind Panasonic .