Sony Manager Shigeki Ishizuka have been interview ad Dpreview and let’s start right now with one big mistake they made…again! When asked about the future of A and E-mount systems Sony answered:
“We have one system – the Alpha system” and “They are fully compatible with one another using adapters. I don’t want to separate those mounts into two ‘systems’. That’s why we stopped using ‘NEX’ in favor of using a single family name – ‘Alpha’.”
Fully compatible? So A77II or A99 camera owners can buy those new FE lenses? Really, they are not fully compatible Sony! You are confusing the customers…again! 🙁
That said let’s move forward to the other highlights of the interview:
1) One of the reason why they moved all camera to “Alpha” name is that the “NEX” brand seemed to be more cheap than the “Alpha”.
2) Sony is focusing on serious high end cameras “to earn a good reputation among professionals and higher-level amateurs”
3) Full Frame E-mount roadmap: One consistent request from customers is macro lenses and wide-aperture lenses.
4) Next generation of FE cameras will obviously have faster autofocus
5) Interesting part about sensor business: “When we make sensors we put them in several categories. [At any given time] one category of sensors is reserved purely for Sony cameras – we don’t sell them to other companies. Like the sensor in the A7S. But once we’ve enjoyed this advantage we might sell them on later, after some time has passed. This is the second category. The third category of sensors is completely generic – the sensors are created for use internally and to sell externally, to anybody. China or Taiwan or wherever.”
6) When asked about a possible Sony medium format camera Mr. Ischizuka said: “there may be room to explore this opportunity [in the future].”
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If Sony and Mr.Shigeki Ishizuka: I am not mad at you but it just need a little bit more of effort to clear out the confusion: Just say there is and “Alpha” system with two camera lines: A and E-mount. Make it clear on your website and in your interviews. Thanks 🙂
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This idea of ‘confusion’ is a curious one!
To be frank, if you are spending such large sums buying a camera and lens (or lenses) why should you be confused as to what will fit and what won’t?
Indeed. Most people with half a brain can figure out the differences.
It’s easy to blame the consumer for any confusion but I’m afraid that it doesn’t let this Sony spokesman off the hook. He made a statement which indicates that he doesn’t really know the two systems.
Is that a total surprise to those who know Sony ? Some time ago there was a Sony advert which said that NEX cameras had IBIS which had to be hastily withdrawn. Unfortunately there are too many people in SONY who don’t really understand Photography….
He KNOWS EXACTLY WHAT HE SAYING.
Its a carefull worded tatement by a top Sony executive.
THEY HAVE DECIDED TO PURSUE A E MOUNT BAIT AND SWITCH STRATEGY and are not deviating from that decision…hold ont your old A mount lenses though because when E mount is killed off by Canikon the will be forced to bring a new generation of A mont to life again.
2015 will be the year of the A mount. ZOMBIE.
If Sony mirrorless gets killed by Canikon, and Sony Alpha gets killed by Sony… and Sony Playstation gets killed by Valve, Sony may go bankrupt or at least cut their imaging division to producing sensors for other manufacturers.
Sony management has consistently been making one terrjble decision after another…as a result …even though they have the best cutting edge technology..one division after another is being destroyed by the competition.
They have been making lots of the samemistakes..and a few new mistakes in thier camera devision and unless they drastically change thier decision making process they will absolutely positively be finished off by the competition.
Only one single thing has prevented the competition from destroing sony imaging…Sony makes the best sensors….other manufacturers want to buy those sensors for thier own cameras….the competition can finish off Sony cameras whenever they want…and would do so on a heartbeat if they got too big..
It is in thier best interest to allow Sony to continue if they dont get too big so they can continue to buold better sensors for everyone.
E mount has been a success so far therefore Canikon sees it as a threat to thier market share…they can easily and decisively knock E mount back down to a size they are comfortable with and will soon do so.
Sony do not stop developing the best sensors..its your only chance of survival.
The more you post, the more insane you appear to become.
Apparently, that doesn’t apply to Sony Manager Shigeki Ishizuka.
Looks to me like their strategy is to bring out all this great technology in E mount, so we all jump in and buy the full set of slow fed FE lenses, and then by the middle of next year they will start to hit us with a bunch of even better / newer must have technologies, that only come in A Mount, starting the cycle all over again.
Adapters don’t have all features SLTs gives you. No IS, no use of PDAF with A lenses (like in a99), worse AF than A99, and the most important sucking thing is lack of AF BEAM from external flash. Slow migration from A to E could work if there is A(E)9 class camera and better LA-EA adapter. So far there isn’t. Same problem is with flash ADP-MAA adapter that sucks. If you think people will migrate form A then you are right but most of migrations might end with another brand if there are so many issue with your path and no real adventage in keeping bran loyality.
Really good point mentioning the AF beam. I keep forgetting that. Maybe at some point we won’t need it, but right now that is a major crutch with that set up.
This guy is deliberately confusing people. A-Mount is not fully compatible with E-Mount (no IBIS, A65 AF system, need to use an adapter), and E-Mount is not compatible with A-Mount at all. These are clearly two very different systems.
He also says that A6000 AF is good enough for sports events and talks about a possibility of releasing a 300mm/400mm lens for E-Mount.
I don’t know about other guys at Sony, but this guy clearly doesn’t see a future for A-Mount. His statement about the ‘Alpha system’ encourages Sony users to jump to Canikon, unless they are willing to buy E-Mount.
It was not a mistake: Sony has 2 mounts. If a costly and bulky adapter counts, then almost any brand of lenses can be considered “Alpha” mount.
To earn a good reputation amongst professional users… YOU HAVE TO OFFER DECENT SUPPORT. YOU HAVE TO RELEASE FIRMWARE UPDATES TO FIX PROBLEMS.
Sony… Please.
Agree!! and a better after sale service!
Worrying to say the least, it seems like the A-mount will only be a line of lenses and owners that sony is intending to keep by releasing adapters instead of cameras.
When I do remember well there was an A-mount camera released only this year. It was well recepted by most reviewers too. So not only adapters, but cameras too.
And yes, I do think the A-mount has a future for Sony. The mirror will be dropped in the end, and OSPDAF will take over. The camera will be mirrorless too. So in the end we will have the small E-mount cameras maore aimed at the low to mid end of the market and the larger A-mount cameras eimed at the mid to high end of the market.
nice dream. Why would they creat inhouse competition? with two mirrorless system, one with a-mount (and a lots of glasses are out there already) and another one with e-mount with a few glasses… who is going to by the new e-mount system then ? 🙂
What he means is that when you slap an LA-EA4 on an A7 body there is little technical difference with an A-mount SLT.
Oh, and that A-mount is dead.
The difference is the missing steady shot, and from my point of fiew its a huge one.
IBIS could follow in future A7 and A9 models, but seeing that no Canon 5D, 1D or Nikon D800, D4 model have IBIS, I somewhat doubt how critical IBIS is for professionals.
Of course they haven’t, because, unlike Sony, Canikon uses in-lens stabilization. Are you being deliberately stupid?
Are you thick? Of course Canon and Nikon bodies don’t have IBIS.
Another troll. You know perfectly well that LA-EA4 is (1) an apapter (2) with no IBIS and (3) A65 AF system. It is in no way a replacement for a proper A-Mount camera.
But yes, he does seem to dismiss A-Mount… and that’s not an incompetent sales rep, that’s a freaking Sony executive. If Sony doesn’t make a huge A-Mount announcement in January, they’ll lose their userbase to Canikon.
the interviewer doesn’t ask any questions about A-mount so no words about it and since they present nothing new they didn’t refer to it, it’s simple as that.
The question and answer are in the topic post.
no, in the post Admin sum up what he found interesting.
Read the interview in DP review and you will see they never ask a question about A-mount . They talked about RX, QX, Alpha 7 serie, mirroless in general but not a single question about A-mount.
How can you draw conclusion on the behavior of Sony upon their A-mount customer based on that interview? If you want to blame someone, blame the interviewer who doesn’t seem to care at all about A-mount to ask a single question.
“Under the ‘Alpha’ brand you currently have two lens mounts – A and FE. How long do you see those two mounts running side-by-side?”
This is the question about A-Mount, man.
Who is the troll here?
(1) LA-EA4 is an adapter + SLT bits in one.
(2) IBIS is a gimmick (no professional Nikon or Canon camera has this).
(3) On-sensor AF will overtake mirror-based AF in a matter of 2-3 years
2015 will see a fully professional A9, and a A99 mark II that is an A9 with LA-EA5 attached as standard, which you can remove in order to mount FE lenses.
Fully compatible. Sony is not lying.
Clearly you are.
(1) So? Still an adapter.
(2) So?? Sony professional cameras do, that is one of the reasons we choose them instead of Canikon.
(3) This is your expectation. OSPDAF may never catch up, let alone ‘overtake’ proper PDAF, because it’s made up of tiny sensors.
This is one-way compatibility only (if LA-EA5 has IBIS and top-notch PDAF and ever appears at all). E Mount lenses will still remain fully incompatible with A Mount bodies.
You are right…Sony has killed A mound.
E mount is also dead because Canon and Nikon are about to kill E mount….and make no mistake they will…
Sony will have no choice but to try to bring A mount BACK TO LIFE…they are trying to turn us into ZOMBIES…when E mount dies Sony will be lift with nothing but A mount zombies.
Constantly writing certain words in uppercase does not emphasise your points, it just makes you look more of a lunatic.
Indeed. Just look at the sheer size of the most recent FE lenses. Huge! The make no sense on A7 series, ergo: there will be larger e-mount camera’s appearing, very nicely replacing a-mount.
Why does it not make sense? The 35 is f/1.4. I expect it to be very good. I could buy an LA-EA4 and the Sigma 35 Art and it would be larger than the new FE 35/1.4. Makes sense to me. If I want to go small, I have that option. The A7 series is about options more than it’s about always going small.
Nobody here seems to understand that concept.
I keep saying that e-mount is about flexibility, not just portability.
3) Full Frame E-mount roadmap: One consistent request from customers is macro lenses and wide-aperture lenses.
4) Next generation of FE cameras will obviously have faster autofocus.
#s 3 and 4 are my biggest requests. So, um, yay!
Would be interesting If they made mirrorless medium format camera with curved sensor. There would be size advantage to other MF cameras. Lenses would be cheaper for them to design and manufacture. And also smaller giving more size and weight advantages . Curved sensors would lock users to their lens system and they could have premium lenses with leaf shutters. Only primes and no zooms would be less issue with MF (very likely limitation of curved sensors). Slower focus compared to sports DSLRs might not be that big issue there either.
If they make it, it will almost certainly be a fixed lens camera. Also, if it’s released soon it’s unlikely to be curved, due to the difficulty Sony are having curving larger, high resolution sensors.
If you don’t believe me, do a bit of research.
I know it is going to be most likely fixed. The tech is not yet at point where they can pull of going MF mirrorless with curved but curved MF would certainly give them a good position against other MF makers. Well even just mirrorless MF might be a hit as you could still adapt but lens wise curved could give sony monopoly position as making lenses for it could be too much of a niche for other players.
If you know, what are you talking about?
As for competing against other MF manufacturers, if Sony were to make a fixed lens MF camera, it would be a completely different class of camera compared to Hasselblad, Phase One or Pentax. Again you mention the hypothetical possibility of an interchangeable lens camera with a curved sensor. The complexities involved in making different focal length lenses which work with a curved sensor are enormous, and make such a system highly unlikely.
As if consolidation in the naming is going to win them marketshare.
Wow, I can use E mount lenses on my A77II? Great, now I have a new 10-18 lens for landscape/RE 🙂
No, you can’t. That’s why E mount has the future and A mount is dead.
You know he’s just being sarcastic right?
NEX is “cheap”?! Bloody hell they took 1200 Euros for the 7 from me!
[One of the reason why they moved all camera to “Alpha” name is that the “NEX” brand seemed to be more cheap than the “Alpha”.]
How do they explain “Alpha 3000”? Cheap as it can get.
Now, QX1 is another story. 😉
THE CLASSIC BAIT AND SWITCH SALESMAN that will be bot A mount and E mount downfall.
Still trying to convince A mount users that thier lenses are full compatable so they can switch them to buy native E mount lenses with image stabilization bor better pictures as soon as they have made the switch.
Barry, unless they are completely retarded, nobody is going to be tricked into thinking their A-mount lenses will be stabilised with the adapter. Moreover, believe or not, lack of stabilisation is not a deal breaker for everyone.
I’d prefer not to pay more for OSS. I have steady enough hands and rarely shoot below 1/125 or 1/160. Would OSS benefit me? Perhaps, but I am pleased with what I am getting right now.
The idea that image stabilisation is a panacea to get fantastic pictures all the time is such nonsense, and so this bleating about incompatibility is pointless!
Image stabilisation only helps when you have no other means to stabilise the camera for longer exposures and the subject is also static. Let me see…percentage of shots…??
Yes, it’s good to have and does serve a purpose, but good grief, this is silliness upon silliness.
If you don’t know what you are getting before you buy it, and all that it entails, you have no business spending the money!
Good point. Lens stabilization is still better- always has been- over IBIS. This is especially true for telephoto work were tweaking each lens individually along with it’s stabilization often yields better results. The only downside I see is it can (not always) affect bokeh. As far as IBIS- SLT at least let’s you see any vibration prior to capturing the shot. It’s the best use of it but anyhow…..the more I shoot the more I use a tripod. I have yet to see any image stabilization give me the same results consistently than a good old fashioned solid base and two second timer.
Nope. IS enables you to shoot with a shutter speed slower than the focal length (for FF cameras), so you can shoot at 1/160 sec with a 400mm lens and get a clear image.
Regardless, E-Mount lenses are fully incompatible with A-Mount bodies in any case.
And to manually focus more accurately with macros/teles.
Sorry, but what do you mean, “Nope”? I never said otherwise, so you are contradicting a point I didn’t make to make your own point which was almost the same.
Very odd!
As to this notion of shutter speed and focal length, it is a very broad rule of thumb that doesn’t apply to everyone. Ask those who can shoot at 70mm for 1/4sec without (I can), or those who suffer tremors…
So, to repeat, image stabilisation is for those times when you need to stabilise but have no other means, such as a tripod, or wall, or someone’s right shoulder, etc.
I was contradicting the point that IS is only useful for shooting static objects. Not necessarily.
Okay, but even at 1/160 things need to be fairly still.
Sony confused itself with these E/A-mount NEX/Alpha mixing stupidity.
Now that’s something.
We are talking about the future here, right? Because that the e-mount cameras have no IBIS and the LA-EA4 etc. does not have the latest AF-system does not mean that it will stay this way, rigth? What I read is that a-mount lenses will live, and a-mount cameras will die. Because you can put an a-mount adapter on an e-mount camera, but not vice versa – simple as that.
A77 II is a new body…
Same identical body… nothing new. Most of the upgrades could have been done with firmware on a77 MK1… without killing the flash system.
AF system is brand-new. Sensor is new. What are you talking about
er, no. You clearly have no idea what the differences are between the A77 and A77II.
yep, the focus system is totally new and much better IMO. but well…. I dont like its IQ at high iso : thats why I think translucent technology is not a future anymore (after on chip phase detect has been introduced).
Same body, different guts. It really doesn’t get the praise it deserves – not that Sony helps by comparing of to mirrorless.
I’ve been shooting Sony/Minolta for about a decade now. Even I think the naming scheme for two mounts sounds confusing. WTF? Not good, because we already know Sony sucks at marketing it’s cameras to pro’s. If Canon truly comes out with a mirrorless FF system you know at least one thing- they will market it effectively. Sony, with your stupid naming schemes. You should have stuck to NEX. I’m loosing my patience.
Even an amateur enthusiast not earning his money from photography, but aware of today’s photo trends and tech (no matter what brand he’s using) would have given a better interview. Is this guy living under a rock and was made manager just prior to Photokina? This kind of interview and stupid naming of the producs give us an idea on how Sony is treating its imaging division and its possible clients/actual clients/future clients and fans.
http://photobyandrei.wordpress.com/
2) Sony is focusing on serious high end cameras “to earn a good reputation among professionals and higher-level amateurs”
This is the only valuable and positive sentence in this interview.
They’re earning a terrible reputation, however, with their current treatment of their core userbase. If they don’t rectify this by January, their reputation will be tarnished completely.
Cant tell. Is it some kind of Japanese communication thing or what. I’ve been in complete darkness with my a-mount complete Zeiss + heavy Sony f2.8 set.
You know it’s funny, Canon users and Nikon users say similar things about their respective companies.
It seems nobody is happy. The grass is always greener on the other side, it seems.
I don’t see this level of angst in the Canikon forums. All Andrea has to do to create posts with hundreds upon hundreds of hysterical comments is breach the a-mount situation.
Most of those comments are posted by you, ironically.
Its also the opposite of what they are doing, So how “Valuable” is that?
(Don’t read comments on this site much?)
May be it’s my wishful thinking, but I read that they will continue a-mount a99 line, I’m so dependent currently.
As far as they’re concerned, they are. Given that nothings happened on the a-mount front, they can only mean the a7…
If Nex = sounding cheap then the RX1 = Sounding Super Cheap. Nex has 3 letters and RX1 only has 2 and a number. Keep up the Stupidity Sony… You are only digging a deeper whole for your company.
I wish Sony would just sell off it’s A mount. Heck, give it to anyone…anyone but you. Such a great system with a fantastic legacy. Even Pentax could do better than you with it. Stop messing around like a bunch of fairies saying it’s one big family crap. Your watering down Alphas brand image into a confusing slop of half hearted warmovers and missed opportunities. Still no new focal lengths for the Zeiss AF line- come on, you could have totally owned that space. No 20MM? No ultra wide- like 6 years later? Tilt shifts? Pro flash support? It’s like one big family, but half the kids are crippled and the other half are stepchildren. Someone call DCF.
It’s especially frustrating given that there’re no alternatives. Sony is the only company that makes SLT. They thought of that elegant technology, but gave it zero marketing for some reason, and are now in the process of killing off its amazing potential by creating obfuscation and uncertainty.
I tend to agree, it may be better if they sold it to anyone, along with Zeiss contracts and remaining Minolta engineers.
Mirrorless will take over SLT. Bye SLT, you won’t be missed.
So all Sony users are expected to sit back and order Canikon? Stupid troll.
No, they are expected to move on to the E mount.
But E-Mount is a mirrorless system. DSLR users won’t move on to E-Mount, they will move to Canikon.
killing SLT will also kill steadyshot… that was a big plus for the a-mount system
I think the system is doomed. Sony is a place that lacks direction and that produces what they believe will sell to the entry level poweruser but not the professional
I will never buy another Sony product again so they cant loose/gain anything more with me butt with comments like …
“We have one system – the Alpha system” and “They are fully compatible with one another using adapters. I don’t want to separate those mounts into two ‘systems’. That’s why we stopped using ‘NEX’ in favor of using a single family name – ‘Alpha’.”
I just hope it makes others think they should do the same.
Lol. This explains why there’s a confusion… They have no clue about their own products
Does anyone remember the admin’s post (maybe a year ago) about the hybrid mount? I think that’s when the Alpha system will truly be integrated. A new camera system (A9 ??) will accommodate both A and E lenses.
E-Mount lenses won’t work with an SLT mirror… so, they’ll have to provide some kind of built-in adapter solution… and make a dual AF system, top-notch OSPDAF for E and top-notch PDAF for A…
Sounds very complicated and unlikely
From what I remember, there will be no mirror. The sensor itself, will move forward or backward, depending on the lens. This sensor mechanics will be built on top of the current 5-axis system that Olympus developed for their OMD EM5.
A-Mount lenses can’t function properly without a mirror. They aren’t designed to work with OSPDAF.
Lenses don’t care for a mirror; all it needs is the correct distance to the sensor. Everything else will be handled by the sensor. The technology already exists. It’s just a matter of time to perfect the integration with Olympus. (I think Sony might have even bought Olympus stock.)
Wrong. A-mount lenses require a dedicated PDAF module for fast AF. Why do you think there is an A-E adapter with an SLT mirror and PDAF module?
It doesn’t mean it requires a mirror. All it means is that the mirrorless version of the PDAF module is yet to be perfected.
The On-sensor PDAF improve so fast, the A6000’s AF is as good as A77 II during daylight.
It won’t be hard to imagine that within 1~2 years, the On-sensor PDAF will be as good as normal PDAF.
So why do we still need the SLT/mirror if the on-sesnor PDAF can focus as fast as normal PDAF?
I just don’t want to give up the old and inferior A-mount cameras and lenses. I hate you Sony.
First of all, the difference is not 44.5mm, it is 26.5mm as E-mount is 18mm. The volume of that wasted space would only make around 10% of A7 camera volume, or less than 5% of high end DSLR body without grip.
The saved space would mean nothing for a more ergonomic body with deeper and longer grip, more durable chassis and more estate needed for more direct manual controls.
Creating high end body mirrorless body (when the OSPDAF is actually on par with dedicated PDAF) using current mount would have made a lot of sense. What Sony is doing actually does make sense long term. But it remains to be seen if they can 1) advance OSPDAF to make SLR/SLT irrelevant, 2) attract and convert enough users in generally shrinking market, 3) fill the gaps in the lens line-up to make it attractive for both enthusiasts and pros. They have a bit of head start now, but at some point CN will respond. And if they respond by creating mirrorless system using existing mount or providing better existing lens compatibility than Sony, there would be no advantage for anyone to consider Sony. Why would anyone bother to adapt their CN lenses on Sony body, if there is equivalent body from their own manufacturer with better compatibility and support?
Exactly.
Physics? OSPDAF will always have worse performance then dedicated PDAF in low light because of much smaller photodiode. They can compensate by using faster CPU doing faster CDAF. But I think SONY knows there is this shortcoming and that is why they focus on second or backup pro body with A7 series. But I do not want to be early adopter this time.
Wrong again. You simply haven’t a clue why A-mount lenses will not work.
I find it curious Nikon didn’t need to stuff a mirror or any sort of focusing solution in their FT1 adapter. Is there a problem unique to SLT? Sure, the Nikon 1 has the limitation of single-point focus at its current state of the art but it does AF acting essentially as a electronic coupling with no mirror that adjusts the distance to the focal plane.
It’s the benefit of the small sensor and larger DOF. Increase the sensor size and that adapter will be as fast as the LAEA3
This is the best explanation I have heard to date but my judgment is clouded by a personal desire to see the A-mount continue on. I have a great deal of problem believing the top management would not understand the blow it would in terms of image and trust to kill the A-mount line.
NEX seemed cheap until it was renamed Alpha?
LOL… Why cheapen Alpha by absorbing NEX?
LOL yes that statement really shows the nonsense and confirms that we are being fed baloney by Sony these days! Boloney by Soney haha the new steak it’s all the same. Look into my eyes you are getting very sleeeepy
What about rx2? An rx1 with faster autofocus and a build in viewfinder is ALL I’m waiting for!!
I’m not reading it as a commitment to a-mount – they compare the a77ii’s af to mirrorless FFS! It’s obvious that they want to appeal to pros who are invested in another system, by selling them FE. It’s almost like they don’t think a-mount is capable of competing for pro attention.
With proper marketing it surely can. They could have 20% or more in DSLR by now. But Sony, who came up with the amazing SLT technology, seem to have little belief in its market potential.
That’s the problem. The die-hard SLTers see SLT as the end game, when it was obviously only ever a stop gap before full mirrorless with PDAF-rivalling AF was possible. Now who knows if A-mount can or will go full mirrorless?
With regards to marketing potential, the problem is that Sony have never really taken advantage of the lower costs (compared to flappy mirror) and the potential for faster AF (due to uninterrupted light). You can’t market something as unique when it hasn’t really got much benefit over the competition in practice. Sony shouted about the benefits of EVF (OVF die-hards wouldn’t listen), but they couldn’t shout about AF, because it wasn’t really any better than, or even as good as, the competition. Continuous shooting was fast, but limited by the not-so-great AF and the slide show effect.
I’m 100% sure there won’t be an A-Mount mirrorless. Why maintain 4 lens lines (2 mounts x 2 formats)? Especially with Sony’s financial situation.
No, it’s not ‘obvious’ to everybody that SLT is a ‘transitional technology’. We die-hard SLTers 🙂 see SLT as an elegant solution that combines the best from both DLSR and mirrorless worlds.
If Sony goes “all E Mount”, some of us will reluctantly switch to Canikon (back to the stupid OVF…), some will reluctantly buy an FE, but all will be dissatisfied.
Even if SLT is a niche product (which I believe it isn’t), we’re ready to pay for what we want. Come on Sony, http://img2.wikia.nocookie.net/__cb20140822121903/middleearthshadowofmordor7723/images/9/94/Shut_up_and_take_my_money.jpg
I agree – I definitely saw it as a stepping stone, as was afd. I’d be interested to know if current a-mount lenses would be compatible with ospdaf.
After many year of lack behind, finally the A77 II has a AF come close to Cankon.
The EVF is great, I love it very much.
But slide show effect & 22ms black out time during 3fps, make it harder to track fast moving object. (traditional OVF black out less than 10ms)
Dear Sony: I don’t want slow FE lenses. What pro wants a bunch of F4’s? What pro wants to dish out thousands more for lenses offering less DOF than a M43 set up? You shoot weddings, you want the big 70-200 2.8 and 24-70 2.8. It makes a difference- your paying for that advantage even if you use it sparingly. All of the lenses you showcased at Photokina looked huge mounted on those E mount bodies. They weren’t even that fast- minus the HUGE 35mm 1.4 which should have been an Alpha G series.
You should see the pattern here. No alpha user wants to switch over to a new system with less native access to fast lenses, poor ergonomics and crappy AF. It’s an interesting niche product, but that’s just it- niche. The most compelling lenses are actually the Loxia line. But again, they scream NICHE. Size and wait and user experience I”m betting will be quite good, but that’s not pro territory. What audience are you building here?
Exactly. Right now Sony has nothing to offer to a professional/high-end enthusiast.
No f/2.8 zooms, small bodies, small batteries, no fast AF = no buy for E-Mount.
No A99-II, no new lenses, huge uncertainty = no buy for A-Mount.
They could either present the roadmap for A-Mount, or announce its death and go all-in with E-Mount, but currently they’ve succeeded in making both systems unappealing.
That’s my frustration, I don’t even care if Sony goes E mount. But come on, just make up your mind either way. Neither mount benefits from half hearted attempts on either side. Either provide bigger FE bodies and faster lenses or truly build up your A mount and start filling in the gaps. You can’t win on either side, but right now A mount is still way ahead. It’s like camera purgatory with Sony.
Sony wants to switch to E mount but has to keep the A mount door open…which they are failing at…
E mount is doing well now but Sony knows…as I too believe…that Canikon can tale that away from them just by matching thier quality.
A mount will be Sony’s bread and butter mount when E mount tanks.
Sony has seriosly hurt any prospects that A mount will gain market share..people are only sticking with sony because they thing they have the leading tech or they are lenslocked.
They may survive the coming fall of E mount but any hopes Sony ever had of gaining marked share are gone.
So A-mount will be Sony’s bread and butter mount AND it will fail to gain market share. Riiiiiiiiight.
“…when E mount tanks.”
Oh Barry. Barry Barry Barry… *shakes head*
“E mount is doing well…..when E mount tanks”
??
Wow. Making even less sense than yesterday.
Barry has bad days and very bad days. The sad part is that he doesn’t even have the wherewithal to realize he’s not making any sense.
He just assumes people are picking on him, when in reality he’s out of his mind.
Even when I confine my comments strictly to what is actually happening you bury your heads in the sand.
Go back and look at the predictions I made 2 years ago..one year ago…Most have happened or are happening..no not every single one or every exact detail….
I talk usually abuot things that will happen and many of you are not ready for them yet…when they do happen you forget that I have been saying so for a very long time.
The inovations that are going to happen in Januarry are exactly the ones I have been telling SAR about for over two years now….the innovations I said would not happen because the new tech in eafly 2015 would make them obsolete …no exmor over 24mp c or 36mp ff…One lie was stuck in there when a sony individual cliamind to be a exec told me A77II details that were not true to discredid me.The ones my critics find so repetitive because I have been talking about for so long….check back a few years see how long I have been saying these thing’s and how most has or is happening.
I agree as well as a non pro but camera enthusiast I think Sony is in the best position to fulfill my high tech wants. Personally I think a mirrorless full frame a-mount camera with a6000 type autofocus, ibis, 36mp with no AA and the standard high tech goodies would be a home run. A mount already has all the lenses I would want and I LOVE the character of the Minolta lenses which gives me an inexpensive route into building a kit. I would prob sell a lot of what I have now (I shoot m43) for that camera even if it was $2k+.
I shoot M43 as well. I have the 9-18, 25mm 1.8, 45mm 1.8 and 75mm 1.8 plus a few bodies. It’s just a great system, but I still have all my Alpha glass and prefer FF for serious work- it’s also most promising with future sensor technology as M43 I think has hit an impasse- which is fine because the quality is outstanding for what it is. Sony just needs to share some direction for their A mount. So, I wait…..
I also shoot m43 and I’m having a hard time finding a place for my Nikon in all of this. I’m going full 1.4 primes on it to assure the superiority
I think Oly will announce some faster primes. I’d like to switch out my 45mm 1.8 for the 42.5 1.2 Leica- but the cost is stupid. Voigtlander I believe announced the 10.5 .95- which is probably the most exciting product I think Photokina had to offer. My only issue is portraiture work. M43 often has a shorter minimum focusing distance and for small objects you can easily blow the background out. But, for portraiture a relative 3.4 doesn’t always cut it outside of head shots. That’s why I have all my Sony gear still- hoping for more resolution, DR and keep access to faster lenses when needed.
I’m also considering getting the nocticron for specialized 85mm work but it will have to wait until I get the em1mkII (or a body that can withstand such a weight, my em10 is lacking ergonomics to be pair with the nocticron) after doing a system overhaul on the Nikon side of things (getting the d750, getting the 58 1.4G).
Only after then will I consider which “85mm lens” I will have as my work lens.
To be honest, a better question would be what pro wants to use Sony? It may have superior technology but they lack in the intangibles. Which is why you don’t really see professionals, other than the occasional wedding photog, use them. If your life depended on a camera and you’re using Sony, why are you still using them? Treat it as a bad business decision and move on.
Considering the poor sales, it’s actually the A99 that is more of a niche product than the A7 series. The A99 is a niche camera for pros and enthusiasts while the A7 is becoming a mainstream product for some pros (like street photographers who use primes an prefer to go small instead of using big zooms) and also for enthusiasts than want full-frame in a smaller package than traditional Dslr setups. That is why we might never see native FE 2.8 zooms. The FE 70-200 f4 OSS is huge compared to the A7. Imagine how a 2.8 could be…
A99 was a half-hearted effort at best. They stuck an APS-C AF sensor in there for God’s sake. If they went all-in with a full-featured FF SLT, that thing would sell.
well as soon as they stop making a-mount cameras they will be fully compatible, I think that’s what he is aiming at.
Hmm. So if Ishizuka is letting us know that Sony’s end-game is a fully compatible system…
Is that where we are going? The only thing not currently compatible with this point-of-view are the A-mount bodies.
If all bodies become E-mount, then all bodies become both mirrorless and SLT (via adapter). What they’ve engineered so far is pretty amazing. It would be sad to see A-mount bodies go, but if they can package all of this together in a way that doesn’t feel like I’m using an iPhone strapped to a cannon… not sure how long I’d cry.
>E-mount lenses for smaller size and sexy factor.
>A-mount lenses for wider apertures and SLT PDAF via adapter.
>Canon/Nikon/Other-mount lenses via Full-Frame E-mount adapters for utilizing current investment.
Probably the writing on the wall and why Canon is announcing a mirrorless system of their own.
“IF” ALL OF THIS IS TRUE, how long do we have to wait? Sony has to get their butts in gear NOW! Otherwise they risk losing the momentum they’ve created to another manufacturer. IF this is the case, then the A99II SHOULD be a native E-mount body with an A-mount adapter, but engineered to have the same weight, look, feel of the A99. Add in all of the combined bells and whistles of the new bodies and IMPROVE PDAF adapter response times, and we’ve got a new game.
I’d want better adapters and a body with some meat on it. Sony has a lot of work to do and they’d better do it QUICK or they are going to hand this whole thing over to Canon. This will be fun to watch.
How about adding to the line-up an A/E-mount adapter with a real mirror in it? Now that would be exceptionally cool and an “olive branch” to legacy users. That would be an investment in the existing fan base, but probably not the bottom-line.
I’d upgrade my A77 to FF, but I’m keeping the Maxxum 7.
Why Sony doesn’t ask my opinion more often baffles me. (Ha!)
A guy walks into a camera store and says…
“Hey, I’d like to adapt my Alpha to my Alpha”.
“Sorry sir, but only this Alpha can adapt to Alpha. That Alpha cannot adapt to Alpha… Kapeesh? But even us sales folks don’t understand. Would you like to try a nice Metabones or Contax adapter?”
Whoa there, let me try to explain! No, sorry, it’s gone! For a brief moment there I thought I had worked out what Sony were doing!
You could abbreviate the whole joke into the following:
A guy walks into a camera store with a Sony Alpha.
*Badumbum! Cymbal Strike!*
Vectis… Dimage… Clearly those were Alpha’s too, being the first AF mount and all that. At least they didn’t destroy the flash system that Alpha users enjoyed.
A-mount is dead, dead, dead! I’m sounding like a broken record and have been reporting this fact since March, because I want all the good folks that are not sure understand the situation. The Fanboys would be happy to take down with them all the good people trying to make an informed decision about systems. A-mount is dead, dead, dead, so just deal with it.
Dan
Dan is dumb dumb dumb… so just deal with it.
So, are we related?
Thank God we have you Dan, you’re a hero!
F60M, F20M flashes DROPPED the “A” of all other F58AM, F56AM flash naming conventions.
Drop the A when you drop the iISO A hot shoe.
Sony is KILLING Alpha slowly, deceptively, disingenuously, one little trinket at a time. Killing all the Alpha treasures that distinguished it from competition.
No more Steady Shot bars inside viewfinders. No more Steady Shot button on body. No more magnified playback to chosen focus selection. No more native flash cables. E-Mount Elpha now shares AE/AF button, rather than two separate. E-Mount Elpha can’t use TTL flash with adapted lenses… Real Alpha’s can.
WHAT in the world justifies claiming NEX is an Alpha when E-Mount is throwing away everything that distinguished Alpha’s from the competition? WHAT are you thinking Sony? You’re not thinking… You’re plotting.
If not for Sony, then Alpha / Maxxum / Dynax would have died 8 years ago.
If not for the vast Minolta community, Sony would never have considered purchasing Minolta. Don’t put the cart before the horse.
In that case, stick to buying vintage minolta gear, pre-2006.
Also, you may want to think back to when minolta introduced the a-mount. They screwed over all of their Rokkor lens users – there was no way to mount the manual lenses on the maxxum/dynax/a bodies -Real nice.
As the old saying goes, “Speak with your wallet”. I’m done giving my money to Sony.
Sony liars cheats and thieves who MURDERED my Alpha then offered fragile toys as replacement.
For someone who is “done with Sony”, you sure have a lot to say…
Who said I was don’t with Sony?
They are done with me friend… Don’t you get it yet?
Sony LIES, and now you put words in my mouth… You working for them?
Dude, Sony don’t even know who you are, so how can they be done with you? Quit crying like a baby and use the gear you have 😉
Right… that’s Sony’s plan… to have me use what I already own.
Good plan from brilliant minds that make investors happy.
Happiness is a Minolta a900 with vintage Minolta lenses that shoot great and rise in used market value every year, and a fully compatible native flash system with vast third party support unto this day.
Don’t be Sony… Be Happy!
LOL People like you really do make me laugh 🙂
He should start a political career.
Dear Sony: I need to look like a pro. Small cameras don’t do that. I need multiple very large SLT’s and 2.8’s hanging from my body. PRO.
LOL! This guy is a hardcore Pro!
Those look like film cameras, which makes the whole thing a little more understandable…but not much.
Look how balanced he is! 😉
OMG. You have a picture of Barry at the golf course.
Mr. Ishizuku is the Sony Manager who was talking complete gibberish earlier on this week! He obviously speaks it fluently!
I cannot understand this “compatiblitity” talk, either. Glad you point it out on this website.
Really, these are two systems that have only a VERY weak connection in that there is an adaptor that lets you physically mount A-mount lenses on an E-mount body. Yeah … but without fast AF (the A6000 fast AF cannot be used, you need to rely on the outdated A65-like AF built in the adaptor!) … and, much more important, without stabilisation (A-mount has it in the body, E-mount in the body).
Even any Canon EF lens today is more compatible with Sony E-mount cameras as Metabones adaptors support the lenses IS system. Sony seriously should STOP talking about compatibility that clearly is not there and think of a more definite solution. In my opinion, the only real answer will be to concentrate on E-mount and let A-mount phase out in the long term.
“concentrate on E-mount and let A-mount phase out in the long term”
That exactly what Sony is doing right now.
Sony is desperate. They are throwing a lot at the wall, hoping that something will stick. A Sony Medium Format camera could be the straw that breaks the camel’s back. Be careful of what you wish for.
So, let me get this straight.
“NEX” seemed to “cheapen the brand unnecessarily,” so they brute forced it into Alpha, just as if a grocery store re-branded all of it’s produce into “Potatoes.” There are broccoli shaped “potatoes,” and turnip shaped “potatoes,” but they’re all now “potatoes.” And if you use various spices and modifiers (which you also have to buy) then you can make them all taste like real potatoes. At the same time, real, fresh potatoes are getting hard to find and store employees are not answering when new shipments are due to arrive.
And yet the Sony grocery store advertizes their turnips and broccoli as “potatoes” and when anyone asks about potatoes, they get a dumbfounded look on their faces, hold up a turnip, and say “You mean this, right?”
Now, they want to convince all of the people who were long time potato buyers to buy turnips with modifiers so they emulate potatoes. Instead, shoppers (like me) will go to the store across the street and buy real potatoes. The whole time, Sony grocery store employees stand there with big smirks on their faces, happy with themselves, oblivious to reality.
Very few of us want turnips when we’re shopping for potatoes! They’re not the same thing, regardless of how Sony wants to brand them.
The bottom line is that I am thoroughly convinced that Sony is absolutely clueless all the way up to upper level management.
I feel for all Sony A and E customers, but I’m glad I made the move to Nikon and I feel this will likely be one of my last posts here on SAR. Best of luck to all!
Kevin
That’s a really bad analogy; better would be that they are different varieties of potato, but the potato you were used to buying is now an a-mount potato, to differentiate it from the e-mount potatoes 😉
I guess it depends on your view of how close E-mount is to a true replacement of A-mount. For me, it’s definitely a turnip/potato kind of thing.
Just because it’s not a variety of potato that you like doesn’t stop it from being a potato though… 🙂
Fair enough, but I like all varieties of potatoes. Nikon, Canon, Pentax, etc. 😉
Words are important Artise Brown. They MEAN something. Were it not so, then I could pretend to be you and you would have no issues with that… right?
Calling NEX an Alpha doesn’t mean anything except “WE ARE LIARS”.
LOL Do you need a tissue? Sounds like you’re crying 😉
Yep, the tissue jab again… from those who cannot argue a point with logic, or stay on topic. Have fun with that joke Artise Brown… But wait… Are you REALLY Artise Brown or not? Hmmm…
LOL You wouldn’t know logic if it hit you up side your head, now go wipe those tears away… 😉
Anyone remember this from a year ago? Isn’t this the integrated solution to A-mount? Any updates Mr. Admin?
http://www.sonyalpharumors.com/sr5-there-is-a-sony-camera-to-come-also-for-nikon-and-canon-lens-owners/#disqus_thread
Of course not.
There should be a OPEN ff mirrorlss cmvention for everyone. .like m43…
Sony could open thier system or else Canikon could start a new one.
Yeah. Lets follow m43rds lead.
Man you are just a nutzo. Every day it seems you find ways to outdo yourself it the crazy-make-absolutely-no-sense-at-all department.
I’d tell you to quit sniffin your paints but I think the damage is already done…
You REALLY think this is even remotely possible?
SONY would never, ever, not in a billion years, not if their existence depended on it, not if the world depended on it, ever….ever….have an open system like that. Never. Did I mention Never?
Good grief, Barry.
It may be the lesser of two evils.
If Canon and Nikon were to open up a new common mount then Sony could not compete.
If Sony were to open up their own mount then they would still have competition but would still be in the game.
If all systems used the same mount they would only have to build a better product to sell it.
If Canon and Nikon have a differrent system even thier huge head start will not be enough.
A new mount for FF does not make sense. What would you gain, 2cm of throat space? But you lose corner quality unless you add that throat right back to ALL your lenses, you lose space for IBIS, potentially for real filters…
When FF sensors will finally drop color filters and go Back-side illuminated, it is going to be another story at least in term of quality. Although that IBIS is absolutely essential.
If mirorless can be made compatable with present lenses…..which I believe is possible….then I completely agree..keep the current mount or for compact systems keep full compatable with a new short mount via a simple adapter…..that short mount however should be open system convention…and that could be Sony E mount if they allow it and Canikon are willing.
If as some of my critics think full compatability cannot be achieved then an open system would still be in the consumers best interest and the good pr it would generate for Sony would help heal Some past Sony pr disasters.
Now, it is clear to me about Sony’s strategy direction. Here is my prediction:
– A mount camera will be phased out. No more A mount camera
– A mount lens will be used on E mount camera through adapters
– No more A mount lens if there is no more A mount camera
However, the unknown for me is … can they make A mount lens “native” to E mount cameras. That is, I don’t want the adapter having an inferior AF module, but use the full power of the camera where it can use all the on sensor PDAF and the processing power of the chip. If they can make the adapter just like a “pass through” so to increase the distance between the lens and sensor, and add a screw drive for screw driven lens, then it will work for me. And since such adapter doesn’t need alot of development and support, it will last longer. I don’t see economical to keep develop the SLT in the adapter, that’s why it will always have an inferior AF.
About IBIS, maybe they will make one higher end camera with that. I don’t see any reason why not except the size. But many “pro” complaint about the ergonomics of the small body, so, size is not an issue for them. So, Sony may make a “pro” E mount camera with bigger body and put the IBIS in it.
Sony is trying to give hope for others but it’s pretty clear that right now, the only front in which they are actually working on is FF E-mount.
Haven’t heard much about A-mount, either FF or APS-C, there was the A77II but what about lenses? A99II? The APS-C E-mount is clearly let for the entry-level crowd basically, no word on higher-end cameras nor lenses.
So, by simple elimination, the only system that is actually receiving anything is the E-mount FF with new bodies AND lenses. So far, anyone that is not going for A7’s cameras, should not have great expectations at all, if and when info about others things come, then it comes, if not, it’s kind of clear that people should be looking for either going A7 or another system.
The A7 bodies have lots of compromises, so they will either come with a new form factor for a full featured FF – without heating issues, with faster shutter, etc. – or Sony will put that into the form of a A99. Which one will it be?
I think Sony is changing focus too fast. One of the reasons for me to switch to Sony is I see potential in SLT where it can feed data to AF without interruption. And with one less moving mirror means less vibration and faster frame rate. It is a new technology, and it will take years for it to be matured. And while Sony is half way done, it switch direction again to mirrorless and on sensor PDAF. And again, this again need several years to be mature. Before this happen, Sony is never as good as Canon or Nikon where I can see their technology is very mature. I am disappointed. Why can’t Sony stick with something until it become successful. Maybe as some other said, the SLT is always just a stop gap, interim thing … then I feel I got cheated and stupid to believe in this technology.
“Maybe as some other said, the SLT is always just a stop gap, interim thing … then I feel I got cheated and stupid to believe in this technology.”
Many E-mounters are going to be feeling the same way in a few years, I fear. I’m one of them…and Sony dumping A-mount REALLY makes me worry about my E-mount future. It just proves you cant trust Sony at all.
The confusion is obviously intentional on the part of Sony. They could have named the full frame series Alpha e7/r/s but their marketing & PR guys decided they didn’t want to seem to be offering competing products.
Wow…. When specifically asked about how long they would continue to support 2 mounts, he basically avoided the question, and pretended that there already is only one mount.
Yep, it’s just like Kevin Kulka said below. It’s like this is what’s happening, litereally.
Q: What about A-mount? Is it being developed?
A: *agitated* What are you talking about with this “A-mount” stuff? We only have one line, called Alpha. You can use your old A-mount lenses on it with adapters…..now, have you seen our new E-mount cameras?! They’re awesome! Here, look…
People keep saying “Sony will never come out and say A-mount is dead.” And I agreed for a while, until I heard about this interview.
Seems pretty f*ucking clear to me what he’s saying!
We should get these printed! Who’s with me?
I’d buy one and wear it!
Alpha is for the Alphas, Elpha is for the Elves!
Hey Jools… You stole my ride!
I like it!
We need someone to spearhead this – I don’t have the money to buy them all. Could this be a community SAR iniative? Admin?
If they make a A-mount where the sensor moves in the Z-axis (which has been rumored before), then everything would be compatible. In that case, however, you can really only have 1 or 2 “A-mount” bodies that are highly advanced as to not compete with their E-mount brothers.
Dream on. We are not making that, just buy out e-mount products.
our*
Consistent requests for Macro? That explains why Sony discontinued the Twin Macro Flash and never continued Minolta’s Macro Ringflash. Both excellent equipment. Also never any competition with Canon’s excellent MPE65 1x-5x macro lens. And no 200mm G Macro lens either. And the poorly designed 35mm macro which has no working room for the subject or light when set to macro.
Ok Ok the sham is over Sony, both Nikon and Canon believe you have gone crazy… Now would be a good time … instead of waiting till January to bring out that Killer A-Mount FF super secret camera…. ummm that was the plan right… ummm your not really crazy are you, hello , hmm seems to be static on the line… bzzzz errr uh I think we got disconnected…. um let me get back to this post in a bit… ummm sorry, sorry click.
Ok… lol … good news they dropped the phone they were in such a hurry to get the A99MII and A88 released… Please DO hold your breath, it’s coming… I promise you wont die .. from holding your breath as its just a matter of a few minutes and Shazam Shazam all A-Mount Fan boys will be partying in the streets. … Me included !!!
Are you related to BarryDoesAnimals??? ;-
Just checked my A100, A700, A77 and A77ii – none of them are dead yet…
(althought the A77 did have to have life saving surgery)
As for lenses – they all still work too – I can even put them on my NEX5 but that’s got the £15 “CCTV lens” permanently attached as it’s so much fun.
Surely if you need a specific lens for something you buy the camera that fits that lens – not buy a camera then hope that lens appears sometimes?
Otherwise, do many photographers really need the 40 lenses it seems they do from reading internet forums?
Yeah, there are still blacksmiths that’ll put shoes on a horse. So what?
Horses still need shoes don’t they? I’m not really an expert – they might use kevlar booties nowadays? I really don’t understand the point?
Hello everyone, I finally heard back from Sony from my emails over a week ago. Remember I was asking about the future of A-mount, and showing the concern by linking to many threads. Here is what they said:
“We continue to market and offer support for Sony A-mount cameras, as well as offer a seamless transition experience to Sony E-mount APS-C and Full Frame camera bodies with the use of adapters. There is no need to purchase additional native E-mount lenses when it comes time to upgrade your camera body. I hope this answers your question and thank you for writing to Sony!”
So that’s a very clear and nice way of saying “We are not going to A) be making any more A-mount stuff and, B) Please stay on with us with our E-mount cameras.”
So there you have it folks, right from the Trojan horses’ mouth.
🙁
Even check out the main menu of Sony.com. They’ve finally completely removed any reference to A-mount. “Professional” cameras are now listed as “E-mount” with an E-mount icon too. A mount is still there for purchase if you dig in deep enough, but it’s not being advertised at all in the menus or splash pages – is ALL e-mount.
I think this really is the true and honest end of A-mount.
I’m frustrated by Sony’s ambiguity as much as the next person, but in all fairness, the Sony site lists the A-mount cameras under Digital Cameras > Alpha Inter-changeable Lens Cameras > Professional Capability. I don’t see any specific references to “E mount”. Unless they just read your post and fixed it 🙂
Get to the a99 page… It’s advertised as the lightest full frame camera ever. They can’t even update their own ads?
I’m calling BS, notice the A77II is in front of the A7s that must mean something to, quick grab the tin foilA-Mount numpty needs to make a hat, before Nikon can see his thoughts.
Here’s a picture of all the Alphas together.
Here I’ll help you out dumbass.
It clear some of the supposed A-Mount supporters are clearly lying. LUCID was right about paid trolls on this website.
She probable has all of their IP addresses. She does have a Computer Science degree.
Stuff like this makes me feel that Sony truly is slowly converting over to a complete e- mount body. To say there is just alpha is simply stupid or they think we are stupid. To me, any a- mount lens could be made into an e- mount. But e-mount lense have no place on an a-mount body. Sony is simply telling us, hey you a-mount body users can usethese new e- mount bodies with your current lenses. This leaves me with the feeling they will never put great effort into an a- mount body again. The 99 should have been more than it was. Sony never did provide a-mount body with a 36mp body. This despite the fact an e-mount body has one and provided nikon with sensors for a couple of bodies. I think Sony is trying to funnel us to e- mount bodies. They have worn me down and will have to decide between 7s and 7r, maybe both. Sony wins again.
It was only a couple of hours again when you were saying Sony weren’t getting any more money from you…
I don’t think that was me. I don’t know who will get my money. The government for sure. I did expand into canon so Sony will be getting less.
Why would you switch to the very company that just pulled the rug out from under you.
Canon and Nikon will both be making mirrorless and high resolution soon…very soon.
One issue is I have a Sony card that builds points to buy Sony stuff. My company builds up points fairly quickly. I got the 99 from these points and right now I have over $3500 in Sony points to use. That is why I started with and continue to watch Sony. I did buy a canon for sports/action because the focusing and handling of camera is far better than my 99. Other than that, I probabably be all in with canon or nikon. So I am working with two systems at the moment.
If they are serious about the a-mount. Then they have to prove it by making a quality wide angel lens. Maybe something like the Nikon 14-24. But better if it´s a 12-24 mm f.2,8. And i really hope that they can make it possible with a filter ring. I have the sigma 12-24 f.4.5-5.6. But that lens sucks big time
The answer is simple.
They’re not serious, nor even interested, in A-mount.
Where have you been? Pull your head out of the sand, bro.
If they try to make quality lenses for a mount the e mount camp will complain that they have no lenses…. Sony can’t win
I had a crazy dream. That Sony mad a alpha 99 that has a switch so i could use both fe lenses and a mount lenses in the next camera
that’ll be a good day 😀
The sensor or mount has to move.
WTF are you talking about? The current Zeiss 16-35mm is outstanding.
The prices on used and new A Mount lenses hasn’t changed a bit, where is all the cheap glass?
It’s dropped quite a bit, actually. About 24% for used prices in the last month, according to Ebay Trends.
Do some research next time.
I’m talking about legit camera dealers, not interested in Ebay sellers which are mostly overseas on Minolta and Sony/Zeiss lenses. Try doing some research of your own, the prices new and used are still the same as they were three months ago. I’m looking for some deals and there is none to be had Chad.
Addendum:
Your brain function has dropped 24% in the last hour, dial 911.
I can’t wait for the day when they finally announce that the A mount is dead, that way we can finally have people stop complaining and harassing Sony about “the future of A mount”
Seriously, if Sony makes E mount stuff, A mount users will complain constantly about how their mount gets no love. On the other hand if Sony makes A mount stuff the E mount people will constantly complain that the newer mount is lacking in lenses and accessories!!!
Pretty much no win situation until they decide to finally focus on E mount and I’m looking forward to the day that all the features of the pro A mount camera can be made into an E mount
maybe even a SLT-less A-mount
LOL
They will not be making yhat announcement but when Canon and Nikon enter the mirrorless arena they may soon be anouncing E mount is dead.
You E mount fans who want to see A mount dead for some reason will not have to figure out what to do with all your shiny new E mount lenses when E mound is dead.
Your lenses however are too short to convert to any other mount.
I’m definitely buying a FF a Nikon Mirror-less, cause you know it’s going to have Sony’s best sensor.
It’ll look nice beside my A99II
“when Canon and Nikon enter the mirrorless arena”… They already entered it with underwhelming products.
That was just practice. …next one will be the real thing.
Yeah, they practiced with those two attempts… mkay 😉
The proof is in the pudding:
what does this prove? that lowly Sony live chat staff are not privy to information by Sony R&D? they have probably been given clear instructions not to say anything for or against the future of A-mount as they are constantly bombarded with people asking them…..
They actually don’t have information on future products. I tried to do the same thing prior to the A77II, and they just didn’t know. It’s how that maintain product security, because they don’t want their competition finding out when a product will launch, or what features it will possess.
So, it sounds like you walked away empty handed.
Your talking to a minimum wage clerk at a phone answering center and think you’re going to get an answer on future product releases? Dumb, very dumb. Add this to the list of dumbest posts of the week, Chad it looks like you’re in competition with Gorilla but it’s a tossup.
“One of the reason why they moved all camera to “Alpha” name is that the “NEX” brand seemed to be more cheap than the “Alpha”.”
And the first thing they release after the change? The $350 a3000, which cheapens Alpha brand well below what NEX used to mean. 🙂
“We have one system – the Alpha system”
One system with two different batteries, two different lens mounts, two different ergonomic philosophies…
That’s like saying “All religions are the same. They just different gods, devils, heavens, hells, salvations, histories”…
Sony is a bunch of lying lunatics who want us to drink the cool-aid of their religion.
We have one country! Canada! And the US. And mexico. And costa rica.. and
This is utter nonsense. Did Canon spill the beans on the 5d MKIV? We didn’t even have a clue there was ever going to be a 7d replacement.
Sony just launched the A77II, and it’s doing well. Sony is not about to spill the beans on any of there future alpha cameras. They’re holding back, which indicates a massive non e-mount product launch.
You can try to come up with whatever tinfoil hat theory makes you sound cool, but Sony’s SLRs are selling well, and new models are being developed. They’re not about to give away 1.92 billion in annual revenue to Nikon, or Canon. The A-Mount represents 31% of Sony’s imaging/camera revenue.
If they lose the A-Mount the company will be posting billions in losses for years to come.
Because SLR users are more likely to switch to their competitors, and Sony can’t afford to lose many more customers.
This is why professionals avoid Sony products altogether. They absolutely do not understand photography. Reliability and longevity are considered most important. The bulk of A-Mount users will transition to Nikon, Canon, and not to E-Mount.
If their imaging division president cannot understand this he should be replaced, preferably by someone with experience outside of Japan.
However his body language is saying he’s holding back. Probably avoiding questions that will spoil a product launch of BIGGER AND BETTER things. Plus they want to sell as many A7 as they can before Christmas.
They are currently trying to fit the curve sensor to the amount body. That is the only explanation here. Its the same thing they did when they release the a99, there was a complete silince. So I am expecting that the new a99 will have a ff curve sensor.
What makes sense: APS-C E-mount with OSPDAF, FF A-mount (for smaller lenses and better quality), FF lenses can be mounted on E-mount with or without focal reducer (speed booster) with PSPDAF AF.
What Sony does: small FF E-mount cameras with bad corners and/or huge lenses, APS-C A-mount(A77 II), no A-mount APS-C lens makes sense or autofocus properly with cheap and small adapters on FF E-mount, no FF E-mount can be mounted on APS-C A-mount cameras. And having mature IBIS technology, they discard it to make SOME lenses with inferior OSS (just 2 axis possible).
Yeah, and like 3 different flash mounts.
Did Canon plant a mole in their product management, because as good as Sony’s engineers are, the strategy does not make ANY SENSE, it is exactly opposite of what makes sense!
Peevee you nailed it. I sold my a99 to get on emount train. Found out a7 didnt use AF light on flash and cannot even focus in low light as well as having high miss rate in in good light. Bought amount af adapter, found it was even worse (whoever thinks its same as a99 af you are on glue, also it wont use AF infra red assist off flashes just like emount cameras so has absolutely poor low light AF).. Sold the a7 because I was ruining wedding shoots with it. Bought a7s, slightly better. Still ruining shoots.
Then I caved and bought the a77 mark II. I will take this camera any day over emount even with lesser IQ. The tech is smooth and beautiful not cobbled together with no proper AF.
Oh and sony flashes no matter the mount suck. They over heat MADLY. the hvl-f60m cannot even keep up with a canon flash half its size.
But you nailed it. There is no unified strategy. Besides try mount a 70-200 on fe mount with adapter. It is painful to look at or to hold.
high miss rate on good light? there are two possible explanations 1) something’s wrong with your camera or 2) something’s wrong with your skill. My Canon friends envy with my a7 all the time because the hit rate is very high at any aperture, while their DSLR struggles at wide open.
The new firmware from the hvl-f60m seem solve the overheat problem.
>>no FF E-mount can be mounted on APS-C A-mount cameras
how is IT a flaw in Sony strategy? There is no other way.
Read again – the right way is not having the useless FE at all, and develop FF A-mount instead.
We have ONE SYSTEM. WE HAVE ONE SYSTEM. WEEEE HAVE ONEEEE SYSTEM.
You know what – no matter how many times you repeat it – it never becomes true. I cannot believe the complete fools in marketing in that business unit.
As the original inventors of a digital sensor and the largest manufacturer of digital sensors and fine cameras with only ONE system, we Sony are the masters of everything. Tomorrow we will invent the Sun, the day after, the Moon. Get a NEX, well no, an Alpha (or is it Q?) and take a ride with us. We will even let you use all the Canon lenses ever released! Hahaha.
I guess it was supposed to only be the A7 Series originally designed to share the Alpha name. However the developed of the NEX screamed like they were being left behind, Sony dropped the ball and included them.
So they’re referring to the A6000 as a professional camera which is actually disturbing. One drop of water and the A6000 is destroyed. Its meant to be carried in a purse.
Dude I think he doesn’t understand English. Maybe the interviewer should ask him the same question in niponggo and translate it into English.
Mr. Shigeki Ishizuka standing before a sign saying “Sony make believe” in light of his interview fantasy is quite fitting. ;^)
LOL……….
They sound rather amateur, I’m pretty sure my three year old nephew could run this multi-billion dollar company better than these clowns. Maybe its time for a change of management.
What Sony needs is Barry. He’d their shi* out in no time at all.
He’d sort their shi* out
Remember Betamax, Mini Disk, Memory Stick…A-mount can join the family.
A late entry but this is a strong contender for the most stupid post of the week.
You call troll on one who speaks truth?
Who’s the troll? Explain how he’s wrong or accept the “stupid” award for yourself.
The award is reserved for only the most stupid posters, you could be first runner up.
Still can’t argue the point though? Jokes and insults are noted! Your refutation of fact is non existent.
This is typical of current corporate management, you have a CEO surrounded by sycophants that just robotically repeat the corporate talking points. No mid or upper level manager will dare release any information for fear of loosing his/her job until the embargo is lifted, after that you won’t be able to shut them up.
Don’t try reading into the actual statement(s), it’s nonsense and will only cause confusion. They (Sony) are not showing their hand, we will just have to wait and see. Any speculation based on this is sure to be wrong.
Wait and see? Sony doesn’t have to wait to see me leave them and advise my fellow professionals to stay far away. Think of it as a public service announcement to protect our CaNikon friends from loosing their well schemed flash systems and time proven performance ergonomics.
Are your canikon friends really concerned with vague statements made by a Sony marketing rep?
This isn’t a marketing rep this time
They’re concerned with what I, and other professionals say, because we all require pro tools to feed our families with.
Fellow professionals ah ha ha ha ha
Giving advise from a position of ignorance never works out too well, save your breath.
He’s having a panic attack.
What ignorance? Sony killed the flash. CaNikon enjoys pro functionality… just like Minolta did.
Please argue from a position of knowledge, rather than wave away facts with accusations of ignorance. Psychotherapists call that Gaslighting. Not healthy for your mind.
well… its simple
theres people who could move from “alpha” to “nex”
an for those people an adapter to use all their lenses exists
i doubt theres people moving from “nex” to “alpha”
if anyone went “nex” or start with “nex”
they clearly do it for a reason and wont look back at “alpha” or any brand big cameras
I left NEX 7 and a7R because the cameras handle so poorly compared to a genuine Alpha anything. Really paltry comparison actually. E-Mount Elpha’s are an exercise in design masturbation, and have little to do with refinement earned through decades of subtle development.
This is probably the most pointless discussion of the week. They pushed the A7 @ PK14, so what. Overall PK14 was a complete waste of time.
Its cold and calculated business requirements that drive Sony’s decision making process, and nothing else.
Sony doesn’t care if the E-Mount, and A-Mount communities like each other, why should they? They’re only interested in generating money from, each user group. Sony earns 50% of their camera revenue from both segments. (30% A-Mount, and 20% E-Mount). They’re not going to mess with that.
That is 350 to 360 billion yen (3,2 billion USD) from both camera mounts annually. And both mounts are growing.
The A-Mount will probable get, a new camera every year for the next decade, and Sony will only update lenses they’re sure will generate significant profit from. Why do you think they’ve kept producing some of the oldest Minolta designs (Cause they make money off them, and users keep buying them, I just bought a 35mm G-Series, and that a design that dates from 1987). The sames goes for the E-Mount after 2016.
Both mounts will co-exist for a very long time, only because they earn money for Sony. The A or E mount is survival is closely dependent on its ability to generate cash.
When either the A or E mount finally gets the ax, it will only be because the platform will have stopped being profitable, and nothing else.
Medium format RX form factor never gonna happen, enough with that
Of course not.
I recently ditched my Alpha system camera body and bought a A7r body + adapter, not because I wanted to but because I had no choice if I wanted a higher resolution Sony option, I also did not want to loose my Sony Carl Zeiss lenses which I think very highly of and which represent a far greater investment that the cost of the A7r. So I’ve been using and testing the camera using the CZ A mount 28 – 70 zoom etc, it does the job well, looks a bit silly attached to a lens adapter combo thats twice its size and weight. The RAW image quality is fantastic, crisp bright, no noise, great resolution, no CA etc, all good, I’m a fan. I also tried the E mount Sony equivalent 28 – 70 zoom, and here’s where it falls apart, A mount lens + A7r superb … E mount + A7r ordinary.
The argument re stepping down to the E mount system rests upon it delivering equivalent quality to A mount system, it doesn’t, at least comparing the equivalent A and E mount zooms, I’ve been told the CZ E mount primes are OK but I’m not buying into them. Also the E mount + adapter + massive lens is not so nice to hold and work with, lets say aesthetically its an inelegant rig, practically its clumsy, its not an easy camera to balance and work with quickly. Lets Hope Sony doesnt discontinue the A mount, the A7r E mount is all about its fantastic sensor, most of the other tech is generic, a shame its not in a bigger, better balanced and more straightforward A mount camera body.
Is anyone else getting tired of the “we hate Sony” rants? Yes I’m hacked off as well – I would of really liked to have heard something at Photokina but we didn’t. This interview has not helped either & I also understand that people have invested a lot in a-mount kit but:
1) If you have sold your kit or smashed it with a sledgehammer or thrown it into a wood chipper & gone for Canikon instead – why are you still posting here? You’ve moved on with your kit – so now move on completely. Go & use your new kit instead of wasting time on here. Go & annoy someone on the Canikon forums instead.
2) If you have kept your a-mount lenses but moved onto Canikon for bodies, then why are you still posting here? Yes it’s really f***ing annoying that you can’t use the lenses now with the Canikon bodies but you have obviously kept them in case Sony announces something in January. So again go & use your new Canikon kit & stop wasting time on this forum. You bought it for a reason – go & use it.
3) If you have done nothing except keep your existing kit & rant continuously on endless threads on the SAR forum & Dyxum & others. Why? Yes we are all annoyed with Sony but venting every 5 seconds on a different thread / forum will not solve a thing. If you are that annoyed why oh why have you kept the kit? You are obviously keeping it for a reason – possible announcement in January. If you are that p***ed, sell & MOVE on. You can then use the new kit to take photos – which is the point of the cameras in the first place.
That’s just too much sense for the maniacs that come to have group therapy here.
Telling Sony how wonderful they are when they are not will not give us better Sony cameras or lenses. Yes, I do have invested a lot into A-mount lenses (all Sigma – and for a reason) and yes, I am happy with my NEX-6 as I was happy with my A200 (best cheap and cheerful DSLR ever made by any manufacturer – Sony you can do it again if you really want!). I do not need fast AF or 24 megapixels on an APS-C-sized chip. What I need is lenses that allow me to take tack sharp pictures just like the Sigma f1.8 18-35mm or the f2.8 180mm Macro. This and the creativity of the photographer will give us great pictures. Instead of spending time on writing such gibberish, you should go out and take some good pictures.
Faster autofocus??? How about better image quality first!!!