I reported previously the A77 successor would come in Spring. According to one trusted source the new APS-C A-mount camera will be in Stock in worldwide store for June. It will be the official replacement for the A77. And another news is that there will be no A65 successor. So expected one APS-C A-mount camera only.
I also have been told that this isn’t a small upgraded camera. There are some brand new tech inside. Hope to get 99% reliable specs info as soon as possible. I have been told Sony developed a couple of different prototypes and they are trying to hide what the final specs will be.
I am still not sure when the camera will be announced but my guess is for April. Before that we will have a new NEX-7 successor announcement (likely in 2-3 weeks from now).
Oh, one more thing: I didn’t get an official release period for the A-mount FF yet. But it’s coming don’t worry 🙂
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0 Responses
You don’t think there’ll be an A37/57/65 replacement as well below the A79 (or whatever it’s called)? For example one smaller/lower spec model to replace all three?
I think the a58 (and it’s future successors) is supposed to fill that gap.
Your 100% right. I suspect we’ll two A-Mounts cameras released this year. The A79 replacing the A77, and the A88 replacing the A850.
The original A850 was released 1.5 years after the A900. Its now been 1.5 years since the release of the A900..
I always thought the A850 was a genius move by Sony – it was essentially a “binned” A900. Sony probably ended up with lots of Bionz processors that wouldn’t clock at full speed and mirrorbox/viewfinder assemblies that didn’t quite meet specs. After 1.5 years, you can reuse those parts once A900 production ramps down on the same assembly line and profit.
I’m not sure the same opportunity exists with SLT, since the SLT assembly + EVF is likely easier to manufacturer to spec, and skimping on a lower-clocked processor alone may not save enough to justify having an A8 model. They could always go with a purpose-designed model but then again, the A65 was such a model and I always found that particular model to be a product with no clear identity. Not high-end enough to be prosumer, not cheap enough to be consumer.
Personally, I think Sony missed an opportunity to revamp their product lines so that SLTs occupy the 3, 5, 7 and 9 slots while mirrorless bodies occupy the 2, 4, 6 and 8 slots. In other words, I think the A7 should have been the A8, the NEX-7 successor merges down with the NEX-6 and becomes an A6, etc.
That way, you have your A8R/A9R flagships, A8/A9 entry-level fullframe, A6/A7 flagship APS-C, A4/A5 consumer APS-C, and A2/A3 entry-level. Sony should maintain feature parity as well as price parity (with the mirrorless price being lower to accommodate the appropriate LA-EA adapter), the choice will come down to SSS vs. E-mount support.
As well, if they normalize the refresh cycles so that both the mirrorless and SLT versions at a particular echelon are refreshed at the same time, think of all the extra shooting folks around here will do now that they’re freed from banging away at their keyboards having A-mount vs. E-mount flamewars.
I have a friend who works for a large electronics retail chain, who confirmed (off the record of course) the existence of a second full frame SLT camera, which will likely be launched this spring.
Would they repeat the A850’s success, and sell a slightly degraded A99 or;
Could Sony put a FF sensor in a A77 body?
Isn’t A58 filling a gap between 37 and 57? (if such a gap even existed) It certainly got nothing to deal with A65.
I think the A58 is really a A57 for an A37’s price. I don’t think you’ll every see a A65 replacement because it was expensive to make, and cannibalized A77 sales.
Well done moronic captcha, fails to accept the right text and wipes the post.
What about availability of Sony FE lenses in Europe? I see only Amazon (checked fr and de), but none in dedicated photo stores.
+1
And the shops that list them won’t even allow you to preorder the lenses
Look other 50 news about A7 / FE lenses.
Any specifications for the NEX-7 successor? Or did I miss something?
Andrea can you please give a summary of what you know about this camera? I guess the sensor will be the same as in this A77 but what is this sensor and what else can we expect? It’s a rumors site, please give us some rumors that you think are plausible!
I’d like to know if we are expecting an announcement for the a7000 before the chinese new year like others camera makers are doing.
Finally the A-mount users can stop whining.
Where is the E-mount new!? Why is Sony killing the E-mount?
5 axis stabiliser
NEX-7 successor
?????????????????
Better video codec
One thing Sony has succeeded in doing is creating a “division” among their A mount and E mount customers, even if some of it is friendly banter. Hudson (and others), seems to think us A mount users are “whining”. Funny thing is, all I see on this site, day in and day out, is that E Mount users are never happy with their lot, even after a year when virtually everything coming out of Sony was E mount. So yes maybe us A mount user are a bit disgruntled – I think we have a right to be. After all, if it wasn’t for the money us long term faithful A mount users put into Sony’s imaging coffers, there would be no E mount.
And yes I am looking froward to the A79, but I will wait to see what Sony comes up with before “whining” 😉
Relax man, take a joke. I’m only giving A-mount users a hard time because many come here and ask Andrea for A-mount rumors, which I think is stupid. If there is a rumor, Andrea will let the readers know, and if there isn’t one, u can’t beat it out of him. Even if Andrea stopped posting E-mount stuff, it doesn’t mean there will be more A-mount info floating around, right?
It’s just like I accidentally subscribed to canonrumors.com or something and can’t unsubscribe. Getting irrelevant news in my RSS about a different photo system.
a) that joke never is was or will be funny.
b) E-mount users do EXACTLY THE SAME only MORE OFTEN. Heck: just read comments under this article.
LensIsAll, I do agree with the spirit of what you’re saying but given that this is a rumor site, and certainly if Sony truly intends to abandon some portion of its users, that is nothing to joke about.
But this is a rumor site and a lot of the folks here are not taking these rumors with the appropriate grain of salt, despite the fact that Andrea does a good job distinguishing between what is certain vs. what is speculation.
So while I don’t think it’s funny if Sony were to abandon A or E mount, I do think it is funny that there are those who read so much into not just a rumor, but the absence of rumors.
Besides, despite all of the kvetching about Sony abandoning the A mount, very little is made of the fact that a camera like the A7 allows a longtime Minolta shooter like me to use M-Rokkor and Rokkor glass again – so as far as I’m concerned, Sony’s track record has been the complete opposite of abandonment so far. 🙂
I think both platforms compliment each other. The E-Mount when you want to travel light, and A-Mount when you want to use your heavies (70200G, 70400G or 135F18Z).
I really don’t see any reason to attack each other on a consistent basis.
Why? ‘No successor for A65’ means the A-Mount model line keeps shrinking.
Not at all. The A65 cannibalized A77 sales, and producing a successor for the A65 is not in Sony’s interests. The A58 will in all likeness remain the sole entry level A-Mount.
Of course they’ll be more lenses. If not Sigma and Tamron have some really excellent alternatives.
You know there is a second full frame model. So the A77 replacement is really adopting the A65’s position in the product line-up and the A88 (or whatever they’ll call it) will sit in between the A77 and A99
A58/A79/A88/A99 will be the A-Mount line-up by the end of year.
I don’t really see the market space for an a88.
What should it drop from the a99?
-The aussum shooting speed? No, needs o behigher to attract people.
-Lower res EVF? On a FF camera?
-Lower res sensor? No market space for that, unless you target extreme lo light.
But that isn’t SLT territory by design.
I.e it seems more likely to drop the price on a99, and offer a 36MP FF with Bionz X and updated videomodes, including no more line skipping.
Of course there is. Who wouldn’t buy a FF Sony camera for about a thousand bucks less. They’ve done it before it was called the A850.
It will drop the mirror and the separate AF sensors. OSPDAF is going to get better.
So what features will be dropped to reach $1000 less and still make it interesting on the market?
And still keep the interest up on a99?
I doubt they’ll be any significant differences. Maybe the new mirror sensor at the most. The current A99 is already out of production, and those who were willing to drop $2700.00 for one already have.
Formerly – I expect the a88 to essentially be an a99 perhaps with Wi-Fi / NFC (same ff 24mp) sensor and priced between the 77 & 99. The 99 will either be bumped to the a7r’s 36mp sensor ( plus wifi/NFC, bigger cache, faster processor and maybe 4k video) or the 99 will languish for a year until the new sensor tech may make it’s debut for a full a99-II upgrade (and perhaps an A9r companion camera).
On the one hand, if Sony bumps the a99 that probably means that the new sensor tech isn’t coming in 2016 but if they don’t then it would probably be a lame product if it co-exists with the a88 for a year.
I agree on that. If there is to be two FF models , one has to be higher spec than today’s a99.
Sigma and Tamron are no longer interesting options, since Sony is introducing OSPDAF that only works with Sony lenses. First in A99, now in A79. You won’t be able to use full AF abilities of your camera with a 3rd party lens.
Maybe, but that’s hardly the only reason a lens would be interesting. Character, quality, colour, rendering, etc – none of those are focus related. Sigma are putting out some great lenses of late.
This is the first. I am hearing about af that will only work with sony lenses.
Please give more details
Admin
Is there any truth to this claim about ospdaf that will only work on sony lenses?
It is very important to confirm or deny this rumor because if true this would be a REAL GAME CHANGER and not a good one.
That’s only one of 4 AF modes. I cant’ see how it suddenly makes Tamron or Sigma uninteresting. You do realize that all the other 3 AF modes – which are all that any other camera has – work just fine, don’t you?
Daenor
Please give more details about ospdaf that you say will only work on sony lenses and not 3rd party lenses.
If it’s the same as the a99 system, then it only works with Sony lenses.
I think he is referring to AF-D mode which only works with part of sony’s lens line-up which is only mildly useful.
Barry,
From what I know, the hybrid system from the sony a99 only works with some of the sony lenses. For all other lenses, only the dedicated slt pdaf system works. Just google it.
Barry,
http://www.sony-mea.com/support/faq/553635
I just had a long conversation with a sony rep and heres what I was told.
PDAF is currently ONLY COMPATABLE WITH CERTAIN NEW SONY AND ZIESS LENSES AND NOT COMPATABLE WITH ANY CURRENT 3RD PARTY LENSES.
Sony will continue to manufacture SLT cameras that use contrast detection af and are backwards compatable with older lenses including minolta screw drive.
PDAF requires special sensors to be built into the lens in order to work.
New sony a mount cameras will therefore continue to be slt and if pdaf is included will be a dual focus system.
Bottom line…unless you have only new sony or ziess lenses pdaf will serv absolutely no usefull function.
The problem with Sony inovating new products is that it is very difficult for consumers to buy into a system that keeps changing becaus the current system will not fully utilize the new advances.
Barry,
PDAF is compatible with any lenses.
OSPDAF in SLT (A99 AF-D mode) is only compatible with certain Sony lenses.
Plesse clarify
Based on what I learned mirrorless cannot happen with the pdaf system sony is using unless you awitch to sony lenses.
Please explain what you know about this subject.
Barry,
So long as Sony uses the SLT than legacy lenses will not be compatible with AF-d focus mode. When I attach my minolta 100-200mm lens the AF-d mode does not appear as an option, which is no great loss.
As for whether or not legacy or 3rd party lenses will work with autofocus if Sony goes mirrorless – the lenses should still be able to utilize the cdaf system and you can probably find out by looking into whether legacy / 3rd party lenses autofocus using the la-ea3 (mirror less) adapter for e-mount.
Barry – as I understand it for a-mount ospadf (af-d) to work, it requires a calibrated firmware profile for the lense, which rules out 3rd party support. I think this is because of the presence of the slt mirror (which presumably confuses matters giving 2 sets of data, hence the need for calibration). On the other hand, e-mount lenses are designed for cdaf by default and don’t support pdaf unless they’re specifically designed for it (I’m not sure how adapted dslr lenses fit into this picture – presumably they use cdaf unless it’s an slt adapter). Presumably e-mount lenses need to be able to tell the body to use pdaf… As I understand it, only Sony/Zeiss e-mount lenses are designed for pdaf but presumably it’s open to Sigma etc to support it.
Daenur’s original statement was wrong; his revised statement, in response to Barry, is correct. Just certain Sony lenses will work with the A99’s AFD mode, which may not be a big deal to some, but for others will be, as it materially assists with focus tracking, according to DPR. For all other purposes, however, a photographer using the A99 will do just fine with AF using legacy and third-party lenses; indeed, Sigma continues to include the a-mount along with Canikon as mounts compatible with its newest and best lenses. I suspect that they KNOW the new slt cameras will work with their new lenses.
Of course, Daenur is assuming that the A77 successor will be an slt; it may be, or it may not.
This makes no sense at all. As pointed out in another blog post here the a65 is the ONLY SLT that’s top-selling in Japan. Sony is messing up not offering a full range of APS-C a-mounts. The assumption is people will pony up hundreds more for an a79 (or whatever) is silly.
Sony certainly has no qualms offering a full range of e-mounts. Canikon is cleaning up offering a full range of DSLRs.
This is also crushing any faith I have that Sony will offer a FF a-mount for serious amateurs. If they’ve scaled back APS-C a-mounts to this lousy line-up figure the odds they have much interest in offering as many FFs. A delayed June roll-out for an a79 which Sony has been leaking heavily about (by a-mounts standards) doesn’t bode well for the timing of any a-mount FF roll-out given they’ve been pretty mum about one. I’ll stick with my prediction of an October release for the Christmas season but that may be overly optimistic.
Your not going to see a A65 replacement. It was expensive to produce and cannibalized A77 sales. Sony is profit driven, and has little interest selling cameras that have slim margins.
Quite the opposite. It’s yet ANOTHER delay of a possible A-mount. At this point, by May.. we will see a rumor that the A-mount has been pushed back to October… Then in 2017.. the fan boys will be saying, “oh.. I’m sure this is the year that Sony will release a new A-mount”
In order for there to be a delay ,Sony the camera maker has to announce the camera first tjet have not announced any Amount cameras
So STFU
balderdash
It’s kind of logical. I have always found the low-end SLR cameras to be a strange bird. Question is, will the A77 replacement be the last APSC one as well?
C does still substantially outsell ff and there are some major advantages to C over ff.
Ther is clearly a place for both…i di not expect C to go away.
In fact as the quality of smaller format continues to improve I eventually expect the C sensor kead to increase.
Noone with exception of some nostalgic online commentators wants APS-C to go away. It’s a good business for every company out there. And a matter of survival for one: Pentax.
+1
“low-end SLR cameras to be a strange bird” – why? These were always the most popular cameras, something that made people “hooked up” with specific system, and let them growth some gear collection before stepping up into high-end body. I don’t see anything strange in that. Quite contrary – these are bodies that make most sense of all if one thinks about selling lenses and accessories or future of his system.
Cool story, now bring on the NEX-7 successor announcement!
What would make me buy another DSLR style camera rather than selling my a-mount kit and buying e-mount?
Would have to be far better video. 4K would be nice, but don’t expect it. So full-sensor read-out to 1080p at 30/60/120fps. And, something Sony hasnt done yet, some all-I option, or an alternative to AVCD that offer a higher bit rate than 28Mbps.
Plz!
E mount is not a full system.
No long lenses….no tele-macro….no ibis,so not compatable with A mount.
The only thing E mount is usefull for is compact with wa-normal lenses or for use with non siny lenses.
Also a pro needs to look professional…showing up at a shoot with a pocket camera just will not do that.
I shoot wildlfe and animals..e mount has absolutely nothing for me since i inly use macro and long lenses.
concerning long lenses.. have you seen new tamron shootout on lensrentals?
looks ambitious!
I have already prordered the new 150-600 and am told they should arrive arond the end of the month.
I checked out the shootout..the lens continues to sound good.
Z shift focus would be usefull for this lens as it would not only allow closer focus but also maintain longer focal length at all close focusing distances.
True, e-mount is still limited by lenses. It has some good lenses for the size of the bodies.
99% of my work is at moderately wide to portrait lengths (say, 28->100mm equiv). e-mount if fine for this.
So that’s my point. e-mount would probably be good for me, but if a-mount develops to offer something more *in body* then I may stick with it.
Which means the only real benefit of a-mnount is that it happens to use DSLR sized bodies which offer more power, more cooling, so more scope to offer something like reliable 4K or 1080p@120fps.
Want a video camera??? Go buy a video camera! One that does everything you want. They’ve been making them for years.
The quality of stills photography is being compromised because people want to shoot videos with their stills cameras. Leave that to the pocket cameras – i.e. E mount – if people want that sort of thing, and let A mount cameras be optomised for stills photography.
That’s a rather out-dated view. Inclusion of video does not mean stills photography is any worse.
Just happens that my need is for a photo/video-journalist camera. It needs to excel at both. So far, no affordable stills or video camera does; only expensive/exotic models like some of the Canon hybrids.
A7 is the closest Sony has to my need. But I don’t particulalrly need full-frame or the price that comes with it. Would rather have an a-mount APC-C camera I can use my existing glass with.
Very personal requirements, I know.
Exactly! 4k vid can be accomished on aps-c, so there should be a place for a non-compromised, still dedicated FF.
How many people will buy a stills only camera versus one that can do great stills and video?
SLT & mirrorless Sony bodies are essentially continuously shooting video to feed the EVF / LCD. The option to save that stream as continuous 24/30 frames per second doesnot in any way diminish the ability to record each frame individually as a still photo. It’s childish to think otherwise. If you prefer an aXXX to an aXX do what works for you, but the a900 is in no way superior to the a99 because the latter can save its live view to a memory card.
Same +1
As expected. This means a cheaper FF model for A-mount, I imagine.
I can’t see how you came up with a conclusion like that, but if Sony does release 6D competitor – many people will be happy for sure!
Well, seeing how cheap the a7 is and how they are removing the a65 (maybe not enough price space for 4 APS-C models 3,5,6,7), I think it is a plausible expectation.
Sony has extensively used and produced their 24mp ff sensor (a99, rx1, rx1r, a7, vg-900 and sold to Nikon for d600) so much so that the scale and yields must have made the part fairly inexpensive to produce at this point.
6D competitor already exists, it’s the A99.
More interested in whether Sony is going to release a 5D3 competitor.
Except 6D can be bought for $1,400, or for $1,850 with 24-105/4L lens. Try that with A99.
Your on the wrong site. The 6D is not in the same league. Maybe you should buy one and leave this forum forever. That would makes us all happy.
I’d be all over a cheap ff a-mount! Quite impressed with the a7 but the lens lineup doesn’t do it for me (and probably won’t for at least another couple of years)
Its the A88 and it’s supposed to be launched this spring.
Oh yes definitely got to sort out their video codec…..
This sounds encouraging that it should be major upgrade and new technology.
The fact that we have been waiting so long for an upgrade mkght actually turn ouf to be a good thing.
Of. Course sony being sony I am hoping sonys idea of a major upgrade matcbes my idea of a major updrade.
I may as well think big so how about 36 or 54 mp X 3 LAYERS ? PLUS Z SHIFT FOCUS AND 5 AXIS IBIS?
Barry, you may wish but I think it unlikely that the new sensor technology will be here this year and I suspect it will be seen in a phone first.
That is what we have been told and what I have been thinking too but cosider these clues and see what conclusion you come up with
Sony has been VERY secretive
Sony has been spreading FALSE RUMERS TO MISLEAD
There has been a long time lag between the last A mount innovation and this next one
I would expect some very dissapointed Sony users if this is not something major.
I definitely do not think that their idea of a major upgrade matches ours. They will throw in some megapixels, say 28 or 32; improve the SLT mirror; add wi-fi, maybe a new processor; new jpeg engine and that’s it.
The best way for Sony to sell thier new high resolution lenses is to sell people a much higher resolution camera so they will want the new ‘ll enses to go with it.
And new hot shoe too.
New hot shoe adapter would be nice. Something that keeps the flash on the camera.
A top end flash that doesn’t overheat would also be nice!
The MIS is great, the legacy adapter and the f60
Flash not so much.
I wonder why most people think the next camera will be called a79?
Is it because it would be just typical for Sony to consume a two-digit number series with just two cameras?
Hi,
you know that the A77 successor will (maybe) ship in june but you have no info about NEX-7 successor, specs etc, that will announce in 2 or 3 weeks? Strange… SR1 … SR2 … SR3?
For me the new A77 replacement needs only one feature to achieve stratospheric sales figures, make the translucent mirror lift and retract clear of the light path at the push of a button, or by a slider switch! I am sure there will be amazing new tech inside but if the mirror stays fixed no Canoniks will jump ship and swim across to the SS Sony any time soon!!!!!!!!!!
The SLT mirror would be much less of an issue if it would deliver what it is there for. We were told that this would allow better AF tracking as the AF sensor would always have view of the subject. However, the AF tracking of the A77 is simply hopeless. Give me supperior AF tracking accuracy and I can live with the translucent mirror without any issues. Right now its simply not delivering.
SLT mirror will always be an issue for reviewers and some people regardless of what it delivers. You must realize that some people are simply opposed of having anything in a path of light. To the point where you can find hundreds of “does UV filter affect image quality” tests online. So flip-up mode is a MUST for Sony to achieve any significant growth in sales.
It’s always struck me as being ironic that people complain about SLT and then stick a cheap UV filter on their lenses.
Maybe you should read this review and reconsider the “do not use cheap UV filters” http://www.lenstip.com/113.4-article-UV_filters_test_Description_of_the_results_and_summary.html
I personally do not use ANY UV filter because I want to get the highest resolution possible.
” However, the AF tracking of the A77 is simply hopeless. Give me supperior AF tracking accuracy”
The separate sensors will always be hopeless handheld if only main image sensor is stabilized. Only OSPDAF can fix that.
I’m pretty sure its not the AF that’s hopeless
Mirirless a mount WILL NOT HAPPEN .
PDAF only works with enses that have built in senors…currently only some new sony and ziess lenses.
Unless you are willing to trash your entire collection of lenses SLT is the only option.
Keep the battery the same for compatability…but if new technology allows than increase the capacity onky and change the color so we can tell them apart.
Please keep the new batteries fully interchangeable with the old.
Happy to know that A79 is not a minor upgrade from A77, hope Sony do the same for the coming FF A-mount camera.
We have to wait and see. I would definetly go for it if it would lack the AA filter and would have better fps in video.
So my guess. No more Firmware updates for my A77?
+1. 🙁
olaf, the new firmware of A77 are A79
thats the way how Sony think..
Sony sent introduced a major firmware upgrade for the A700 at the same time they introduced the A900. THAT’s the way Sony thinks.
I’m back to wondering whether a new a-mount is ever coming…
Rumors over the last few months:
– A77 successor in summer of 2013
-Possible a77 successor to be announced fall 2013
-2014 will be year of the a-mount. I believe the rumor was 4 new a-mount cameras to come in 2014
-A-mount to be announced in very early 2014
-Amount to be announced in first quarter 2014
-A-mount pushed back a couple months, more like April
-A-mount in stores early this summer, 1 model only
See a pattern? By May, the rumors will be “A-mount to be announced this fall”… By September it will be, “new cameras to be announced soon. Not sure if it’s a-mount or e-mount”… November, Sony announces the “A____”.. An e-mount camera and a new a-mount adapter!
We are going on 2 years with only 1 a-mount aps-c camera announced… No other dSLR brand has ever had a gap like that.
The delays and long time frame would be consistent with developing and testing a new technology.
We can only hope that they will have something good enough to make the long wait worthwhile.
Meanwhile, losing market share…… Those Japanese sales numbers were telling, that Sony’s dSLR market share is shrinking, which is to be expected when you stop releasing new models, stop promoting your existing models.
Well lets look at reality for a moment….Just as one example
Canon 5D mark 2 announced 17 September 2008
Canon 5D mark 3 announced 2 March 2012
So that is about 3 1/2 years
Getting a bit sick of all the B/S whining on this forum…..
The pattern is Sony’s product release schedule, which is between 36, and 48 months. I don’t expect to see one until mid August.
However an A-Mount is being launched this spring that sits between the A77, and A99. The actual Sony presentation was posted on the forum.
Its likely the fabled A88
June!? So this means Sony likely won’t be selling many a77s for the first of of this year. The a99 is a tough sell too with a replacement likely coming down the pipes right after. So Sony’s two heavyweight a-mount cameras are not going to be generating many sales till replacements begin in June. I worry for Sony. A small line up with huge gaps between upgrades further thwarted by six month in advance sales killing rumours. The only benefactor is anyone who wants to pick up a cheap used a77/a99. Good for Sony for their success in emount though. That is good to see.
Good for Sony and the E-mount… Exactly. It all feels like Sony’s intent to transition their customer base to the E-mount. With the promise of a long distant A-mount on the horizon to try to prevent current users from switching systems.. while trying to coax them to the E-mount. There will never be an official announcement killing the A-mount… they will simply sell out of their existing cameras and stop making new ones.
There is no secrecy about E-mount being targeted at beginners and amateurs while A-mount becoming focused at pros and demanding amateurs.
The A7r is not targeted at beginners and amateurs! Nor is the A7, or upcoming A7000. The E-mount is being sold to everyone, from beginners to professionals. You see many professionals shooting with the A58? … The A-mount is being sold to….. {silence}… nobody.
Where the specs for the Nex 7 successor?
This is good news! I’ve been wanting a cheaper grip for my A77.
Thanks for the info admin 🙂
BTW , since we are talking about June , Do you know if we are going to see upgrade for RX100 and RX100ii (like new two RX200/ii ) ? or only RX100iii ? I’m very interested on the next RX 🙂
If it going to be in stock like the A7/A7R and FE lenses then April means Late August at best.
June?! That’s a bit of a wait 🙁 Any news on a cheap ff a-mount? I had a play with an a7 at the weekend and was very impressed – only deal breaker is the lack of oss primes (oss 24mm/2.8, 35/1.8, 50/1.8 and 100/2.8 macro please).
The 7 labeling was traditionaly reserved for the introduction of new tech. But I havn’t noticed rummors of such a brand new tech yet. OSPDAF would be too little in my oppinion.
So the rumoured A77 replacement is now a year later than trusted sources initially told you?
A-mount = Death by a thousand cuts.
Year later? What? It’s right on schedule. First half of 2014. Actually – I recall rumors that said it might be released on August or September, so you might even say that it’s sooner than expected!
You have a short memory.
A year ago, it was SR5 that the A77 replacement would be released in mid 2013. Then as recently as weeks ago, it was SR4 that it would be announced in January/February 2014.
I pretty much figured any rumors of 2 APS-C a-mounts coming out was unlikely. Sony just doesn’t want to support a full range. Too bad. I’m an a65 owner who noted one of the recent posts here showed the a65 was the only SLT top-selling in Japan. No a99. No a77. No a58. Is Sony deliberately trying to fail with the a-mount?
So Sony will offer a low-end DSLR which is a poor seller – at least in Japan – and a higher end APS-C DSLR which sells less (in Japan, at least) than the mid-range one.
Also, it doesn’t surprise me Sony is in no hurry to release a-mounts. We get an a5000 in April. The a79 (or whatever) lags until June. Bodes poorly for an a-mount FF release date, IMHO. Anyone want to bet the other NEX replacements hit the street first too?
If Sony doesn’t offer a FF a-mount in the price range of an amateur like myself (basically, cheaper than an a7R with vertical grip to make its handling tolerable and LA-EA4 for my a-mount glass) I’ll have to completely rethink my options. And if their APS-C a-mount support is this crappy figure the odds they come out with decent FF options. Do I just give up entirely on FF and stick with my a65 or sell my Sony system on Fleabay and switch to Nikon? I could wait until the next Sony refresh cycle some years down the pike but it’s obvious their a-mount support is only going to get more pathetic. I may still consider the a7R but it seems a lot of money for a camera who’s performance likely will disappoint using anything but expensive FE glass.
Sell Sell Sell!
Time to sell my a77. I guess I’ll just keep the a900 until the next full frame comes out. A77 is great but I just don’t see the point anymore outside wildlife- even then. I’d actually prefer OMD or e-mount for non full frame work. Say what you will, but small and versatile is very seductive. Plus I only shot primes mostly zeiss at this point. Sony really needs to have multiple ongoing full frame options in a mount. One overpriced flagship simply does not cut it.
same here, if it doesnt appealing me, then my NEX 5 wolud be my C camera for waiting cheap FF to come
I’ll just keep the a900, too. Angry on Sony put almost new A65 directly in garbage. It isn’t even B camera, it’s a toy.
So you’re mad that they discontinued what to you is a toy camera in lieu of releasing one “real” one?
Let’s face it Sony is not like canikon. They aren’t going to update their cameras every year. Its also been 2 years since the NEX 7. All the news in E mount has been in the 3 and 5 models and glass. They are simply updating the models that they believe has the best chance of sales. Your A79 is coming, but if it’s not a hot seller, expect another 2 years before the next upgrade. This is life outside the mainstream. You A mount owners chose this life when you signed up. You guys are the biggest whiners in camera land. How many years have Nikon owners waited for the D400? How many years since the Canon 7D? Now the rumors is the 7D may not get updated ever. The market for cameras is shrinking. We’re going to have to live with fewer updates and fewer models just like cameras pre-digital. I fully expect 2-3 years before the A7 and A7R gets updated. Sony is not in business to make a profit not to allay your anxieties over lack of yearly updates.
Nobody is concerned about support for their CaNikon mount disappearing regardless about how long they take to refresh models, THAT’S the difference.
+100500
You guys bought A mount for the wrong reasons then. It was always a gamble to not buy canikon. I didn’t buy into E mount expecting Sony to support them forever. These are not investments. I bought into sony because it fit my needs, and I know they will continue to work even if sony exited the camera biz. If you wanted a stable mount, there only exist 2 in all of camera land. If stability is what you wanted, you bought into the wrong brand.
When I bought into A-mount there was NO reason to suspect that it was not going to be supported. There was no other mount made by Sony.
Stop trying to be clever, you just aren’t.
He hasn’t figured out
That Sony’s camera release schedule is pre-determined, and cameras are released on standard intervals of between 36, and 48 months.
Has no clue that
The A-Mount was launched in 1985, and is the first AF lens mount. It has endured through the Minolta era, its take over by Konika, and its subsequent acquisition by Sony.
And will never understand that
The A-Mount remains the third most used lens mount in the world, because of its faithful users like you and I
Because he is not an ALPHA user and never will be.
The only thing unstable is @CALXN
Seriously just sell it all and switch to Canon or Nikon. You’ll feel much better. What a load off!
Seriously Nick go away! Your obviously a Canon or Nikon lover:)
Priceless
The second FF A-Mount is about to drop and this t@@l is telling you to sell.
He wasn’t an ALPHA user anyways
Hang on, the ride hasn’t even started.
There are hints of truth in what you are saying. Sony refreshed bodies faster than anyone – and the dogs are always barking about why they aren’t getting their new bones.
It’s guaranteed that there will be mostly complaining when the new camera comes out – about some feature or another that it doesn’t have, or doesn’t have “enough” of.
I think, overall, people find themselves with Sony because they are more restless, eccentric and difficult to please. It’s hard to make the rational and conservative choice to be in the Sony system – let’s face it.
So, we’re left with a larger proportion of interesting, quirky, (even adorable!) shooters… and complete lunatics.
It’s quite fun, though – that much is true. There are so many likable characters in this system – that’s a good thing when you are in it for the good times and a hobby. Why share it with boring people?
‘Difficult to please’?
SAR is the only place where really good news (such as a major upcoming camera release) is lambasted as evil by 80% of the readership 🙂
interesting perspective!
I’m a Mac user from the beginning too. Macintosh computers don’t dominate the desktop but they make a significant impact. Apple innovates the rest follow.
Canon and Nikon simply do not innovate. They’re no different than Microsoft. They shovel the same garbage out ever year to the same boring slugs.
A-Mount users are a different breed altogether, we are not afraid to be different or of innovate.
or tear each other apart for fun
Continueing the A77 rant. First, after almost two years of use I absolutely loved it. It’s never let me down either and with the 16-50 I’ve gotten stellar images. However, personal tastes and changes in the market are pushing both myself and other consumers in another direction.
T
1) Wildlife- I finally got into this and EVF lags. Also, for some odd reason my a900 hits more shots than the A77 with BIF’s. In bright daylight the EVF suffers as well and is a bit hard on my eyes.
2) Totally personal here, but I shot primes. For this I prefer FF. Again, completely personal but I actually prefer the larger FOv for this.
3) Bulky for traveling. I did a few trips overseas and it worked, but lugging around a bag of primes meant I had to be more methodical and deliberate in my photography.
4) New crop of smaller cameras are creating more versatility. This is good for photography if it means people use them more. In my case, outside of full on FF goodness, I think mirrorless covers 85 percent of most peoples needs.
Just my 2 cents.
Apparently the new slt mirror with greater light transmission is an important improvement because mirrorless a mount is not going to happen.
PDAF will only work with special new sony and zeiss lenses that have built in sensors.
When and if sony ever eliminates the slt mirror your entire lens collection becomes instant trash.
Man you talk some trash…Didn’t realise you were so much more onto it than Sony’s engineers…
Read the earlier posts to understand…the problem is real.
Sorry but only in your mind…
calm down, you talk about the a99 af-d mode, nothing else. the camera works perfectly fine without af-d. and nobody knows what will happen further on. either they find a better solution, or they will stay with slt. I don’t think it’s very important. a-mount mirrorless and slt should behave pretty much the same, apart from the light loss, (which I think is non issue).
animalsbybarry, please understand that you’re using the term “PDAF” interchangeably to refer to three distinct implementations that are not directly comparable with one another.
Mirrored PDAF is what is currently used across A-mount bodies as well as on E-mount bodies with the LA-EA2 and LA-EA4 adapters. On its own, a PDAF system can only tell the camera 2 pieces of information: whether the image is in phase (ie, in focus) and if not, whether it is back or front focused.
Relevant to your concern, a mirrored PDAF system needs to know something about the behavior of the attached lens in order to determine how many turns of the focus screw is needed in order to bring the out of phase image into phase. Different manufacturers handle this in different ways but for the most part, it is a 2 part solution:
1) Maintain some level of consistency in terms of focus gearing and helicoid design across lenses.
2) Maintain an internal table of corrections to apply depending on the lens attached.
When the A-mount was first developed, all the camera was able to determine was the identity of the lens and how many turns of the screw it took to focus the lens to infinity (this is one of the reasons why your camera will fully rack in and rack out a lens when mounted).
A mirrored PDAF system is robust enough such that you can achieve surprisingly good results with this model. Distance encoding is probably utilized on modern bodies to some extent but I can’t speak to this as that is not something I’m familiar with.
Now, what you are concerned about is that Sony is ditching the mirrored approach and using on-sensor PDAF exclusively and adopt a NEX-6/A7-like model. This will, in all likelihood, not happen for a few reasons.
First off, you need to understand that OSPDAF on its own is nothing. On the ILCE models, OSPDAF works in conjunction with CDAF. OSPDAF still provides phase information to aid in tracking but CDAF is used to confirm focus.
Second, the calibration process for OSPDAF is completely different from mirrored PDAF, so you cannot switch back and forth between the two. This is why, for example, that even if you use the LA-EA1/3 adapters with a SAM or SSM lens, OSPDAF makes no difference because the calibration information is nonexistent. This is also why several E-mount lenses needed firmware updates in order to work with OSPDAF when it debuted (I believe on the NEX-5N) – this was to store the calibration info in the lens.
Now, you may ask yourself why you can’t just create calibration profiles for A-mount lenses to work with OSPDAF+CDAF systems. The answer here is two-fold: first, the calibration profiles are much more complex when dealing with OSPDAF (and CDAF as well). Second, in order to effectively use these calibration profiles to focus quickly, you need finer control over the movement of the focusing elements on a lens than what a screw-drive motor, SAM motor, or SSM motor provide. E-mount lenses are equipped with stepper motors that allow for this level of fine adjustment (over in Canon land, they label such lenses with STM).
So an ILCE-like OSPDAF+CDAF system, while technically usable with A-mount lenses, is not going to work well until Sony reissues all A-mount lenses with a stepper motor.
However, the A99 implements OSPDAF + mirrored PDAF which obviates this. The A99 calls this AF-D and this is what everyone is referring to when they are trying to assuage you of your concerns about your lens collection being trash.
AF-D is still fundamentally mirrored PDAF, but one where the camera’s AF system can obtain feedback from additional AF sensor points directly from the sensor. In AF-D, the OSPDAF sensors cannot be used to acquire focus. They only kick in after a subject has been acquired by the mirrored PDAF module and provide the ability for the camera to make fine adjustments to focus after focus lock but before shutter release.
Since OSPDAF fulfills a very different purpose here, the issues I described above with an OSPDAF+CDAF system above do not apply to the same degree. But the calibration data itself is still rather complex and the A-mount does not have the necessary functionality to store this data within the lens itself (they can add additional pins to the A-mount but if they did this, you would again have to buy new lenses anyway).
So Sony’s method of requiring firmware support is the compromise that represents the best value for Alpha shooters at the moment.
I can only speculate as to why third-party lens makers are not supported but I think the most likely explanation is that in order to do that, third-party lens makers must supply details about their lens designs to Sony which may expose trade secrets and they simply don’t want to deal with the legal wranglings that are entailed in doing this. Certainly, I’m sure Sony would prefer that their customers buy first party lenses as well.
But the key point here is that it is almost an impossibility for Sony to simply abandon mirrored PDAF altogether (whether it is done by pellicle mirror, traditional flappy mirror, or some as-of-yet unannounced alternative) and maintain compatibility with A-mount lenses.
I suspect someone will mention that Olympus was able to provide PDAF on a u4/3 body for their 4/3 lenses but it is worth pointing out what 4/3 lenses have that A-mount lenses lack: stepper motors (all 4/3 lenses are focus-by-wire), and lens calibration data in firmware (used for AF but also for in-body lens correction).
Quick correction: Olympus 4/3 lenses do not all have stepper motors, only some do.
TL;DR version:
SLT PDAF is not the same as OSPDAF + SLT PDAF (AF-D), which in turn is not the same as OSPDAF + CDAF (ILCE/NEX). animalsbybarry is confusing the three and making the assumption that because a camera has OSPDAF, it can safely ditch the mirror and thus, you are left with a camera that only autofocuses with first-party lenses.
This is not the case.
As many have pointed out, AF-D still maintains “classic” PDAF for use with all lenses. For reasons I explain, the OSPDAF sensors do require explicit support from Sony in order to work with various lenses. But, AF-D is still a classic PDAF system that just uses the OSPDAF as “helpers”. Not having OSPDAF support for a lens does not prevent it from autofocusing via PDAF.
A-mount APS-S makes just as little sense as E-mount FF. Just bigger standard lenses for no reason.
That’s why I’m moving completely to FF with A-mount and for smaller stuff probably OMD or e-mount aps-c. A-mount crops are stuck in a sandwich that’s getting thinner everyday IMO.
Yeah, and by June 2014, A77 will be almost 3 y/o and everybody will forget about Sony making cameras in that class. They have lost market share in DSLR/DSLT category as it is.
Alright, we’ve put this off long enough now.
It’s very obvious that Sony is letting A-mount atrophy and die of natural causes. No if’s and’s or but’s.
I am putting all of my A-mount gear up on Ebay for sale TODAY.
Sad. Its been a great ride.
Post the item numbers.
100% awesome. Does that mean your finally leaving??? We didn’t need your negativity.
I guess innovation scares the weak minded
Sorry, The rude comment is for Nick.
He’s being dramatic. There’s no way he’d sell off his A99 with 70200G. Its just not possible.
Enjoy the ebay and paypal fees.
any sal70200G you have for sale today?
we would pay today a bit more before they all want to get rid of their A mount.
I sold it all through Craigslist LA already! I sold A99+VG, A77+VG, 70-200G, 70-400G, 500/8, 24-70/2.8, 50/1.4, 135/2.8, 100/2.8, 3 Metz 58AF, 300/2.8, and other misc odds and ends for just over $10k. Sure, I gave some of it away, but I’m off to start my new life with Nikon (just ordered a D800E with holy trinity lenses on B&H). Its a very liberating feeling to get rid of this uncertain burden! Best of luck with Sony everyone!
Best of luck and no hard feelings. In the end, it’s what works for you. I’m suprised if certainty is your thing you didn’t go Canon. Good luck.
Bye!!!
You’ll come crawling back some time after the A99 is replaced. Well that’s unless Nikon tries to be innovative for once.
Wasn’t the Nex 7 successor going to be unveiled at the end of January?
AlphaGuy you wasting with him
He hasn’t figured out
That Sony’s camera release schedule is pre-determined, and cameras are released on standard intervals of between 36, and 48 months.
Has no clue that
The A-Mount was launched in 1985, and is the first AF lens mount. It has endured through the Minolta era, its take over by Konika, and its subsequent acquisition by Sony.
And will never understand that
The A-Mount remains the third most used lens mount in the world, because of its faithful users like you and I
Because he is not an ALPHA user and never will be.
The only thing unstable is CALXN
I’m bummed. I’m still plugging along with an a700, not ‘sold’ on the A77 and awaiting what’s next. In the meantime, I see B&H is giving away Sony grips with A77 buys, which is tempting. Feels stupid, tho, buy what is essentially a discontinued camera to replace a model from 2007! This shizzle gets out of date fast!
That sucks, I need the replacement for my Alpha 77 as it has done >400,000 shots and plays up with shutter lag and freezing. I needed it for march for my daughters world championship Icehockey. I brought one of those rubbish qx100s to take the pressure of the click rate of my alpha.
I have >200,000 on facebook as I take ~3,000 clicks a week and I have to throw away ~ 1000 because of the lag.
Need this new A79 urgently. Hopefully it will have the same grip and batteries (too much to ask?)
They’re launching a A88 very soon.
Its designed to sit between the A77, and A99 in Sony’s product line.
Its supposed to launch at CP+
http://www.cpplus.jp/en/
http://www.sonyalpharumors.com/one-a-mount-camera-that-will-replace-both-a77-and-a99/
I think it is great that Sony reduce their product line. This allows them to concentrate their resources to produce better cameras….
+1
100% I agree totally. I rather wait for a quality product.
I’m only interested in FF A-Mount. Too much glass in my inventory to go any other way.
Don’t discount the A77 its packs a some serious heat.
I really keep the A77 for those time I need the extra equivalent focal length. Its the perfect camera to keep mounted on the 70400G, 70300G or 500F80. Where it really shines.
I talked to more people and did a little more detective work and it all points to this….
Sony plans to eventually make mirrorless A mount.
ONLY THE NEWEST SONY AND ZIESS LENSES WILL WORK WITH THE NEW OSPDAF THAT SONY IS USING!!!!
NO 3RD PARTY LENSES WILL WORK!!!!
This may be the big secret that Sony is keeping!!!
Sony has done this before with thier other devisions
Sony unsuccessfully attempted to sell propritary beta tapes!
Sony sucessfully used thier film division to boycott HDDVD in favor of Sony proprietsry Blu Ray.
Sony attempted to force everyone to use proprietary memory sticks by unsuccesfully.
Sony is now putting thier own proprietary PDAF on thier sensors that will only work with the newest Sony lenses that require a special sensor built into the lens.
The result if Sony succeeds will be to give sony a monopoly on lenses for use in the new A mount cameras.
I hope I am wrong and sony does not do this but…..
ASK QUESTIONS, DEMAND ANSWERS OR YOU MAY FIND YOURSELF WITH A COLLECTION OF WORTHLESS LENSES AND BE FORCED TO BUY ONLY SONY LENSES.
I hope I am wrong but I think we need to be sure.
No Barry, Sony is readying the launch of a second FF SLT.
http://www.sonyalpharumors.com/one-a-mount-camera-that-will-replace-both-a77-and-a99/
I know someone who has already seen the product.
Oh and Dyxum has the complete list of lenses.
All AFD compatible lenses are Sony or Minolta and have eight metal contact points at the base of the camera. I really don’t see it as being a huge selling feature. They have something else waiting for Photokina 2014+, its A-Mount and no one is talking.
Brwat
I hope i am wrong but here is my concern..
The current on sensor pdaf only works with the new sony lenses.
As long as sony has slt mirror and these are only used for dual af old lenses will work and there is no problem.
When Sony goes mirrorless then all that will be left are pdaf that only work with special sony lenses.
I cannot afford a whole new system and am very afraid of being unable to upgrade to a better sony camera without replacing every lens I own.
As i am sure you know i very much want to upgrade to a higher resolution camera than is currently available and want it to work with my current lenses.
I think the product your producing is excellent. I doubt this new technology will live up to the hype, its really just marketing spin.
Sony always ensure backwards compatibly. They had plenty of chances to make our older Minolta lenses obsolete but they didn’t.
I read that Sony is working to ensure that all of their lenses will be compatible with the new technology. Its in their interest to keep us buying their lenses, because they earn over 50% margin on each lens sale.
animalsbybarry, please see my post above (it was a reply to one of your earlier posts). The PDAF situation simply will not be as dire as you make it out to be, I hope my explanation clarifies.
Thanx everyone for explaining this.
I am less. Worried now about not beng able to use my lenses.
4K C100 competitor?
What do you mean, ‘rumors’, ‘detective work’?
We’ve known this since the release of A99
I’ll be waiting for this, I still use A35 and want to get A77 but I think I better wait since A77 is old enough, but if I can’ wait, I’d just get A7 instead.
My Sony’s pellicide mirror has excellent transmission characteristics, it is in a box on a shelf, and I am manual focusing without it! 🙂
I am stupid!
Notice the missing “T” in my username…
Regardless of anything else, as long as Sony keep doing good EVFs I will strongly consider buying them. Wake up Canonikon, trying to use LCD menus with glasses on and viewfinder without them on is a PITA!