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Some of our readers noticed that Sony US (Click here) completely removed the A850 and A900 from their stores. A month ago we reported how Sony Japan announced the production stop of the current FF DSLR cameras. Now they are completely gone from the Sony website. A bit pity that we still have to wait until September to see the new Sony FF model. As you know this is an SLT camera with 24 Megapixel and 50-102.400 ISO. The camera is already being tested by photographers and I should get some more info soon.
A personal note: What I will miss form the [shoplink 3032]A900[/shoplink] is the superb 100% viewfinder. It was really the best!
Here are the search links to the last two FF cameras with optical viewfinder (you may will not find them anymore):
Sony A900 [shopcountry 3032].
Sony A850 [shopcountry 3028].
172 Responses
I guess if they put a FF sensor into a A77 body(and EVF), it’ll still be the same thing as a A77 with enhanced low light performance and shallower DOF.
Unless it’s really cheap (sub-2000$) there isn’t enough reason to switch to that camera.
Unless, say, one isn’t switching from the A77 or A900? vOv
They are in stock at Sony stores
I moved up from A700 and bought an A850 but I really would like a smaller FF camera with video features. I would like Sony to release two FF cameras that are no bigger/heavier than the Minolta Maxxum/Dynax 7 but with video and one can have OVF using contrast detection AF and the other can have SLT with phase detection focusing for video. Price EVF model cheaper than OVF model is okay.
$2,000
and Sony will overtake Canon and Nikon in sales.
If you put a bigger sensor in the same body, it doesn’t do _anything_ for DOF. You’d have to get different lenses, too. Think about it, an image from APS-C is just a crop of the full frame, there is no difference in terms of DOF.
You are quite incorrect on this one. Please search DPreview’s forum for detailed explanation.
the DOF is exactly similar, but the FOV is different.
The implicit assumption is that after one puts a larger sensor into a camera, the user will choose a different focal length to get the same FOV as before. If you start with f/2.8 zooms, that means a longer focal length but the same f-stop with a larger sensor. And that means a smaller DOF.
Of course, for some combinations that does not work: 135 mm f/1.8 on APS-C vs. 200 mm f/2.8 on FF. For this example, the DOF stays about the same.
Oh no… Please, new FF faster …
So September is confirmed? Kind of a shame Sony will miss out on Olympics
as I have said on here before…. I am sure they will have photogs testing the camera during the olympics.
In London or in Rio?
If Tokyo win the bid, 2020. 😀
If Sony is still in the fullframe game then I think a new fullframe model will come out before the Olympics. What’s the 500mm f/4.0 G lens for … bird-watchers only ? A great lens need a great body.
Even if their new A99 was out tomorrow it would not be used by sports photographers at the Olympics. It will not even be close to the speed of the Nikon D4 or Canon 1DX. The A99 is an enthusiasts camera, not a professional sports camera.
So you have some magical insight into a camera that has only been rumoured about?
LOL, ok so sony made a $13000 lens for enthusiasts too then?
Lots of wonderful OVF’s available in other mounts ;). What intrigues me is where did Sony see a cry for EVF from its consumers? They always boast about listening to its consumers but I don’t ever recall seeing consumers asking for an EVF in place of OVF. Ever.
Sony aren’t a photography company they are an electronics company and no amount of wishing or hoping will get them to think differently. OVF now not supported, SLT will be gone too, what next? Sinking fast… sinking fast is the A-Mount. So sad.
end of line.
Sony have stated that they went ahead with the A77 due to demand for the A55. Sales numbers is the best market research you can have.
At that time they had OVF models that may have been selling poorly compared to the A33/A55, so there’s the response to your statement “I don’t ever recall seeing consumers asking for an EVF in place of OVF. Ever.” Clearly customers HAVE wanted EVF, no matter how much you don’t like it and continue to protest.
As for the tired old repeated crap “Sony aren’t a photography company they are an electronics company..”. I guess you think Canon aren’t a photography company because they are a photocopier/printer company? Do Fuji make crap cameras because they also make my air-conditioners?
SLT will be gone when there is no need for a mirror. It’s the future. Keep your flappy mirror as you wish, along with your manual focus SLR, manual wind-on film lever and manual exposure dial.
end of line.
if you want to sell things you can produce, it is not always a good idea to ask potential customers whether they want what you can deliver.
if Sony had asked photographers whether they wanted a EVF, it would never have emerged.
let’s be glad that there are some companies still introducing innovative things. some may not be a success, but that stubborn attitude has brought us the PC, the cassette tape, the CD etc.
Exactly.
Exactly…
i got so used to the EVF, that i dont want OVF anymore!
and one of my first doubts about the SLT 77 was the EVF…but then again, i said what the heck! it is a SONY…and well, the do what they kno best – PREFECTION
Yesterday I took a look through the OVF of my A700 and told to my self: How the hell was I even able to use this tiny little spy-hole in the past?
The EVF of my A77 is just gorgeous 😀
ditto
MCP your ignorance is astounding.
Heaps of people didn’t want digital photography… were you one of them?
Are you still only using film?
Sony bought Minolta in 2006 for your information.
The Minolta Alpha camera system was from….. Minolta!!! SURPRISE!
The system used a lens mount called A-mount…. Sounds familiar?
Hate to break it to you, Sony is the largest Sensor manufacturer…
Don’t forget to put “end of line.” he likes that.. 😉 He thinks he is living in TRON, bless him…
I don’t want to use OVF ever again. There is so much advantages with EVF. Period.
+1
Personally, I can’t see a single reason for going back to an OVF even though the A900 OVF is a work of art. Ultimately though, OVF is useless in low light, cannot display vital information and doesn’t actually show what the sensor is ‘seeing’.
Let the Luddites whine but the EVF is here to stay. And I’m happy 🙂
I just purchased a77 and I’m very satisfied. I will purchase a99 when it comes out (assuming Sony will keep up good work). I love EVF because it gives me additional control over final output in tricky situations. No, i do not want to go back to OVF. And I do not think I’m the only one who thinks this ways. Your statement is simply faulty.
I agree. I’ll be the first one I know to preorder the A99 if it even offers a shred above and beyond the already amazing A77. Try framing long exposure shots in the dark with an OVF. You can’t do it. Then try framing the same shot in manual. Use the peaking function on a long exposure shot at night and tell me you want to go back to an OVF. Some of the repliers on this blog sound like the old man down the street who still uses a rotary lawnmower and drives an old truck with a manual transmission. That old man’s stuck with his black and white TV with wood panel sides. If you’re going the way of the old man, you may as well go back to developing film and not reply on a 21st century digital camera rumor blog.
All of you apologizing for Sony, astroturfers, say what you want. Sony will surrender SLT, they have already said they will.. eventually they will surrender the A-Mount because its a more traditional DSLR mount.
Then they will go on with the E mount and NEX just like Oly surrenedered their DSLR buisness and panasonic and samsung did. So much for EVF being the wave of the future for DSLRS. Sony will definitely have sucess with NEX but A-Mount has been dying a slow death since Sony took it over in 2006.
Sony has been dog paddling ever since but they will let it go and move on to something easier and cheaper to produce like NEX stuff and let someone else have the A-Mount if they want to buy it. They will not gain traction in the market with EVF DSLRS. They will with mirrorless, but not DSLRS.
The end is near. You apologists and astroturfers are hilariously in denial. Keep it up , it’s so amusing to see a total lack of accountability for your comments alongside total denial.
end of line.
You really are an idiot. Of course there will be no SLT, we KNOW that. You keep saying it as though you are the sole person who realises the bloody obvious!
SLT is no more than a stop-gap until MIRROR-LESS. Christ-on-a-bike you are a broken record…
This isn’t the end of A-mount and isn’t the end of dSLR sized bodies. Canon and Nikon WILL go mirror-less and WILL go EVF. It is inevitable.
end of line.
Keep astroturfing, what a life you have.
A-Mount will be gone. Same as OVFs for Sony but not for other makers.
end of line.
If you say so mr. Garrard, if you say so.
You really are losing the plot. You think the average Canon or Nikon will have an OVF and flappy mirror in the future? As soon as AF is fast enough without a mirror, the mirror will disappear.
Are you a Luddite or something?
end of line.
Master-Control, honestly I think you are a completely daft and a dumbass for thinking A-mount is going out. Sony didn’t just release a $13,000 A-mount lens.. wait they did.
Last cry of a dying mount. It’s been in development for how long now? $ was spent a long time ago, construction began a long time ago. Soon as the A99 abandons A900 users and pro’s don’t flock over, Sony will reconsider their purchase of the A-Mount. Other dslr makers gave up the fight, Sony can and will too. Just a matter of time.
end of line.
You lose credibility with every comment you make.
end of line.
Dear SONY, we need a FF Alpha camera roadmap, and a Alpha lens roadmap. (or update / weather sealing of current lenses)
The new bodies from Nikon (D4, D800) are hard to ignore. I must make a decision to go for a Sony or Nikon FF camera. I can wait for Sony FF, but how long ????????
I agree, it is going to be a hard springtime in my local photoclub, all the others are buying D4/D800. My A900 looks old in that comparison, and if it breaks …. will not think about it.
You aren’t going to get your hands on a new FF for a LONG time and you aren’t going to have a selection of FF models for a while after that.
Doesn’t that make the decision for you?
you dont have sony lenses and accessories? not so easy to jump.
Re-read hwelvaar’s comment.
“I must make a decision to go for a Sony or Nikon FF camera. I can wait for Sony FF, but how long”
Unless you know different, it’s going to be a long wait.
So that’s the question. How long ?
If there is a roadmap that says in 10 months I can buy a Sony FF with xyz specs, OK then I wait.
But right now there is ZERO information or roadmap, only rumors.
So I don’t know if the wait is 10 months or 2 years ?!
Wrong marketing from Sony… Grmpf!
They don’t release the specifications or time-scales until one month before it hits the shops. It’s what they have done for pretty much every model, the rest is rumour.
Only you can decide if you can wait a year. Personally I would not be a Sony Full Frame users though, I’d be using Canon or Nikon.
Where do you get your information on this from?
This is Sony we are talking about, where have you been? 😉
as much as I hate to admit it that is true but based on how long it took us to see the a700 replacement it should be this year. they seem to be working on a 4 year replacement cycle for the high end cams. haha
You optimist! 😀
when i look in my wallet or talk to my bank manager, i can easily ignore those FF bodies 🙂 I always hope for a miracle, a entry level FF camera, but it’s like wanting a date with Eva Mendes, even in my dream, this never happens 😉
In my dream, your date with Eva Mendes doesn’t happen either. 😀
SONY
Make.Delay
LOL
sony.. make crap
They make sensors for Nikon, therefore Nikon=crap?
There’s a lot more that goes into a camera than the sensor
Aren’t the a900 and d3X using the same sensor?
Yet one of those bodies performs much better than the other…
You miss the point.
Depends what you’re looking for with “much better”. If for example you’re looking for the best color accuracy and separation, the A900 spanks the D3X. You’ll see admiration for the A900 in this regard even in the Dpreview Nikon FF boards. The A900 also offered slightly more fps.
Spoon, you should know by now that whenever anybody here talks about “performance” and IQ, they actually just mean high ISO.
Of course studying 100% crops of your cat at 6400 is the way to gauge the IQ of a camera…
nikon and sony crap 🙂 canon and fuji will rock
Make.Deceive.
Make. Believe.
And 3 years later than C or N you will receive
I think the A600 will sell like hell!
For that Sony should better put the 24MP CMOS inside an A580-style body and enhance the JPEG engine to match RAW, offer it for €100 less than the EOS600D, and Sony is back before spring.
Sony don’t has to develop much for this product… forget FF SLT, A57 and A65, bring A600 instead, now !
I doubt that. A600 would have little to offer against A65/A77, only OVF (which is +- in APS-C) and noise performance better by 100ISO.
Suppose A600 for €$600, A65 for €$1000 and A77 for €$1400 , that is the difference I see for a success of A600. You know that any camera will be very old tec in just 1-2 years, so who still wants to pay $€2000-4000 for a body and for such a short period ? Definitely not me !
Sell like hotcakes, just like the A580 did. Sony is listening to buyers and are making what appears to sell. Don’t forget the A700 ended up selling for half price in Best Buy. It was a great camera but a commercial failure. I
Was the A580 selling like hotcakes comment, sarcasm? I can’t tell. Only the A580 wasn’t known for huge sales compared to the A55. 😀
The A900’s viewfiner was a peep hole compared to the Olympus OM’s “window”.
Don’t get it twisted ;p
HOHOHO CANON will eat sony with the fantastic 5d3!! :-O sony prepare to quit image market >:D
Canon fan-boys have been saying that Sony will quit the imaging market for YEARS. Yet here Sony are, spanking Canon with NEX. Do you attack Sony out of fear that Canon are falling behind or something?
NEX? bhahaha is like i say canon compact camera are beating dlsr…. for god sake we are talking about FF… the real quality…. sony can make NEX and… mmm…. Bravia, playstation and… http://www.trmtv.it/home/wp-content/uploads/HLIC/103b62ac4180d119a9478c99e74c6113.jpg
mmm http://www.bobatkins.com/photography/reviews/canon_200-2_800-56/ef_200_2.jpg 200 f2, so tasty 😉 good bye nex
I was making the point that Sony aren’t about to “quit image market” (sic) and Canon are way behind on where the future is, mirror-less and electronic view finders.
The fact is that Sony have the resources to take on Canon, they just don’t want to.
It isn’t all about Full Frame.
evf and mirrorless?? like all jobs are done with leica cameras … dslr are too mush handy… its a human form “the right dimension” of a camera.. i have a nex and… i gave to my son
@reuter
If you believe that dSLR sized cameras are going to continue having a mirror blocking the light-path, then think again…I am not talking about NOW it is the FUTURE.
I bought the A55 a year ago as a stop gap measure while waiting for the new Sony FF.
It’s a year later now… No new FF, so I switched to Canon 5D, and the A55 is about to go to ebay…
HAHAHAH…been hearing this from CANONIANS for a while too…and guess what. 3 of them i know closely have already switched to SONY.
SONY ROCKS
and I also just switched from Canon 5D I to Sony A850. So far, I am happy, but I can’t really compare because A850 is one generation newer than 5D I. Let’s see how Sony answer the Canon 5D III. The spec of 5D III is exactly what I am looking for (except for the price).
I switched to the A850 + Zeiss,G glass from 5dMkII + 24-70, 70-200L – couldn’t be happier. Better color, sharper images, FASTER FOCUSING, better ergonomics (vertical grip designed for your hand, not as a car jack), better battery life, etc etc etc.. do not miss the 5dmkII.
I just hope they come out with an FF replacement this year and don’t force me to jump to Nikon. I’d definitely like to stick with Sony.
My girlfriends d90 tracks focus better than my a850 with SSM lenses.. quite disappointing actually
The 5d2 is just hopeless
this surprises me, I used my A850 and 70-200 G at an airshow. It didn’t have a problem tracking F18s.
wow so its a big FAIL! i will like the sony 200 f2 but.. sony is only playstation
and Canon is only photocopiers?
I just returned from the WPPI convention in Las Vages. 10,000 pro photographers all doing cutting edge stuff I’d say about 50% shot canon, 40% nikon and 10%sony. This was not surprising to me. I probably spoke with 30 pro sony users all were very upset with sony and all were now for the first time looking at other brands. Also at the expo sony had the saddest showing. I invested so much in sony and now its a shame they dont want our business. 4 years ago I so happy for moving to sony for its full frame. now I plan to keep all my sony gear as back ups and for my staff and move to canon or nikon slowly over this next year.
its a shame sony could have blown the pro market away.
How do you know its fantastic? Hasn’t even been launched yet..might be complete S£$t for all you know.
All those Canon fanboys playing down the 5d2 autofocus problems made me lol
I will play with playstation ^_^
yeah, and dont even mention the 1D MK3 recall, that really makes ’em squirm
David
You don’t know what you talking about.
Please clarify as I came from the 5dmkII and I can tell you firsthand that the AF is utter SHIT on that camera.
When I purchased the 5DMKII, I was hired to cover a girl’s hockey league—action photography. I spent an entire Saturday shooting with the 5D and 135 f2 L in a dimly lit arena. I filled 6 cards of 16GB (about 600 images per card).
The keeper rate exceeded my expectations.
Is the focusing as good as it should be? No.
“Is the focusing as good as it should be? No.”
That’s quite a telling statement though. Perhaps other peoples expectations of an expensive camera are higher than yours…
Its a $2700 camera. The focus was SHIT considering that. Throw just a HAIR of light towards the lens and it was hopeless. I ended up shooting half the weddings manual-focus the entire time. I covered a lot of beach weddings during sunset, in those cases, the 5dmkII was again, worthless. The viewfinder is inferior to the A850/900, If you ever shoot a lot of portraiture in the studio with the vertical grip- the ergonomics are terrible, killed my wrists – why? Because I was gripping a giant brick to house Canon’s humongous batteries, not the vertical grip of the A850/900 which is identical to the horizontal and aligned with the lens, not above like Nikon/Canon (that bugs that shit out of me).
They focused so much on reducing noise that they forgot COLOR – The amount of time I spent in post with the Canon was at least 30% more than with the Sony. Guess its just my experience but it did nothing for me. Not to mention the color/contrast/sharpness of the Zeiss and G far exceeded my expectations, whereas their L equivalents did not.
Oh well. I’m glad I bought the A900 in December with the extended warranty and all. I figured if it took great photos in 2008 then it would likely take great photos in 2012. So far I remain very satisfied with the results I see in the files I’ve taken. Combined with the ZA 135 it produces far more keepers’ than my Leica M8.
As you keep reminding us. 😉
Yeah, I simply echo my comments on the off chance that someone new has joined the forum.
The EVF/OVF-debate reminds me of Steve Jobs citing Henry Ford:
“If I had asked people what they wanted, they would have said faster horses.”
What the customer really wants is something that doesn’t exist, not an evolution of the existing. We saw this debate when we went digital.
Good quote !
I want a FW update for the A77 soon!!!!! Please, Sony!!!!
Any rumors.
+1, I lose many shots because of the sluggish response of the A77! 🙁
you’re not holding it right….
Classic!
Get a UHS-1 SD card with 95mb/s transfer speed (about 600x speed) – $58 for 16 gig and watch what a77 can do now. It dumps the whole buffer in 5 sec.
I do have a UHS-1 card, I’m referring to changing settings and the camera taking longer to respond than any other Sony I have owned ( A200, 300, 350, 500, 850).
I have to ask, why are you changing so many settings mid-shoot that means you notice them being a fraction of a second slower?
the A77 is a slow-to-respond camera. It is not uncommon to change multiple settings very quickly during a professional shoot in mixed lighting, i.e. with strobes, without strobes, using gels, not using gels, shooting telephoto, shooting wide (aperture), iso (if you are switching between ambient and strobes), A77 please understand that the controls ARE sluggish and to the point where it annoys the fuck out of pro users, or enthusiasts who deal with complex situations like I am describing. A77 is a great camera, but that non-instant feedback is QUITE ANNOYING and I don’t welcome it on the A99.
Why would you need to switch setting QUICKLY when using strobes and gels?
Don’t you instinctively know what settings to use before shooting? You might change the aperture a stop, or change ISO a bit, add a bit of flash compensation (hopefully you have a custom button for it) but it takes a FRACTION OF A SECOND to do these minor tweaks.
Are you suggesting that I don’t deal with complex lighting just because I don’t appear to be bothered by a fraction of a second?
Maybe it’s because I instinctively know what settings to use BEFORE I shoot, that I don’t have a problem with this “lag” that people bang on about…if you are starting at ISO 1600, when you should be down at ISO 100, then you need to reconsider your shooting technique…
@SonyA77
Exposure comp and DoF are the main problems for me and I change them all the time when shooting outside. The sluggishness is a problem because it means you have to recheck everything to make sure the camera has actually done what you intended it to. That robs time and confidence in the camera. None of my other bodies do this, they’re all absolutely immediate so I dont even have to think about it.
That’s the point I am making, don’t you just know what the aperture and flash compensation should approximately be BEFORE you shoot. Making a minor adjustment as required?
I don’t understand why people should be quickly clicking through several aperture settings, or going from one end of the ISO scale to another…
For me it’s one or two clicks of the wheel away from where I thought it should be before I take the shot, not SEVERAL. I guess that’s just me then…
A sad day for a truly wonderful camera, but mine will serve me well for many years yet. If I want to take pictures and video, I’ll take my 77…If I want to do PHOTOGRAPHY, I’ll take the 900
Dear admin,
possible to dig rumor of any chance cheap FF coming at $2000? if yes, i would like to bump up my budget straight go for it and stop sourcing sony a77qv.
at the wppi expo the sony rep told me the A99 will be $1995 and will be announsed in the end of march and on shelfs in september.
If they have pulled their FF cams that means the alternate new ones are on their way very soon!
No it doesn’t!
Its a tricky one actually. As these things are produced in batches it may be that they figure they have sufficient inventory (based on current sales figures) to tide them over until the A99 arrives. So, if we can find out the batch size, the retail inventory, the currently monthly sales figures, the 1 year trend and the batch shipping date we might get a clue as to the arrival date for the A99……see? dead easy 🙂
Ha ha, you get the spreadsheet fired up, I’ll provide the coffee! 😉
A700 deja vu all over again.
I was reading Kurt Mungers new site today, photojottings.com, and he said that he thinks that Sony should avoid the full frame market altogether.
The NEX is doing well, but that system is still lacking. And no serious pros use Sony unless they are paid or sponsored. Sony probably makes almost no money from professional sales, nor do they have the infrastructure needed to repair it. So they might as well focus on NEX as their strongest area and forget the other stuff.
And after finally using an a77, I really DON’T want an EVF as my next camera.
You can not judge future technology by using current technologies standards, otherwise there would be no technological progress in anything.
That’s true to an extent, but looking at the a77 and how every internet review praised it so much, I was disappointed.
I feel like maybe in a few years it will be ready. But not for my next camera.
Maybe that is an old-fashioned way of thinking, but there isn’t a prize for being first on the EVF bandwagon. There won’t be a reward for being faithful to EVF right from the start.
For now I’ll switch to Nikon, and if Sony bring out some amazing full frames which are better, I can switch back. There are no prizes for being faithful!
What is interesting about the reviews was the A77 EVF was said to be a clear leap over the A55 EVF, so people who were judging the A77 based on the A55 may now consider it.
If such step up can be achieved with the A99, that might change many peoples minds too. Some people will never change though. 😉
Well he’s a great guy with a useful website. Still he’s not the word of God, for what I know..
I really DO. I love the low light ability. I’ve been shooting Olympus OM (yes, the ones with the magnifent OVF) for years, made the step to Minolta AF for being unable to focus in low light by myself. Now the step to an EVF is another step forward: the camera sees what I can’t see and shows it to me!
Add the WYSIWYG ability (you actually see the effect of the chosen aperture) and it’s clear to me I won’t go back to an OVF EVER.
Of course EVF’s still can be improved. I’d like to see less noise in low light and still better image refreshment rates, but I’m sure every manufacturer in the world (including the ones not to be mentioned here whose lenses I freely use on my NEX!) are working on that!
“[…] as you know […]”
Whaooo… what a confidence…
If Sony wants their Full Frame cameras to be taken seriously, they need to provide the same level of support that Nikon and Cannon offer their customers. I recently had to send in my a900 for warranty repairs. If I get my camera back in 2 weeks I was lucky. This is way too long! If a person owns a full frame camera there is a chance they might actually use it for business. These customers should be treated differently than APS-C camera owners.
I agree but with one correction. These customers should be treated differently and pay for the privilege.
Professionals use APS-C too and non-professionals use Full Frame too, there should be no difference in support between the two based on sensor size.
If a APS-C or Full Frame user wants faster turnaround, they should have the option to pay for it.
Loser
Your mother must be so proud.
I am pretty sure Canon requires owning 2 L lenses for their prime service, I would expect similar of Sony. I don’t give a damn whether its apsc or FF but those owning 2+ bodies and Zeiss+G glass DO deserve priority service IMO. Took 5 weeks for my A850 to get repaired this summer, had to go back to a 5DmkII during the time- painful and inexcusable how long it took (it was a 10 day guarantee. Shitty communication the entire time)
Had the option been there to pay for a faster turnaround would you have paid it? If yes, then there you go, problem solved. No need to differentiate between users or bodies or the amount of lenses.
Doing that is how a professional climate is even created. I.e. if a canon employee needs to choose to ship out a pros 1DmkIII who is covering the olympics vs some guy’s rebel who only has the kit lens, the pro should have priority for business and common-sense reasons. The customer who has invested more is generally more important to the business, thats pretty standard.
You are assuming that more money is made from pro customers and they therefore should have priority. That greatly depends on the profit margin for pro gear, and that margin may be very tight.
The manufacturer may make far more profit from consumers, so I don’t see why consumers should have a poorer level of standard service. If somebody wants pro service, they can pay for it.
I just recently checked the EVF of a77 to see how much I may/may not miss when new FF comes with the same technology. And it was just awful. It might be the best EVF out there, still I was surprised how terrible it was compared to OVF of a900. No no, this is not the way. It might make some sense in APS-C world, but it is strongly inferior to OVF of Sony’s current FF line. The picture I saw in live view on the main display was so much better that that in EVF as well.
But since the SENSOR records the image, not your eyes, it doesn’t actually matter whether you look through an OVF, EVF or at the LCD.
You may prefer an OVF, but it doesn’t actually make the slightest difference to the recorded image captured by the sensor, processed by the camera, post-processed by you and then printed on variable paper with variable ink quality.
The resulting image bears little resemblance to the image your eyes saw.
Any noticeable lag or lack of contrast can be an issue, though I personally didn’t think it was a big deal- probably because I’m not going to take pictures of bullets.
An issue to the user, hence my preference statement, but not an issue in the final image that’ll be post processed to hell and back anyway. 😀
The last classic Alpha… gone. That was a real fun ride Minolta. Thanks!
Yep I agree. Now it will either become something that people wish they had bought, or something that folks are glad they didn’t.
Admin,
any chance sony is being good at secrets tightlipped – and release a fullframe by the olympics??? maybe A950? biggest stage to release their flagships, and canikon will meet that deadline. it only makes so much sense for sony to if they have just discontinued their fullframes. and they have just release a 500mm made just for fast action sports – better than the canikon’s 500mm.
so is it ZERO chance??
On the other hand, people may look back at the A77 or A99 and see that as a “classic Alpha”.
About time i say! Come on SLT FF!!
mm sony sony… im sorry but you will be merged from canon-fuji.. and 5d III will rock over and over … goood bye and I’m sorry to hear that the truth insults you
and Sony have heard it all before from people like you. 😀
I have an 850 with the 24-70 2.8 Zeiss, and 70-200 2.8G as my workhorse lenses. I have to say that moving to a new FF camera with the same pixel count but with only a few hundred iso improvement is not a prospect I find compelling!
My hope is for higher resolution, somewhat higher iso, and no slt (or mirror lockup) for stills. Ideally, the camera would/could take 4K video, as that’s the way of the future (now that 3D is pretty much dead).
A900 : the only sony that worth a buy 🙂 sony will quit soon
http://fakechuckwestfall.files.wordpress.com/2011/02/220692892.jpg
it’s a sad day, the flagship is gone….
The A900 is still on sonystyle.ca and shows in stock.
Why should they do that if the replacement isn’t ready? It doesn’t make any sense…
+1
They already did it with A700, if you noticed.
Since when has the time Sony discontinued a product ever made sense? 😉
So presently no FF Sony. Now that is what I call commitment!
I don’t understand the fact you cannot buy a FF from Sony. The 850 and 900 discontinued and unavailable at sonystyle.com but there is no replacement for either. At least you would think there would be a release date for the new FF SLT. I think Sony should have thought hard about updating the 900 with a new sensor, faster processor, etc. They would have provided a nice transition since it may be another 9 months before we see another available FF. Even keep the updated in production for those who desire the OVF over the EVF. If I wee to jump ship I think I would head to Nikon, not Canon. But, I just bought the 70-400G, I am all in with Sony. I hope they will not fail me.
What about a collaboration with Nikon in the camera world. If Sony is making Sensors for Nikon and SOny cannot release a camera with the same sensor used by Nikon for at least 9 to 12 months. Then whatever Nikon is tweaking the sensor with should be used by Sony in their cameras just later and obviously for less cash. I would accept that agreement.
The sales is slow.. in case you didn’t notice, not many people buy Sony FF for their professional works. Even current stock is enough to supply the demand until the replacement is ready(if ever).
I was a Minolta user for 10+ years, but ever since Sony took over the A mount I was not sure if they fully get the serious photography business segment which is based on high end DSLR’s (mainly FF) coupled with a full range of good glass. There are two mainstream companies dominate this segment of the market: Canon and Nikon. They simply own the ‘serious photography’ market, or maybe 90% of it. The customers they serve are (1) professional photographers and (2) enthusiasts willing to spend the $ to support their hobby. Both C and N obviously offer mid-to-low end consumer cameras, including point and shoot cameras. But yet they spend more than anyone on R&D and product development to make sure they continue their leadership in the high end segment because to them it is too important to their corporate bottom line to ignore. I also think of these two as ‘optics companies’, which have photography in their corporate DNA.
There are several other companies that compete in the low-to-mid level market, serving mass consumers. Think of Panasonic, Samsung and other diversified electronic giants. Several of them are companies that used to compete in the ‘serious photography’ market historically, but largely exited that category. These include Olympus, Pentax and Minolta, now part of Sony.
The key factor that differentiates C and N from this second group is having a full range of quality glass. Sony inherited a bunch of old (some still decent) glass from Minolta, and developed a handful – but not enough – of decent lenses themselves. Majority of the stuff they introduced with the Sony name is not of interest to anyone who is serious about photography. I am talking about the recent ‘plastic fantastic’ designs, etc. They also introduced a few “CZ” lenses at rather high price points (much higher than Canon for example). I have to say that this effort, while respectable, fell short of making them a serious photographic equipment company.
Unless and until Sony revamps and greatly expands their entire lens line up, especially the primes, they will not success in the ‘big leagues’ of photography business. Ask any pro what lenses in his/her opinion are considered ‘legends’ in the photography trade, and I guarantee they will not mention a Sony/Minolta name even once. The list will be roughly evenly split between C and N, and an odd Leica or CZ thrown in the mix.
After having had enough of a wait to see Sony commit to the segment #1, I recently switched to Canon FF and I am astonished by the choice of good lenses I now have – both older designs and very recently developed stuff, like their 50mm f/1.2. I am slowly rebuilding my lens collection with a lot more thought and patience this time.
Happy shooting to all!
Jim
I don’t disagree.
In the decades to come I believe that the electronics giants are the ones who will dominate stills and video imagery, with Canon and Nikon trailing behind with niche products.
I think that dSLRs are on the way out, they will be replaced from the bottom up by cheaper mirror-less designs. It’s a commonly held view that the vast majority of dSLR users don’t buy anything more than the kit lenses, so lens choice is a moot point for them, they’ll swap brands because they don’t have an investment in lenses.
If in the future potential dSLR users read magazine reviews about compact systems that give the same IQ for less money and Canon/Nikon aren’t prepared to risk their dSLR business by going with mirror-less APS-C and Full Frame…well it’s game over for them.
Nikon perhaps not, but Canon, with one of the largest patent portfolios in Japan, is an electronics giant, just not a consumer electronics giant. Canon is one of the largest suppliers of LCD steppers, and is one of the major shareholders in IPS-Alpha (with Panasonic), so can certainly source EVFs at competitive rates, should they choose to do so.
As long as Canon’s sensor business remains competitive, I see no reason they won’t be able to trade blow for blow with any of the traditional CE companies.
Because they’ll try to protect their dSLR business until it’s too late. The World will have moved on.
+1 I wish I could disagree with you, but all of your points seem valid. I have been a die hard Sony DSLR/DSLT fan (I don’t have any other Sony electronics) for many years now, but recently Sony has been more of a disappointment. I’m not jumping ship yet, but I can see myself selling off all of my Sony equipment in the hear future.
Well said
Sorry to say it but NEX seems to be more serious than SLT series. SLTs are like toys, an intermediate stage to keep inexperienced users.
What has SLT got to do with the experience level of the user? Since dSLR users use the Nikon D3100, does that mean all the people who use a dSLR with flappy mirror in it are beginners too?
People here are just losing the plot!
I’m sorry for your lost plot. That was not my intention.
And of course, an inexperienced user may buy d3100 or even d4 by accident (for social reasons maybe). But I meant users who understand the technology and the implemented trade-offs rather.
Regarding trade-offs, the only reason to have the mirror is PDAF. To have it, you sacrifice sensitivity, lens size, picture clarity. These days the limits of optics are reached. Now designers are fighting for resolution trying to get rid of AA filters. And how do you think, how does the distant, diagonal mirror look in this battle? Once Sony incorporates PDAF into the main sensor the mirror is gone – no more reasons to have it.
And regarding experience… using the camera extensively you have probably noticed the dust, haven’t you? Have you cleaned the mirror already? No? Or maybe, you have blown the mirror using “a commercially available blower”..? That must have been the experience.
You really are clueless. The fixed mirror has FAR less effect on IQ than your UV filter does…
please link us to your pictures. Judging by your statement and proposed level of intelligence, I’m expecting shit.
Actually, you are right – they are shit. I hate them all. That’s why I will not give links. Thankfully, there are few people who truly appreciate them.
What I meant was a technical pov rather – see above for details.
And if you haven’t noticed, I was not saying about you and not even about the camera of yours. As you, however started it let me say something about those subjects.
I always say that you should never buy equipment which costs more than half of your capabilities. But since you have already done this (or most probably somebody of your family did it to you) you must know that falling in love with plastic toys is a kind of deviation. And it does not matter how expensive they are and how “intelligent” they seem to you. So, I suggest you stop sleeping with it and don’t put it under the pillow. If you are a good boy one day you will deserve some new toys and you will see how stupid it was.
Nevertheless please, accept my apologies. I really was not trying to offend your choice of heart. All the best to you and your camera.
I make a living from my images. If you, a hobbyist from what I gather, is concerning yourself with a thin mirror taking away from your ability to make images, I believe it is you who needs to evaluate whether or not you deserve to pursue photography.
Funny how sony doesn’t get a break.
They cry when a sony ff camera has 24megapixels. Saying it’s overkill,higher iso, and frames rates are better.
Then they turn around and make a 36 with lower frame rates,lower iso and every one cheers.
They cry when sony doesn’t revise a lens complaining about ssm.
Then they milk you for a second and third revision because they didn’t get it right the first time.
They cry when you don’t put video in a camera which was never made to be a video camera.
Then they don’t speak of it when you create a system that will make good videos.
Seriously just make a decent ff with some cosmetical options.
What we lack is inspiration and individuality.
Give me a white tiger themed ff or a nice tiffany blue camera. Hell even a bright red ff.
I’d strut that shit.
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I love this post so much I just want to spam post it everywhere! That penta prism is definitely the best I’ve ever seen and I’ve used both D700 and 5Dmk2 bodies so I should know. If Sony ever reads this, I swear I’ll spend 3x what their new FF body costs to retrofit a new damn prism in if I have to! lol
The Sony a900 is not gone. What is all this nonsense? Its available at every store linked in this “rumor”, including the Sony store:
http://store.sony.com/webapp/wcs/stores/servlet/ProductDisplay?catalogId=10551&storeId=10151&langId=-1&productId=8198552921665531176
Listed as available and shipping today. Sheesh.
Bemus please read carefully what I wrote. I said it’s gone from Sony Stores!!!!
How many A850/A900 were produced and sold? And were did they sell? I’ve wanted one since they were released and I figure they might start getting into my price-range soon. Keeping my eyes open.