The upcoming Sony mirrorless camera announcement will finally start a “terrible” price war. According to SonyAlphaRumors the NEX3 camera + 16mm lens will be cheaper than the Olympus E-PL1
Of course we have to see the specs to make a serious comparison. The NEX3 camera will probably have no internal flash and definitely no built-in Image stabilization. But there is no doubt that Sony has the power to keep the price as low as possible. In some way this is good news for us. Panasonic and Olympus will certainly have to lower the price.
source: SonyAlphaRumors.com
24 Responses
I am a owner of E-P1 and a GH1. I am not a professional but loving what it is bringing me.
I was at a gathering with my friends the other day with my E-P2 and a fast Voigtlander lens.
This friend of mine got a brand new GF1 and we were excited about both camera and started playing with it. After the evening, the conclusion is that unless you go to the latest DSLR like 550D, it’s difficult to beat IBIS + fast legacy lens if you want low light performance for casual user like me. Panasonic don’t have that, neither does Sony.
I bought the GH1 for a very long vocation last month, I used that pretty much exclusively, even though I had my E-P1 with me. I came back with more then 5000 pictures from the slightly better camera. Again, for me personally, I find it an annoying task to process all the images with Lightroom.
So before they give me a similar solution, for a EVIL camera, I don’t know how someone can price me out of an Olympus body.
Go on! Competition is good. I won’t invest in a single more pana/oly item with the current prices.
If the rumors about a NX5 are true, EVILs under $600 will also put pressure over the all the market.
Why is this “good news”? A race-to-the-bottom price strategy will be BAD news for serious photographers who want to use mirrorless cameras.
If a product line isn’t sufficiently profitable, manufacturers won’t have any incentive to invest in developing specialized items such as high-quality fixed-focal-length lenses, off-camera flash, etc.
All they’ll do is concentrate on mass-market items that will sell in large enough quantities to succeed at low profit margins, such as feature-stripped LCD-only bodies and a handful of small-aperture zoom lenses.
Hope Sony successful in order to pull-down the average cost of M4/3 system, and give pressure to Olympus & Panasonic (and other new companies joining M4/3) for better cameras and more lenses.
Ranger9, maybe you have enough money to buy everything at the current prices but there are more people who want cheaper m43 camers than those who are willing to pay any price Olympus can come up with. Right now DSLRs are much cheaper option than m43.
Sony may just undercut the real cost of producing the cameras to get a foothold in the market. They did this with all of their Playstation consoles and sold them at a loss for years. We know where they stand now.
Hi Chris! I hope this is NOT going to happen…
Actually the sony EVIL camera is suppose to have a flash
http://photorumors.com/tag/sony-nex3/
Hadn’t got a m43 system yet, but wouldn’t mass produced cameras will also drive the demand to buy better lenses than the kit (and manufacturers to research better design) ?
I thought those lenses are supposed to be great temptation to peoples using interchangable lens camera. 😀
No IS – No sale!
Everyone calm down – it’s only a mock-up for now. Even ones it comes out, APS-C sized lenses will be larger than the m4/3 ones, so I’m not quite sure where Sony will be competing. It not like Sony is recognized for amazing cameras in the first place, so it’ll be an uphill battle to try and claw away at Panasonic’s and Olympus’ market share in this segment when those two companies are already coming out with 3rd generation products. On top of that, Sony isn’t doing all that stellar as a company, so I’m not sure how many resources they have to do a full-out marketing blitz for this new product.
If I were to gamble, I’d suspect Sony’s new camera will be cannibalizing into the sales of their own DSLRs more than they will into the sales of the existing m4/3 products. Still, competition IS good, regardless of where it comes from, and I’m excited to see how Panasonic and Olympus respond to it (they’re already moving up the sale of G2/G10 from June to May). Once Pentax joins the m4/3 format, and Sigma actually starts making lenses for m4/3, the format will be solidly entrenched and difficult to unseat until Canon and Nikon decide to play with EVILs.
Sony will be making a curious decision if they chose to leave out in-body stabilization. They already have the technology down pat, but if they intend to use it as a differentiator between their mirrorless and DSLR offerings, I doubt it would help DSLR sales much, especially if they’re gonna price their mirrorless offering low.
Of course, Sony’s implementation of their AS system could also be such that it adds a lot to the bulk and depth of the camera, making them use in-lens stabilization instead (assumption on my part, but they’d really be putting themselves at a disadvantage if they don’t have *any* stabilization method).
If Sony’s evil system is as good as it looks, it seems like a knock-out punch to m43rds. With a wide prime and a cheaper price and a larger sensor, why would anyone stay with m43rds? I’m also interested to see what Nikon comes out with. A 2.7x crop sensor might make for a camera that can fit in a pocket.
Olympus deserves to lose their market share. They’ve been at 4/3rds for years, they’re pushing micro 4/3rds now as well, and the widest prime lens they have is an overly expensive 34mm equivalent getting so-so reviews? Especially considering that their primes sell well and are getting so much press, Olympus is setting itself up for a fall.
It has already mentioned from the Sony press that its mirrorless camera will use in-lens OIS.
$800 for the new GH2
Thank you sony,
I paid $1150 for the GH1 with the movie lens. So when the price drops in a year or so to $600 I will have paid nearly $600 more for the movie lens over the kit lens being offered with the GH2. Not really worth it considering the improved user friendly screen on the GH2.
I am not complaining too much though. I have had months and months of enjoyment with the camera. I am really looking forward to buying my next upgrade camera in a few years. It will be even better than my GH1 and cost less too.
Jeff asked,
why would anyone stay with m43rds?
Why would anyone stick with any size format?
Once people buy into a system, they tend to stay with it. You probably have dedicated some money into the compact or full scale sensor type camera and you are stuck with it.
For us upgrading, the m4/3 makes great sense.
1, The improved sensors and image processing of the smaller sensors are outperforming the full sized sensors of just a couple of years ago.
2. Very few people blow up full frame pictures using only a fraction of the image captured so even justifying full sized sensors is becoming questionable
3. The lens systems and cameras are lighter or
4. They gather more light, When Sigma and Tamron adapt their lenses to m/4/3 their light gathering capacity will be 1 f-stop better. (Right now half is being lost over the edge of the sensor).
5. The best and most innovative camera manufactures are coming from the makers of m4/3 cameras.
6. The uniting of competing manufactures is genius. I am looking forward to the uniting of Fuji film, who makes the best sensors in the world, (Not Sony, Nikon, or Canon) with Olympus. What an amazing camera that should be.
So why would anyone move to m4/3rds? The most innovative products are coming from the “small guys” working in the m4/3 rd format.
snowflake,
I’m still not seeing much of the argument. M43’s are retardedly expensive for their overall output-the picture and/or video. I see Sony doing the right thing..bringing these down to prices they should be at.
Besides maybe the 20mm and a GF1, no m43’s fits in an average pocket. In that case, why not get a SMALL DSLR that will run circles around it at a lower price? Think, a Pentax K-X has built in IS, HD vid, and low light performance that competes with the best for a price almost 300 dollars under the GF1. Canon 550D, Canon 500D, Nikon D5000, etc….all superior in options and performance and all cost LESS than the average m43(Ep1/2, GF1, etc.).
If it doesn’t fit in my pocket, I really don’t see any advantage.
snowflake,
The new $800 panasonic is the G2, not GH2, which means the video capabilities are not as good and the included lens is not as good either. I don’t think the price of the GH1 will fall as much as you are thinking (especially considering the value of the included lens itself)
@snowflake
You are right. I have to admit that the 2x crop factor of M4/3 is very good in terms of dimensions and its utilization of the center portion of lenses for even better quality, and possibility for using old manual lenses, as well as the coming cine primes for M4/3, and more new products from other companies joining M4/3.
The price of GH2 is really a concern due to the high price of GH1 (I don’t really want to use the 14-140mm kit lens but there is no body-only option). With GH2 body only option set at a lower price, I will be very pleased to buy one, but I am still looking at the development on video capability of DSLR or mirrorless camera by Canon and Sony as well.
BTW, the greatest loser will definitely be the over-prouded
Samsung anyway, if Pentax does not join its proprietary system.
It’s not only about the price, people, it’s about features too. If a Sony NEX3 comes out with a wide prime ( i.e. no zoom ), no IS, no flash, no flash hot shoe, a few buttons and a touchscreen for 300 USD, I’m not going to buy it ( unless it can be used underwater 🙂 ). In fact, I don’t know who will.
But this should make m43 companies put more features in their cameras. Why it took Panasonic almost a year to put a movie mode in? Why it took Olympus half a year to put a flash on? Why Olympus cameras do not have a focus assist lamp? All these features existed in compacts years ago and if these are supposed to be premium products, they should have all the stuff the cheaper ones have. And some more: movie pause, in camera panorama stitching, in camera HDR, “extended optical zoom” etc. These are relatively simple things to add, but may be deal breakers for some. Many of us do cannot afford to spend couple of hours in Photoshop or Lightroom after a concert or a night out. And I do not want to buy a new body just because one of those long ago invented things was added.
The assumption here is that it will be a price war indeed. The same was said about the Samsung NX10, but reality is that (in Holland) it sells for €150 more than the E-PL1 (both with zoom, samsung 30mm not yet available). Of course, the NX10 is different with it’s built-in EVF, so it competes more with G2/G10. But these will also be around the same prices.
Sony’s strength imo is that they succeed in getting their DSLR’s into the main stream electronic shops and they could do the same with a mirrorless camera. This is where many of the target consumer group will buy their cam, with ‘help’ from the salesperson. Panasonic and Olympus need to broaden their sales channels as well. So far, they only have their products in some (certainly not all) specialty camera shops and in online shops. This is where people like us (camera/photo enthousiasts) buy their gear. But not where the intended 20% of interchangeable camera market will come from. Samsung has the same challenge.
Excessive competition leads to cheaper products with inferior builds. I hope Panasonic & Co. continue to make at least one camera built to the highest standards.
Is it just me, or does that 16mm lens rumor seem like bullshit? Why would they supply such a wide angle lens with their camera?