You can download the latest Sony financial report at http://www.sony.net/SonyInfo/IR/financial/fr/. But here are some key info:
Sony is still writing red numbers and the forecast for 2014 still doesn’t look good. That said the Imaging Division is doing good. The overall sales decreased 2.0% year-on-year but Sony managed to increase the net income which is writing black numbers. Sony says:
This decrease was primarily due to a significant decrease in unit sales of compact digital cameras and video cameras reflecting a contraction of these markets, partially offset by the favorable impact of foreign exchange rates during the current fiscal year. And sales increased primarily due to the favorable impact of foreign exchange rates as well as an increase in unit sales of interchangeable single-lens cameras.
So overall the Imaging business is doing fine and that’s good to know because it means Sony will keep pushing on it. Also important to note is that their System cameras are selling fine! Now let’s hope the company as a whole will recover soon too!
—
A7s and RX100M3 Preorders:
Sony A7s preorder in USA/CA at Amazon (Click here), Adorama (Click here), BHphoto (Click here), Sony (Click here), Sony Canada.
RX100M3 preorders in USA at Amazon (Click here), Adorama (Click here), BHphoto (Click here), Sony (Click here).
RX100M3 preorders in Eu at Sony DE, UK, ES, FR, IT, NL, BE, AT, CH, SE, NO, FI, PT.
RX100M3 in Asia at Amazon Japan.
Sony A7s EU pages (no preorder yet): Sony DE, UK, ES, FR, IT, NL, SE, FI, PL.
A77II Preorders:
Sony A77II body in USA at Amazon (Click here), Adorama (Click here), Sony Store (Click here) and BHphoto (Click here).
Sony A77II with 16-50mm lens at Amazon (Click here), Adorama (Click here), Sony Store (Click here) and BHphoto (Click here).
Sony A77II body in Europe at Sony Germany, Sony UK, Sony France, Sony IT, ES, NL, BE, AT, CH, PT, NO, SE, FI.
SonyAlphaRumors support note: If you use these store links to preorder the camera I will earn a small commission that will help me to cover the cots and if preorders are high also reward me a bit for the daily work I do on SAR. Thanks for your help guys!!!!
0 Responses
It would be interesting to know how much of those ILCs are actual Alphas, and how much are NEX. Did A-Mount sales grow at all?
With the lack of new and interesting cameras beeing released in the last 2 years, I highly doubt that A-mount camera sales were doing well. If there was an increase, its the NEX and the A7 for sure. And so far I dont see this changing as Sony is not releasing A-mount cameras or lenses which would be interesting in their feature set. And while they are capable to do it for the E-mount, they just fail miserably on the A-mount.
I would agree
Sony introduced a lot of new E mounts and people want new and improved.
In A mount little new was released..thea77II js basically minor improvement on the a77.
Other companies like Nikon who depend heavily on slr cameras are doing terrible.
Sony has retooled one of thier sensor factories for stacked sensor produtction and purchased a chip factory from nintendo to increase overall chip prodhction.
Sony should take the stacked sensors off Sonys shelf and stack then on store shelves sooner rather than later.
Was this info about stacked sensors given to you by the same fake “Sony executive”?
All this info has previously appeared on sar
The opinion about what sony should do is my own
I think you’re always forgetting that business decisions are not made to advance technology or for users, they are mostly made in terms of profitability. Being able to fine-tune a technology that already exists is muchhh cheaper than releasing a new one. The fact that Sony is releasing a 12 MP sensor optimized for high ISO is evidence that they are going for optimization before innovation. It’s time to get real about the stacked sensor because your obsession is getting tiring.
IMO, I’d rather see more lenses before getting a new type of sensor anyway.
Decisions are based on cost and market demand.
If a new technology is possible but too expensive it wll not be produced even if the marketplace wants it.
For this reason I fully expect sony to stick with existing bayer sensor desighns and only make those improvements that will be used in the new stacked sensors…examples are..gapless microlens, pdf focusing…I do not expect us to ever see a higher resolution bayer sensor than is currently available because that cannot be carried into the next generation sensor.
In the meantime I expect sony will innovate the camera itself as this will help determine market demand and the most succesfull camera features will be carried forward with the next new sensor technology.
This is what I expect sony to do until they release stacked sensors.
The next A mount cameras will probably simply incorporate the a7 series sensors into a99 like bodies, and some new body desighns will apppear to see how they fly.
The curved sensor ff with 35mm lens will appear with a exmor R sensor.
This will be the first ff exmor R sensor and if they match the pixel density of the current 1″ exmor R sensor would be 150mp…I am not predicting we will see that many mp but am hopefull….exmor R is particularly well suited to high pixel density.
We are also now seeing the introduction of diffraction reduction technology in some new sony cameras..this is another sighn that higher resolution is on the way.
I would like to see us as users put pressure on sony to speed up this evolution.
Another development has occured that will drastically change sensor technology.
Just as stacked sensors will certainly replace bayer…graphene sensors will far surpass stacked sensors.
Do not missunderstand me…graphene is newly discovered and in its infancy..it will be a long time before it finds its way into simple products and even longer before sensors and other complex products appear with then.
But sony has the next future technology to research and can now release thier current high end teech to us because the next one is already in thier hands.
IMO, pushing Sony to release new sensor technology is going to work against people who buy Sony cameras. We need lenses and better flash system before that.
Theres hundreds of lenses out there for your Sony camera of every shape size and speed by Sony, Zies, Tamron,Sigma, and if you use e mount you can quadruple that list.
No amount of lenses will satisfy you and none of them will work without a camera.
3 lenses for e-mount. Would like a longer portrait/short telephoto with OSS which will probably be released soon. I don’t need long lenses but lots of people want one, especially to compete with MFT offerings, and improve the 55-210 because it can’t quite compete with the Fuji in terms of quality. Some lenses are also pretty aweful (16mm pancake) and would need to be updated, but I think that Sony will release a FF pancake soon enough to replace the 16mm and 20mm as they have both been heavily discounted recently.
IMO, as of now, e-mount lenses are quite unequal in terms of quality which makes it very unattractive to lots of people. I’m lucky that the lenses I want are reasonable enough quality-wise because I don’t like the rendering of Fuji or the MFT sensors. But they have lenses, not necessarily more but often better.
Sony should get Sigma to fill in the holes and be done with it.
For a-mount, the lenses are more filled up but the flash system doesn’t appear to be good enough for professional work. Nikon and especially Canon’s success show that reliability and predictability are what people buy, especially professionnals. My income is not tied to my camera so I can deal with the uncertainty.
So hopefully you can see that we only use a small fraction of the lenses that are availble to us…
Hollering for the specific lens that you want may serve a function but just hollering for more lenses is pointless.
The question is not how many you use but whether they offer a selection that is large enough to please a wide audience so that they can have the sales. If I need only 3 lenses but I was shooting bird mostly, there is no way in hell that I would go for Sony. MFT would be a much wiser choice.
You may be right, but Alpha cameras such as the a77 have been dropping in price and I bet people are buying them too.
Not in the US. Market share for Sony Alpha DSLRs has been dropping and now approaches 1% at retail. It’s E and FE that’s driving increased ILC sales.
Lets see some references, Thom.
Unfortunately all sources of actual retail information are pay-to-play and covered by non-disclosure agreements, so I can’t show you the actual numbers without violating a contract I signed. But you might ask your local Sony dealer if he’s a member of PMA and to have him show you the latest NPD numbers that are sent to members monthly.
A liars way of spreading falsehoods without having any proof.
I believe it’s around 7%. There’s no way it’s below Pentax’s market share.
He’s saying the new sales are below 1%. Which I believe.
The Sony A-mount system is contracting rapidly (falling 3-4% per year now) and they’re at <5% market share as of the last report Q4 2013. Below Pentax. So…I think those stats are pretty darn clear as to what the writing on the wall is.
Much to my surprise and disappointment, A-mount appears to be dying a rapid death.
Admin, anyone, is this true??? I agree very conclusive if true.
🙁
Where can we see this info?
As I said, you and Whistler might be right and to a big extent quite probably are. But I doubt a-mount sales have fallen so low. This is obviously a simple guess on my part, but until I see some real numbers, I’ll hold onto it 🙂 what do you base your 1% on? Is it a guess or you have data (given this is the internet, I have to specify that this question is honest curiosity)?
I base it on numbers from one of the companies that track retail sales in the US. I can’t talk about the specifics of those numbers due to non-disclosure requirements. But the cash register receipts in the US have been pretty dramatic this past year, with Canon/Nikon now absolutely dominating DSLR sales here in a way never seen before.
The numbers I see from a similar source in Europe show better results for Sony DSLRs, but I don’t see monthly numbers there, so it’s more difficult to read trends.
It seems clear to me that every camera company is moving stock to where it sells best. The problem with that is that the best you can do with that sort of scenario is pick up share in a region that’s maybe 20% of total sales. Even that backfired for Olympus, as they lost share in the market they shipped 50% of their units to.
The US is becoming a particularly tough market. The Big Box stores are all cutting back on cameras, and big time. This leaves dealers and the Internet, which depending upon whose numbers you believe, split out about 85/15%.
Dealers need coop advertising support and a broad line to survive. We’ve seen Olympus, Panasonic, and Pentax all pull back from broad dealer networks here. Internet only sales are trickier than people think. If there’s no place to try out a camera, the camera has to get really high hype on the Web to sell well. And, as one company recently discovered, if the hype is greater than the product delivers, you get strong returns.
To answer your question more generally: I have access to four or five sources of sales data beyond what CIPA reports (which is only production and shipments, not sales). I work with several financial analysts that follow the camera market in trying to assess what changes in those numbers mean, and sometimes they’ll share additional information they have that I don’t have access to.
Gotcha. Thanks for the informative post, appreciated.
Complete “Bull Shit” see any of the slides above the A-Mount has seen a dramatic rise in sales in the last two years driven by A65, A77, and A99 sales.
The mis-information you are spewing is show a complete lack of character. Your sound like a Shill.
Look at the pretty slide, Its showing the real figures. The A-Mount, E-Mount, and FE-Mount are all growing, and driving sales.
The A-Mount is 30% of Sony camera revenue, so your spinning some serious lies. The question is why?
Do you work for the competition?
Complete “Bull $hit” see any of the slides above the A-Mount has seen a dramatic rise in sales in the last two years driven by A65, A77, and A99 sales.
The mis-information you are spewing is show a complete lack of character. Your sound like a Shill.
Look at the pretty slide, Its showing the real figures. The A-Mount, E-Mount, and FE-Mount are all growing, and driving sales.
The A-Mount is 30% of Sony camera revenue, so your spinning some serious lies. The question is why?
Do you work for the competition?
I think the best answer is looking at how Sony is handling announcements. It looks like FEs are growing (probably because Sony has no competition), ASP-C ILCEs are stagnate or a bit less, and a-mounts are on inevitable decline (IMHO, largely caused by Sony’s decision to let mirrorless cannibalize DSLRs).
How to arrive at the above conclusion is pretty simple. Sony is pouring most of their innovation into FEs cranking out most of their exciting new tech like 36MP sensors, low-res sensors and 4k in that mount. ASP-Cs are seeing cost-cutting consolidation and a shift to the budget consumer market with the cheap a6000 topping the line. Looking at the disappointing me-too APS-C a77II, very little effort went into it. Sony looks like it assigned 5 engineers to tweak its AF/FPS based upon lessons learned/tech transfers from the a6000.
With the a-mount always being the last one to be announced, it’s obvious it’s a poor seller and low priority at Sony. I’d hoped the delay in the a77II was because Sony would surprise us with some new tech but it wasn’t meant to be. That’s why I’ve discounted any hype over an a88/a99II to expect, at best, some pale transfer of a7/a7R tech to the a-mount FF and, hopefully, some decent AF/FPS buffing like the a77II. It wouldn’t surprise me if 1 of those never sees light of day.
It also looks like the Sony line-up of enthusiast all-in-ones like the RX100m3 are doing very well because Sony looks like they’re pouring their heart and soul into them.
“IMHO, largely caused by Sony’s decision to let mirrorless cannibalize DSLRs”
Mirrorless would cannibalize DSLR sale anyhow. That’s where things are headed, whether your like it or not, especially because bodies and lenses can be smaller (which consumers prefer) and on the business side of things they are made with fewer pieces which means cheaper to produce and to repair (see http://www.lensrentals.com/blog/2014/01/the-a7r-teardown-a-look-inside-sonys-awesome-full-frame-mirrorless-camera).
So all Sony is doing is embarking early in the mirrorless train. They have a very comfortable foothold in that market that will only become more and more important due to pressure from consumers and investors.
The consolidation of DSLR and mirrorless technology you are talking about will undoubtedly happen. Sony seems to be keen on dropping that mirror, and what this will mean for DSLR users is more investment in the sensor technology because Sony will use it in many cameras. Nikon and Canon will lag behind as soon as mirrorless technology catches up with DSLR, and their mirrorless offering are unlikely to even catch up.
IMO, Sony is choosing its battle for now, and they are going full steam ahead into e-mount. I think it just means that a-mount is relegated to a second place for until e-mount becomes more mature, which could happend in 1-2 years.
I think consumers will be happy with a- or e-mount, but it won’t be able to compete in terms of maturity with Canon or Nikon for quite some time (in terms of lenses/flash at least).
Tablet, and DSLRs seem to be the future
Yeah apparently your living in a bubble. Any place you go in North America you’ll see Nikon, Canon, or Alpha DSLR’s, because there is real demand for them.
I just came back from the Tulip festival in Ottawa Canada, (massive numbers of photographers flock to the event) and I only saw one mirror-less camera a NEX 5.
This year I noticed a large numbers of A-Mount users (if anything the A-Mount community is growing), and its only on a rare occasion that you’ll see a mirror-less camera.
More people were using iPads than mirror-less
Maybe Canon, and Nikon should make tablets.
A-Mount profitability grew, because Sony has managed to eliminate (expensive to manufacture) low margin products like the A37, and A57 that we’re dragging it down.
Yes it would be interesting to see which mount systems are selling…Sony is on the right track though, which is encouraging for all Sony shooters
E and FE, basically.
B.S.
The APS-C A-Mount cameras sell extremely well. The A58, 65, and 77 easily outsell any of the mirror-less cameras outside of Asia with the exception of China.
In China the A-Mount outsells the E-Mount by a wide margin.
I can’t speak to China as I know of no reliable source of accurate data from there, but in the numbers I see from the US and Europe–countries that are still more prone to DSLR purchase than mirrorless–the Alpha mount DSLRs don’t outsell the Sony mirrorless cameras, and the A7 cameras basically sealed that here in the US.
The data is directly from Sony. Their imagery division did out standing and the A-Mount drives 25% of it profit
Care to explain what “Component Ratio” means? Sales? Units?
What that chart likely DOES NOT say is “profits” as you suggest.
I’m a bit suspicious about charts like this, especially with the name “target business segments” and a bar that goes well beyond 100% ;~).
Google it troll!!!
Or maybe its time you look at the chart, at the beginning of the post.
Slide 1 plus Slide 2 = Increasing Alpha Mirror-Less, and Alpha SLT sales.
If you can’t figure out the answer by reviewing the two slides your a bona-fide idiot!!!
I did Google it. It’s part of Tanaka-san’s marketing presentation and represents overall global digital camera sales from all players, not Sony’s increasing Alpha sales. Who’s the troll? ;~)
You your spreading utter lies on a Alpha site.
What in my statement about Tanaka-san’s presentation is a lie?
What YOU’RE doing on a public site is called libel. Google it.
I hope they turn profitable and sell the TV and other losing businesses. Then perhaps they hire a few to work on cameras, accessories and lenses.
The A5000 and A6000 has the right price and right features, it will definitely sell like hot cake.
The A7 also shares the same.
However, A7R suffers too many issues (vibration, slow AF, unavoidable processed RAW etc.), the price is right, but the issues need to be resolved or else many would rather wait for next generation.
Now the A7S, definitely at wrong price! Most definitely sure of it. Unless they update firmware to allow 4K internal recording, then may grab back some buyers.
Their FE lens roadmap has been not bad so far, I think it’s doing ok. Just disappointed on the 24-70 Zeiss, others are all fine. But they really should do their best on this 24-70 since this will be the most selling lens for FE system, this is the perfect range!
Sony, please do it right this time. Many Japanese companies have been making wrong decisions in recent decade, that give room for Korean companies to step in and grab their market shares. Please be smart, Sony. Don’t be too proud of yourself!
If that list is the best you can come up with for the “issues” on the A7r… Sony did an awesome, awesome job with that camera!
It’s true, I also think Sony did an awesome, awesome job with A7 series as well as Axxxx series cameras! Just that we wish they are better.
A7R it’s a camera for using with a tripod and very planned pictures for maximum IQ. Studio, portrait and landscape probably. Expecting something else from it is wrong, but I hope with time, some iterations will fix what you mention
If it is meant for studio, why does it have to be small, small is for portability. But that thing focuses on background bushes instead of the subject. If I need to carry a tripod along the camera then I can haul my A900 and 24-70 2.8 why would I buy f4 lenses. I realized it too late (after the 1 month return period is over). Apart from the A77II, I don’t see any camera in Sony line that is exciting enough to jump from other brand or older models. Lets see what A99II brings.
That’s exactly what in my thought. Any small cameras are suppose to be use for mobility. Why SLR/DSLR has been designed to be that heavy is because they need that weight to produce good images. Now mirrorless cameras bring out small and lightweight bodies for mobility option, so they mostly utilize electronic shutters to avoid shaking so that they still are able to produce good images. If unable to produce good images, the camera should still be in lab and required more experiments and improvements before going out to the market.
When you said A7s is priced wrong, what are you comparing it to? Before I see the test result with RAW file, I wouldn’t put comment on A7s.
1st kind to market ‘mirrorless full frame’ gain significant impact on sales 🙂 good job done! and these full frame mirrorless help their e-mount lenses sales; body must match with lenses; flawlessly road map execution; another good job done! that is Double Killed!
A-mount is a more mature system, hope Sony can see that just a few more good lenses and a few more outstanding bodies will push up the sales of A-mount.
sure sony will do. they prioritise 1st kind to market stuff. now onward believe is amount journey 🙂
Even if I don’t care what brand is on my camera, I do care that once I have invested in a system it will not disappear. I have been orphaned once already, by Contax. I used to own a G2 with three Zeiss lenses and was waiting for the digital camera body when the brand went belly up.
Already addicted to Carl Zeiss optics, I picked Minolta/Sony because of the in-body stabilizer, their Zeiss lenses and their pleasing “Minolta colors”, as they are evident with my A850. Please put your corporate house in order, Sony, I get nervous reading about your financial problems. Losing money on TVs for seven years is enough, don’t you think?
Consider yourself lucky, I’m orphaned by all the 3 brands I’ve invested in – Contax, Minolta & Bronica.
I count my blessings. Sony’s rescue of the A-mount and with it my Minolta lenses was a miracle of the sort that doesn’t happen often. Too bad to hear about your Bronica, by the way. Those were good cameras.
I am also semi-orphaned by Mamiya, since there is no and probably never will be any digital upgrade for my 7ii medium format rangefinder with those great 150, 80 and 50mm lenses.
Who is next? Hasselblad?
If Sony had not taken over the Minolta SLR line I guess I would have been a Nikonist now. Speaking of which, since the 36mp sensor in the Nikon D800 is from Sony, how about we get it in an A-mount body too? Like with the A850/900 I expect Nikon sales to pay for development of that sensor, so we A-guys get it cheaper. 🙂
Hope Sony won’t fail us again.
Pretty good to hear that this division is doing relatively well. I wonder how their entertainment system do?
Sony, we need a serious camera with serious tech. Apart from the sensor tech (which is where Sony is ahead in the game), we need other features that are complete and not picked up from a summer project just to wow customer. Perfect the tech and then introduce. For example eye AF, why do I have to press another button, can’t it automatically detect eye once it recognizes a face? LAEA-4, why do I have to manually zoom in MF mode whereas native lenses can do that just by turning the focus ring. Why did they remove the RAW and cRAW, Why is there no 2.8 cross AF sensor in LAEA4? People who buy A7R and LAEA4 will not be able to AF precisely with a 1.4 lens. I can go on.. Apple is pretty much the only company that perfects the tech before releasing it to masses. Sony will charge like apple, then act like apple
Sony were Apple, when they releases their discman and first generation Vios laptops! But they are too proud, so they fail afterwards. And today, they are starting to be proud on their mirrorless cameras, this is their danger, the bad proud culture they had. If they don’t realize it, they will fail once again in camera department, just like they failed in TV and PC department. And I don’t wish to see that. I wish Sony can success in their camera department such as Canon and Nikon. Sony has so much potential on this area. So please Sony, don’t proud, keep improving and think ahead long term to eat up the market while you can. A7S is overpriced Sony! And your 24-70 f4 Za should be as good as your A-mount 24-70 f2.8 ZA, but why it’s not?? Can you hear us Sony? You need to response fast, or your competitors will eat you up and left you no meat.
I would not say that Apple is the only company that perfects the tech before releasing it to the masses. I seem to recall a public apology being made by Tim Cook about maps, or something like that.
That being said, the Sony product line is improving and while not perfect, is quite compelling.
Sold more e-mounts / mirrorless , I just hate it when they confuse people now that sony merge the alpha mount and e-mount with same Alpha classification.
Notice that Greek ‘a’ on all NEX cameras? It’s means alpha. They’ve always been part of the alpha line.
In all likelihood more of the marginally profitable e-mount cameras were sold. However e-mount after market lens sales are low, and Sigma has stopped releasing lenses for the platform, Tamron is MIA, and Tokina avoids the platform altogether.
Whereas A-Mount cameras (easy to manufacture, but very profitable/high margin) probably made up the bulk of the profit, in addition to the platform’s healthily lens, and accessory sales. Which is why Tamron, Sigma, Tokina keep on releasing a steady stream of new lenses.
You go where the money is, and it ain’t the mirror-less division.
A-Mount APS-C is clearly the winner here.
A-Mount APS-C (A65, and the A77) bring in the most cash, which is why Tokina released a 11-16mm last year (probably the most popular wide angle for the APS-C A-Mount), and Sigma released the 18-35mm.
A-mounts sell for twice to three times the margin of their mirror-less brethren. A single A77 sale generates more profit than five to ten mirror-less sales (Once you factor in additional profits derived from flash, grip, and warranty sales which are non-existent in mirror-less sales).
A-Mount users also tend to buy allot more Sony manufactured lenses. The average A-Mount user tends to buy between five to ten lenses. With the e-mount your lucky if the customer buys an additional lens. Their mottos is usually “good enough”.
I know. I used to sell them part time at an electronics store (sales associate) while I was taking my degree.
“!You go where the money is, and it ain’t the mirror-less division. ”
I am not certain that is the case , I am sure there have been many reports of Sony’s share of the DSLR market collapsing even in their home market they were below Pentax with less than 5%
http://www.sonyalpharumors.com/japan-2013-overall-sales-numbers-sony-dslrslt-presence-shrinks-mirrorless-share-increases/
If they’re now less than 5%, there’s no way they’ll survive with A-mount and I’m extremely surprised they even released the A77II. That means they’re dropping in market share 3-4% per year. Why would they invest in this system?
I’m tired of this bullsh*t with Sony A-mount. I’m making the “time of death” call and tomorrow I list all my gear for sale.
Nikon, here I come!
So after they release what arguably is a class leading camera, you’re going to abandon them?
I’ve been loyal to the A-mount since 1991. I am just don’t have any faith in Sony anymore. Considering their continued marketing apathy and clear E-mount focus, you cant blame me for that, can you?
No, the Nikon grass isn’t any greener (especially since the latest financial report) but they have more to lose than Sony. And while I agree with everything Sony is doing to innovate and stay alive, at the same time Sony doesn’t seem to care if they succeed!
I am just at a time in my life where I need more system stability and availability. And the D800E and D7100 will provide that.
Good for you. The bad thing about innovation is uncertainty, and I don’t understand how someone that likes stability can invest in A-mount. The market is changing and so is Sony. Nikon and Canon are lagging but they are stable and predictable, which means a lot for a professionnal.
Kevin,
It seems you are basing your decision on the fact that A-mount market share has fallen below 5%. Yet, as far as I can tell, this is not a fact. Therefore your decision to jump to the good ship Nikon might be an impulsive one.
Seeing as you’ve been with A-mount for 20+ years, you must have a substantial lens and accessory collection, which you wont be able to replicate with Nikon without spending a lot more money (and some lenses possibly not at all depending on what you have – there are some Minolta gems out there). I know you didn’t ask for it, but here is my recommendation to you; You might want to wait until a reputable market analysis is presented so you make your decision on sound advice. It’s possible things are not as bleak as they seem.
You said it yourself – Sony wouldn’t be pumping money into A-mount if it was declining so rapidly. Sony is undoubtedly currently very attuned to profitability. The AF sensor alone was certainly a VERY costly investment which can only be used with mirror based phase detection AF, AKA A-mount. They wouldn’t do that if they didn’t see a future in it.
The A-Mount sales are on the rise in China, North America, and probably in Europe as well.
Sony A-Mount has never done well in Japan, so the Japanese sales are not a clear indicator of global sales.
The A-Mount Globally sits somewheres between 7 to 11%
I like what you’re saying, but again there’s no apparent source of this information. So, it is hard to put a value on it.
There is no source to indicate that A-Mounts sales are shrinking. The last global stats for the A-Mount are three years old.
The indication of A-Mounts success is its continued support. The A77II, the upcoming A88, and A99II should be a clear indicator for those who have a business background.
The 50F14Z, 70200G2, 70400G2 should all be indicators.
For those who don’t, I’ll make it simple for you, Sony wants the A-Mount, and FE-Mount to be positioned well above the E-Mount.
Yes, I agree with you on the continued support. Sony is taking the bold steps of cutting their losses with TV’s and PC’s. However, A-mount keeps getting not only support but new products, in the midst of them trying to build a brand new additional system no less.
Cause they sell, especially in North America.
The A-Mount is the third most used DSLR mount period. I see more people using the A-Mounts every year at all of the festivals, and events I go to, and I’m on the road 50% of the year.
What the naysayers don’t understand it that the Sony’s A-Mount has become an established brand in North American, and its sales here are obviously on the rise.
What the naysayers don’t understand it that the is the e-mount and mirror-less in general are flopping in North America.
No one wants them cause they look like point and shoot cameras.
People are far more likely to use an iPad or DSLR on vacation in this part of the world.
It might be different elsewhere, but North America is clearly dominated now and forever by the DSLR.
There appears little doubt that DSLR is king in the USA { though to be fair they take the lions share of every market everywhere , with almost 81% of all cameras shipped being DSLR}. However looking at the available data such as Amazon { no Sony SLR in the top 50 sellers } /I am not sure your personal experience is reflected across the market.
Using amazon as a example is a very poor indication of actual camera sales.
The majority of DSLR cameras are sold in Brick and Mortar stores. The kind where real people work.
Anyone with a Sales, and Marketing background would tell you this.
Cause you clearly don’t have a clue.
That is complete and utter BullSh*t.
A very very small share of camera sales are from brick and mortar stores.
Otherwise, Sony wouldnt be closing all their Sony Stores, and camera shops wouldnt be closing all their locations across the USA.
I used to work in a camera shop in a large city in the western USA, and we sold 7-10 times as much inventory online as we did in store.
Wow, one whole store. In the US (the centre of the entire universe) that’s crazy, maybe you can team up with Nobody Knows, and write a sales forecast for all of us to laugh at.
Just out of curiosty did you actually read up and find out what that slide actually means it may not be quite what you thnk it is
Please enlighten us!!!
Would you actually have any sources for your claims .Looking at Amazon USA there are no Sony DSLRs in the top 50.If that is them on the rise I would hate to see them falling. In Europe looking at Amazon/Pixmania etc their position does not look that much better .As for China good luck finding any data about what goes on there.
Pathetic. Amazon is not a camera store. You single source market forecast only makes you look like an idiot (pseudo intellectual).
The position for Sony DSLR’s is the same whatever sources you use and refelected worldwide. Amazon is the largest electronics retailer in the world. Feel free to provide a link showing anywhere that Sony is doing well in DSLR sales { that would be a real world link not the random number generator in your head }
http://www.bhphotovideo.com/c/buy/DSLR-Cameras/ci/6222/N/4288586280
http://www.adorama.com/catalog.tpl?op=itemlist&cat1=Cameras&cat2=Digital%20SLR%20Cameras
http://www.amazon.com/Digital-SLRs-Cameras-Photo/b/ref=cpv_lv_dslr?ie=UTF8&node=3017941&pf_rd_m=ATVPDKIKX0DER&pf_rd_s=merchandised-search-leftnav&pf_rd_r=07P01HXYZHKREKR3AF3E&pf_rd_t=101&pf_rd_p=1804915102&pf_rd_i=502394
http://www.amazon.co.uk/s/ref=lp_560834_nr_n_3?rh=n%3A560798%2Cn%3A!560800%2Cn%3A560834%2Cn%3A560836&bbn=560834&ie=UTF8&qid=1400521886&rnid=560834
http://www.pixmania.co.uk/cameras/digital-camera/consumer-slr-camera-1661-s.html
http://dslrphoto.com/dslr/space.php?do=jranking
She’s right, your pathetic. Here’s a slide from Sony. Now go away troll. Your obviously spewing troll-crap that nobody care about. Can you read (your from the US, so probably barely) “it says 25% and growing troll”.
Ugh, you guys are right! I’ll wait until a more definitive study is done – one with clear and reputable sources.
After I had just psyched myself up for the D800E…lol.
I’d be waiting for the A99II.
I couldn’t imagine having to go back to a camera that doesn’t have a EVF. It’d be like giving up my Mac, and buying a virus riddled PC.
Or giving up my Zeiss glass. I’d definitely drop and go into defib without them.
I know what you mean about the Zeiss glass. And, I too would have a hard time getting along without some of the tools only an EVF allows.
Yes, you’re right. And I also couldn’t easily do without the EVF!
Why couldnt I have been born 100 years ago so I could buy a film camera and thus have something state-of-the-art for 20 years. LOL.
Actually look at Gav’s posting above cause it shows a 10-15% growth is DSLR sales.
Let’s stop repeating the same false information. The graphic does not represent Sony only. The graphic represents the overall camera market. If Sony had a 10-15% increase in DSLR sales, they’d be shouting from the mountain tops, as both Canon and Nikon had decreases in DSLR sales in the past year.
Sony has been solely focused on the A7 launch. So they haven’t had time to boast at their successes, which isn’t their style anyways.
You obviously a SHILL who can’t read slides. Go away.
Ah, the bully approach. Do you actually understand the words you write as you write them?
You assert that Sony is too focused on the A7 launch to boast of successes. Gee, that means that when Apple does their launches they must not be focused on the product, because they almost always boast of their successes at the start of the presentation. It’s part of the Jobs formula. Indeed, I think Tanaka-san was attempting to mimic that approach: give some numbers, then talk about the great product. Only problem is, he gave generic numbers.
It’s you that can’t read the slides. Show me exactly where it says those numbers represent Sony sales or profits. Or give me the audio quote that says that the numbers are Sony sales or profits. You can’t. Because you challenged me on this, I watched that part of the presentation several times. He’s talking about the generic overall market and where Sony wants to target products, then points out that the biggest segment is the DSLR one and today they’re announcing a product in that segment.
I hope that when you argue with your professors you do a better job than this.
Well at least your not a complete idiot. Sony has been gobbling away at Nikon, and Canon sales with the A7 series, and the newer SLT cameras for years.
I don’t think they would have refreshed the 70-200 f2.8, the 70-400mm, put out the 500mm f4, released the A77 II if they were quitting on the A mount. Why would you say they are suffering from marketing apathy? What about the Sony World Photography competition? What about the Sony edge publication that Popular Photography is publishing? What about getting Gary Fong and several NG photographers to shoot with Sony (and they actually like the system). I will stick it out with the A mount, though I have also bought into the E mount. The lightweight interchangeable market can only grow in the future. And the RX series really is phenomenal.
I don’t agree with your statement that they don’t care if they succeed. That’s just silly.
The A-Mount is here to stay. I think a good portion of the readership is overly paranoid, or just overly dramatic.
The DSLR in general is a solid workhorse that’ll be around indefinitely. Mirror-less are flopping everywhere outside of Asia.
Actually anyone with eyes can see that mirror less sales are becoming a bigger proportion of Sony’s sales year on year. While A-mount sales have really not changed during the same time. Logic would suggest that this trend will simply continue as they integrate mirror less cameras into their pro lineup as we see from the A7 series…
Wonderful more colourful speculation.
Gav you need glasses cause the DSLR forecast shows a 10-15% increase in DSLR sales which is very significant.
Cause like I was saying the Sony DSLR segment is growing worldwide.
Yes the A7 is growing too. We wouldn’t want to forget
mentioning your little squeaker toy.
Super-Gav is awesome
That’s awesome. Super-Gav managed to get better marketing info than Admin. It shows DSLR, and CSC have grown significantly for the last two years.
Wow this info from Sony crushes the E-troll theory of A-mount market decline.
I’m going to repost this often
Awesome!!!
Thanks for that graphic!!!
You did notice than the A-Mount earns more than every other division, and its growing.
Maybe I spent to much time giving presentations like this, but what I see makes me feel good about the A-Mount. Over 25% of their imagery division’s income is derived from the A-Mount, and its growing.
I’d like to see Sony separate the A7 sales from the e-mount cause they’re clearly two different platforms.
Yeah I agree A mount is still a good portion of Sony’s output. But hopefully this puts the Mirror less is flopping argument to bed…
Your right.
Apparently Sony really has its act together, in both segments. If the growth forecast is correct Sony will be able to overtake Nikon, and Canon as the number one interchangeable lens camera manufacturing company with the combined sales, of its Alpha DSLR, and Alpha Mirror-less cameras within a couple of years.
Go Alpha Go
Your stats are only Japanese, and no way represents the global market. Your argument is slanted, and in no way objective.
Globally Sony is the #3 DSLR manufacturer representing between 7-11%.
I clearly stated that the stat provided was for Japan. There has been many articles talking about the decline of Sony’s DSLR sales, across the photographic news . My stat was an accurate report from CIPA , your “7-11% ” is plucked from fresh air.
Wherever you look the data for Sony does not look good , in the USA {Amazon } there are no Sony DSLR/SLT in the top 50 not even the newely announced A77II. Amongst the top 80 selling interchangeable cameras in Japan there is not one Sony DSLR/SLT .It is a far cry from their stated goal on absorbing Minolta of taking 25% of the DSLR market
Links,
http://www.amazon.com/b/ref=browse_10pack_cam_dslr?node=3017941&pf_rd_p=1713029962&pf_rd_s=merchandised-search-6&pf_rd_t=101&pf_rd_i=502394&pf_rd_m=ATVPDKIKX0DER&pf_rd_r=1G80VTY5XYZWDR12XECE
http://dslrphoto.com/dslr/space.php?do=jranking
http://www.steves-digicams.com/news/sony-aims-for-quarter-share-of-dslr-market.html
People buy rarely buy their thousand plus dollar cameras from Amazon ( unless they’re a complete idiots).
I’d check with Adorama or B&H for sales information. I laugh every time some numpty uses amazon as an example.
7-11% is from an actual camera store in that actually compiles sales information. I used to work for. It includes lens, accessory sales.
Japanese sales info.
That’s as dumb as saying GM is failing because they’re not selling enough Chevy trucks in Italy.
Or
Apple is failing cause they’re not selling enough Macs.
Amazon is the biggest online electronics retailer in the world and
responsible for millions of product sales. Amazon has very good
customer service along with an excellent returns policy making them as
good a place to buy gear as any. As for B&H the position for Sony
DSLR’s is no better
http://www.bhphotovideo.com/c/buy/Digital-Cameras/ci/9811/N/4288586282
Every data source available shows the same scenario for Sony
DSLR sales .Since the adoption of SLT they have nosedived .Your “used
to work for “routine is pure comedy and irrelevant, provide actual data
. In every country where sales trends can be determined {from multiple
sources } the situation is the same. Many A-mount owners think the
A-mount is slowly dying, what message do you think potential buyers
might get from this.
Apparently you haven’t seen the A77II release presentation clearly indicating growth in Sony’s Alpha mirror-less, and Alpha SLT camera sales.
So either you a Shill or a poorly educated Know-It-All Troll spewing Anti-Sony Troll-Crap
So leave, and spend some unproductive time thinking up more idiotic things to post.
Gav’s posting sheds your troll theory. Sony posted info during the A77 reveal showing a 10-15% for the A-Mount for the last two years.
That 20-30% over the last two years.
Amazon is the biggest online electronics retailer in the world and responsible for millions of product sales. Amazon has very good customer service along with an excellent returns policy making them as good a place to buy gear as any. As for B&H the position for Sony DSLR’s is no better
http://www.bhphotovideo.com/c/buy/Digital-Cameras/ci/9811/N/4288586282
Every data source available shows the same scenario for Sony DSLR sales .Since the adoption of SLT they have nosedived .Your “used to work for “routine is pure comedy and irrelevant, provide actual data . In every country where sales trends can be determined {from multiple sources } the situation is the same. Many A-mount owners think the A-mount is slowly dying, what message do you think potential buyers might get from this.
LOL , If you honestly belive that Sony that the A-mount has grown by 20-30% over the last 2 years you are clearly mentally impaired and I can only apologise for upsetting you
Troll look at the slide the A-Mount represents 25% Sony’s profit from its strongest division. Then go back to your Mom’s basement troll.
The A-Mount going from 25% to 35% within its division over two years is huge.
If you can’t do the math your either an American Hill Billy or stupid I’ll let you do the number number crunching.
I’ll leave you alone to look at the pretty bars troll. Enjoy:)
Someone can’t read. This is not a chart of Sony’s profits, it’s a chart of the worldwide imaging market (all vendors) that Sony was targeting. It came from a marketing presentation, not from a financial data presentation. And the source of the data is “Sony Survey,” and the numbers correspond roughly with CIPA plus camcorder estimates for 2013.
Wrong
Its genuine Sony market/sales slide. They’re SLT, and CSC sales are growing, as stated on the slide.
They’re real Sony numbers whether you like it or not.
I was at the presentation, and actually saw it on the monitor.
So maybe you should find somewheres else to troll, cause your pathetic attempt at damage control isn’t working.
You’ve be outed now go away.
You simply can’t read or hear, apparently. The numbers are indeed Sony-supplied numbers. It says that the source is “Sony Survey.” That’s an odd word to use for sales results. You don’t “survey” your financials to come up with a data set, you just state “Sony Results.”
The reason it says “survey” is that the slide attempts to say how the camera market currently works globally. About a third of the sales are in DSLRs (that, by the way corresponds with CIPA numbers, so Sony CAN’T be claiming to have sold that many DSLRs in 2013 because the already reported Canon/Nikon numbers for those categories–externally audited–don’t leave that much of the pie for Sony).
But even if they were Sony sales numbers (and again, THEY ARE NOT), you don’t seem to understand statistics and how they can lie to you. The Y axis is percent, not actual numbers. To give you an example of why that is bad, let’s say that 2013’s numbers were 33% lower than 2012’s. Would DSLRs have grown in actual sales numbers? No.
Indeed, that’s exactly what happened. DSLR sales overall were down in 2013, though they are now a larger percentage of overall camera sales because compact camera sales just totally collapsed during the year.
You’ve been outed as someone that can’t read a chart. You can continue to defend your inability with anonymous insults against someone who can read and understand the chart, but that just makes you look more foolish.
Just because you were at the presentation doesn’t mean you actually understood what was presented correctly. Note the many comments on the posted videos of that presentation: people couldn’t really follow the speakers as they talked fast and with a strong accent. I had to listen to the section in question four times, once slowed down, to make sure that there wasn’t something in there that I had missed. I’m confident that I haven’t, and that I’ve represented the chart correctly. You assert that “They’re SLT…as stated on the slide.” Point to the word SLT anywhere on the chart. Go ahead. Circle SLT and post it back here as a graphic.
Look, it’s fine to be rah-rah about a company or product. I actually like a lot of things that Sony is doing, and I use several of their products regularly. But misrepresenting things to give false impressions doesn’t do anyone any good. Tanaka basically said “DSLRs are the biggest segment we’re targeting and here’s our new DSLR.” I’ll agree with that statement. I won’t agree with your interpretation of it as “Sony SLT sales are shown on the chart as growing.”
You’re still misreading your chart. Note that the chart itself is misleading, because it shows every year since 2009 with the same scale (100%). If it were scaled correctly to actual sales, not percentage, the 2012 and 2013 bars would be much lower.
Nobody Blows.
Its kind of funny that you haven’t figured out Sony’s game plan. The SLT, and Mirror-less cameras together represent close to 25% of all interchangeable lens camera sales globally.
Both Alpha SLT, and Alpha Mirror-less cameras are growing each year in their prospective markets.
Within a few short years Sony Alpha Mirror-less, and Alpha SLT will overtake Canon, and Nikon as the market leader in interchangeable cameras worldwide
and you’ll still blow
Sony has declined to give out specific unit volume on DSLR and mirrorless for awhile now. But given that Canon/Nikon DO disclose their unit volumes and we have the overall CIPA numbers to compare them to, Sony can’t be at 25% of all ILCs. That would mean that no on else is selling any AND that Canon and Nikon are lying about their numbers in public filings to regulatory agencies.
Actually Sony is sitting between 7 to 9% of the global DSLR market (with their SLT cameras), and 35 to 40% of the mirror-less market. Based on their current trajectory it is likely they’ll be between 24 to 26% of the global interchangeable lens camera market by the end of 2014.
Keep in mind that Sony’s cameras earn between 15 to 25 points margins per camera sale vs their competition who are satisfied earning 5 to 10 points margin per camera sale.
Their 7 to 9% of the market generates a disproportionate amount of profit.
Those numbers seem a bit high to me, but are within some analysts boundaries (e.g. 7-9% of DSLR market, 35-40% of mirrorless). However, you’re mixing a few things up in your conclusion beyond that. Mirrorless is about 1/5th the size of the DSLR market (and Nikon holds the second largest share in mirrorless), and it isn’t really growing against DSLRs at the moment. Maybe it’ll hit 1/4 in the current trajectory, to use your term.
Nikon has audited numbers that show they’re at 33% of the DSLR/mirrorless market. Canon claims higher, about 40%. For Sony to be 24-26% they’d have to take the ENTIRE rest of the market.
When Sony took over KM, the numbers were in the teens. The numbers are still in the teens by my calculations, and I expect them to still be in the teens for 2014.
The “margin game” is really a game. Olympus claims far better margins than you site for Sony. Only problem is, like many Japanese companies, they bury actual selling costs in SG&A, where you can’t actually get to what the final product margin really is. Sony does this, Nikon does this, even Canon does this. Samsung does it big time in phones. So while the GPM may look like 25%, the actual burdened profit margin may be less.
I’ll grant you this: Sony has taken more costs out of their products than Canon/Nikon, especially with cameras like the A7 series. That’s good. But not if it takes higher discounting, more marketing and sales costs to sell them. The current US$200 discount on the A7 is a pretty large discount very quickly on what should have been a popular camera. So to say that Sony is earning 25% GPM on it may be not true at all.
They are #3 because there is no #4.
Pentax is #4
Sony’s DSLR strengths are in Europe and China. They are weak in Japan and the US. But even “strength” is relative. Collectively, Canon and Nikon have over 70% of the entire interchangeable lens camera market, and far higher than that if you take out mirrorless and just count DSLRs.
The only category that Sony does well in is mirrorless, where it has the largest market share world wide (Nikon is second, believe it or not).
Historically, about at decade ago Sony sold the most digital cameras of all vendors, mostly compacts. Today, Sony has fallen to a distant third in compacts, a distant third in DSLRs. As their own financial statements point out, they sold 32% fewer units last year and are expecting to sell 30% fewer again in the coming year. This decline is coming mostly in non-RX compacts and DSLRs.
You are absolutely wrong.
Who do you work for, because everything your writing is factually incorrect. You are likely a SHILL.
Sony’s SLT camera sales have been slowly growing over the last three years. Since the launch of the original A77.
Sony is growing slowly, while Nikon, and Canon is receding in the DSLR/SLT market.
Sony is growing, while Fuji, Olympus, Panasonic, and Samsung are receding in the mirror-less market.
Sony is a success story on how to do it right.
My you seem insistent. Only problem is that you’re contradicting yourself so badly that it reveals your own bias.
You accuse me of not providing sources and thus being wrong. Then you assert something (increased SLT sales) without citing a source. So by your own definition, you’d be a liar and shill ;~).
Moreover, your story isn’t consistent. First Sony DSLRs were growing rapidly, now they’re growing slowly. Which is it?
You then go on to provide additional (not sourced and inaccurate) information about something not relevant to the DSLR discussion: what’s happening in mirrorless cameras. I haven’t argued that Sony’s mirrorless sales aren’t growing. I’ve only said that Sony’s DSLR sales are not gaining market share against Canon/Nikon DSLRs. But to correct your information: Fujifilm is growing in sales in mirrorless, Samsung seems to be growing, though it’s difficult to get information about many markets from them, while Olympus sales are slightly down and Panasonic’s also down.
You remind me of the fight I had with anonymous trolls in the m4/3 fora about Olympus m4/3 sales. Lots of assertions that sales were growing fast, while the numbers I saw in the retail reports and the data I get out of Tokyo said differently. Finally this year Olympus decided to come clean and release numbers publicly, and I was proved right. I guess I’ll have to wait for Sony to come clean and release real numbers, too. ;~)
Sigma never really developed lenses for e-mount or MFT. They only developed lenses for their own mirrorless line and then just invested a little bit of R&D for the AF piece. Same thing goes for a-mount : they develop for Canon/Nikon and it just happens that they are relatively easy to adapt to Sony.
The one brand that really developed for mirrorless was Tamron, and they got badly burnt by Panasonic when they decided to release a camera with IBIS, which lead to Tamron cancelling a planned release for MFT.
I really hope that we’ll see more 3rd party lenses but I don’t think we’ll see them until the systems have matured a bit.
I love the way you have complete avoided any mention of FE lenses or cameras. As the A7 kind upsets your little apple cart theory…Oh well
I’m not touching the A7 cause it’s too early to pass any sort of judgement until it’s been out for at least a year. The FE should be kept separate from the E-Mount during any discussion cause they’re clearly superior to the e-mount.
It’s like comparing a VW to a Porsche or a Chevy Cruise to a Corvette.
Sells more A-Mount?
Are we talking about the refined for three decades, elegant, durable tools that carryover DNA from the Mind of Minolta? Or the little kiddy toy E-Mount cameras from the gaming company that claim to be Alpha’s when there is absolutely NOTHING Alpha about them?
May as well consider the a6000 and a7X as Canon EF mount or Contax G1 mount. Because they have smart full function adapters for them as well. No different than an LAEA A-Mount adapter.
Biggest joke in camera history when Sony put the “a” on the e-mount system… Right up there with the HasSony Loony comedy act. If NEX was so good then Sony would never have killed the name and years of marketing effort. Now they force A-Mount loyalists to suffer E-Mount dragging it all down.
Can anyone tell me what justifies an a6000 or a7X to be considered an Alpha any more than it would be considered an EOS?
That adapter thing you talked about is not Sony’s issue, it’s simply because a mirrorless camera doesn’t use a mirror which reduces the flange distance therefore any after market company can produce a simple adapter that’s all.
All mirrorless cameras can take any type of DSLR lens with a proper adapter, have you heard of a Sony’s brand adapter for EOS lenses !
Maybe the alpha name for E-mount is confusing I really don’t know why they changed the Nex to alpha, but everybody knows that the mirrorless is selling better than DSLRs in general.
E-mount, as was told above is a part of α line. And I guess most of the sale increase relates to E-mount, not A-mount. It is to be expected: A-mount cameras have been the same recent years. Thus, it is highly unlikely their popularity raised suddenly for no reason. So, take this: it is E-mount that sony succeeded, not A-mount which no one wants beside only 6.5 people all over the earth.
Wrong answer genius. E-Mounts sell to people unwilling to pay more than $500.00 for their camera bodies.
That same clientele rarely purchases additional lenses, flashes or any other accessories.
So the whole e-mount ecosystem is generally low margin, and low profit, which is the exact opposite of the high margin, profitable A-Mount ecosystem.
And your dead wrong about the A-Mount, because their sales are on the rise, its been on the rise in all regions except Asia.
Sony earns more from a single lens sale than a camera purchase, and more A-Mount lenses are sold annually then e-mount. Plus A-Mount lenses are generally much more expensive.
Without serious emount cameras to compete with the em1 or the xt1, people who are serious and will invest in lenses wont go with sony. As of now, emount is pretty targeted to less serious photographers or to those who use legacy glass. I’m therefore inclined to say that the profitability of emount is tied to sonys offering, and that it could be more profitable if they change their focus.
Nah, you are obviously wrong. Sony A-mount lenses only slightly worse than ones of nikon or canon (and even matches them sometimes). And Sony prices are only slightly higher than nikon and canon (except for their 500mm, which is plain simply a cr@p for its price). So, I am not sure if Sony could take a significant margin from their almost up to competitors A-mount lenses.
Now take a look at FE lenses:
FE 55 is not on par with sigma optically, easier to design (shorter FL) but more expensive.
FE 35 just matches Canon 35/2 performance without being stabilized but more expensive again.
24-70 is, frankly, a crap, but costs a lot
etc
So, it is obvious, Sony can have a huge profit on so-so FE mount lenses.
Actually Sony posted info during the A77II reveal showing 10-15% A-Mount growth each year for the last two years. It’s posted below.
It kinda shreds your troll theory’s.
Had Sony given their best sensor and processor to a99, they’d be doing even better. Instead they give it to Nikon, or force Alpha users to carry separate batteries for a7 toy camera lineup.
Message to Sony:
Get the pros satisfied with top kit and the mass marketing will advertise free for lower lines.
Weirdly enough, a there are some top flight pros using the A99. Maybe these guys know something that other people don’t want to consider – talent is the final arbiter of quality photography.
How many more “top flight pros” would Sony have garnered were a99 to have the long rumored 36mp sensor? Or the three versions of the toy a7X series? How many CaNikon converts would have come over? Probably more than left Sony to get D800 and its great flash system. Why should Alpha loyalists play second fiddle to a7X series?
What purpose does that serve the Alpha community?
Sony serves herself only.
Do you have hard numbers to back up your claim about system migration? I would not say that the A7x series are toys. They are a distinct system that hopefully proves successful to Sony.
I like the A77 II. In fact, I’ll upgrade to that camera (from my A77). In the meantime, I’m having a blast with my E mount and RX100 cameras. No, I’m not a pro. But I do enjoy taking pictures.
That’s right WML. Real Alpha users are far less likely to “adapt” non native lenses too.
I’m sure Sony counted on Canon and Contax glass fitting the EzMount with full function.
“Real Alpha users….” What a joke….Are they recognised by their one eyed view of the world…??
I like my Alpha NEX-7. Its an pretty swell Alpha Compact System Camera.
Does this include the Lunar sales?
Is an a6000 fit with EOS glass really an Alpha?
If so…
Then is a NEX7 converted to Lunar really a Hasselblad?
ALPHA is the future of photography.