Rumors from Russia disclose some possible scenario for the future A-mount development. A source who claimed to be in contact with Sony said:
1) A-mount will be developed in parallel with the E-mount.
2) Development is only in the direction of expensive high-quality optics.
3) The A-mount development will be limited to the A7x and A9x line (possibly A9x FF cameras will be more).
4) Sony plans to release 2 A-mount lenses, one of them tilt-shift.
Of course I cannot trust those kind of rumors from unkown sources. But it’s not the first time I keep receiving that exact kind of info and there is a fair chance the rumor may be true!
———
Message to sources: You can send me more info anonymously by using the contact form you see on the very right of your browser. You can also contact me directly at sonyalpharumors@gmail.com.
For readers: Subscribe the RSS feed (Click here) and Twitter (Click here) stream and the Facebook fan page (Click here) in order to not miss any news!
——–
Reminder (SR = Sonyrumor):
SR1=probably fake rumor
SR2=rumor from unknown sources
SR3=50% chance it is correct
SR4=rumor from known sources
SR5=almost certainly correct!
0 Responses
This rumor does not make sense
You say A mont will be developed as A7x and A9x lines only but those are E mount names?
It does, because the x stands for a number like A77 and A99
That makes more sense.
but it will not go endless, the Alphabet has 26 letters, then they have to take 2 letters, and so on. This information sounds like rubbish to me.
LOL
This is really basic stuff, Barry.
Whaaaat?? Name one E Mount camera with A9x…
Let’s hope this will mean, less bodies more lenses. I think one full frame one crop body should be enough. (Even though i liked the compactness of the a55.)
x is a number in this case 😉
Fits to the rumors we heard before (focusing on highend dslr, longer product cycles). I’m fine with having one highend APS-C (A77 successor) and a highend FF (A99 successor). Less choice, less confusion. Expensive high-quality optics is also good, because we already do have good budget lenses and good 3rd party lenses.
“Less choice, less confusion.” – Since Sony cut the A-mount line-up to 3, 5, 7 and 9 series – there is no confusion. Age of A200/300/350 is long gone.
Cutting entry-level models is basically killing the whole mount, and without new users coming in from these cameras – there is no chance any mount will live in a long term.
As soon as an e-mount shooters realize limits of the e-mount system many probably reach for A-mount body with few HQ lenses to fill the gaps.
Nope. They will reach for Canon or Nikon. You can’t use E-mount lenses on A-mount body, so moving from E to A is just like changing whole system.
Thsis^^^ Excellent point that doesn’t get mentioned enough. You can buy Nikon mount lenses and use them on ANY mirrorless or even adapt them over to Canon. That’s a serious value proposition. You use Sony FE lenses and you’re are locked the F in. Your not getting out. Seeing as what is happening with A mount, you better be sure you trust Sony’s strategy.
On the aps-c side, there are adequate choices. For full frame, the premium side is fairly well taken care of, but there is a real lack of moderately priced options.
No f4 zooms… Nikon and Canon both have super high quality 70-200/4’s for people who don’t want the price and weight of a 2.8 zoom. No such option in a-mount.
Apart from a 2k Zeiss, what ultra wide zooms can a Sony full frame user choose from? None other from Sony, limited 3rd party choices.
Heck, Sony doesn’t even offer a full frame 50/1.8.
And while Canon and Nikon offer moderately priced lenses with modern designs, silent motors, etc…. Most of Sony’s budget and mid level lenses still use screw drive and SAM.
Sony’s philosophy on a-mount has shifted to only wanting to sell high margin premium goods in limited volume, as opposed to offering competitively priced options for wide distribution.
Why to make cheap plastic 50/1.8 SAM FF when there is a lot of excelent 50/1.7 on ebay. You can use 70-300G instead of a 70-200/4. Am I the only one who likes SONY strategy? It is better to produce larger volume of A77 grade cameras for less bucks per item then pletora of A5x or A6x models. In low-end segment the e-mount APS-C kits provide better value and style option.
And you can eat a hamburger instead of a steak, but they aren’t the same.
The 50/1.7 is mediocre at best, it’s 20 years old, and it’s screw drive. Why make any new lenses?
The 70-300g is slower and optically inferior to a good 70-200/f4.
Yes, a Sony user can learn to make do — out of necessity. But many great lens options simply aren’t available to a Sony shooter. (And to be fair, there are a couple Sony options unavailable to Canon/Nikon like the 135/STF, but mostly goes in the other direction).
BS. 50/1.7 might be old and have a lot of CA wide open but starting from 2.4 it is just great portrait lens. And not to mention you can have it for 75$. SONY is not crazy to compete with that. If you want something better then buy 50/1.4. 70-200/f4 is for canikon owners who can’t afford expensive stabilized pro zooms. I saw a guy using his Canon combo airplane spotting. He was desperate to take stable position while I was shooting from hands with my A77.
Yes, I have owned the 50/1.4… Point is, CaNikon owners have both options.
You’re simply wrong about the 70-200/4… It’s for enthusiasts and pros who don’t want to carry the weight of a 2.8 zoom.
But even if it was simply a budget issue, Sony simply has no equivalent.
I have to agree on the 50mm 1.7 (a.k.a.- special sauce). It sucks.
IMHO this would be a mistake. If there is no entry level A5x or A3x model, the A-mount will not draw any new users and eventually A-mount will die out as current users will leave and no new ones will come.
I dont think Sony is looking for new A mount users..
At best they just want to Support current users.
I would only buy the current best A mount C or FF model…so the lack of lower level models does not concern me.
What does concern me is wil the high end models have the latest greatest technology as soon as it is released or will it have old hand me down technology after everyone has has had it for 2 years?
“At best they just want to Support current users.” – they’re doing an awful job in that.
You can’t have a successful product line if it only supports existing users. A business needs to grow in order to be successful.
If A-mount doesn’t attract new users, it will die sooner rather than later.
I can’t anything but A-mount getting hand me down technology.
It is an ageing mount, which limits its ability to grow with new technology.
E-Mount isn’t anywhere near so far to providing the same capabilities as A-Mount. Will it ever be? Who knows.
But until then, Sony need to attract new users to A-Mount, because that’s what DSLR users would buy, not E-Mount.
It actually is VERY near providing the same capabilities and in some aspects surpasses them. That is A-mount’s problem, its advantages are going to be wiped out as time progresses, sooner rather than later.
Of course DSLR buyers would only buy A-mount, seeing as E-mount doesn’t provide a DSLR. The question is, is attracting new DSLR users to A-mount a valuable and profitable proposition for Sony? In today’s market, probably not.
“Today’s market” is dominated by DSLR, not mirrorless. And your “sooner rather than later” is some vague point in the future.
I would not believe that until I see an FE 24-70 f/2.8 come out.
Today’s *DSLR* market is dominated by Canon and Nikon.
But no, DSLR does not dominate mirrorless. That is becoming less true year on year.
What do you want? Blood? 12th December 2016, 3:17am – E-mount becomes self-ware.
E mount has no advantages for long and macro lenses…the shorter flange distance of the camera needs to be compensated for by every lens being longer.
Longer lenses also benefit from a heavier camera to proerly balence.
Some reviews cite poorer lens performance of certainlenses on E mount due to protective layer on E mount sensors.
There is a reason for the lack of long and macro lenses for E mount…that is that these lenses are poorly suited to the system.
The new Sony A mount lenses…when and if they come out should include new features to make them work for both A and E mount.
They should have OSS that automatically turns off when IBIS is turned on.
They should also include the appropriate electronics to work on E mount with only a simple extension tube like adaptor and fully utilize the E mount focusing system.
Sony does not care about a successfull A mount line..they are perfectly content to let it die.
They simply want to prevent their current A mount users from switching to Canikon.
They have put all thier eggs in the E mount basket….and are not quite ready to fully demolish the smoking remnants of the A mount bridge that has been burning behind them for quite a while.
So poetic, so profound.
LMAO
Certainly, it has been pointed out time and time again the a-mount is a profitable product line for Sony with higher margins than e-mount. Also, there’s no reason a-mount’s technology can’t be enhanced for years to come. Most of the mirrorless tech people are gushing about here evolving so quickly is a case of it trying to catch up performance wise with the best DSLRs.
It’s ironic that Nikon has filled the gap left by Sony by emphasizing a series of successful FFs based upon Sony sensors that Sony ignores for it’s own a-mount line-up but will only place in its red hot FEs.
Mounts don’t age. If that were the case it would have been outdated 25 years ago. It made it through to digital and its stagnation is more a product of sony failing to move the line forward, upgrade lenses, etc.
Absolutely they don’t age. There is nothing outdated about a mechanical aperture control, for example. Move along, nothing to see here, everything’s fine.
But that’s what I”m saying. Who cares if it’s a mechanical aperture control? It seriously doesn’t matter either way.
Well, this Russian rumor, IMHO, is bs. Add it to a long string of a-mount SAR rumors which panned out to be bs. Meanwhile, we see no substantive moves on Sony’s part regarding a-mounts and only weak lip service feigning commitment.
I don’t think Sony has completely given up DSLRs but expect a dribble of afterthought. If you’re not interested in mirrorless, hanging on for Sony to get off the stick on DSLRs doesn’t make a lot of sense. Even if they release some a-mount bodies down the road they’ll never be the first to get any given tech or feature but will be some derivative spin-off of their e-mounts probably 6 months or likely much longer late to the game.
As you’re already seeing, 3rd parties are realizing Sony a-mount’s future is fuzzy so Sigma isn’t releasing, for example, their hot new 150-600mm Sport lens in an a-mount. As Sony’s neglect lets a-mounts stagnate, this will only get worse. Heck, I’ll make a broader statement that Sony offers a poor system for nature photographers unless you plan to trade in your car for their 500mm great white (and it better be a decent used car to get a 1:1 trade-in!).
If you’re centered on mirrorless, migrate to a manufacturer like Sony. If you’re centered on DSLRs migrate to Canikon. Mirrorless fans will be frustrated with Canikon but folks like you and I can rest assured any mirrorless strategy they come up with will complement DSLRs better than Sony is doing, IMHO.
I have already preordered my 150-600 sport plus 1.4x in Nikon mount to preserve my place in line…this len is forecast to be in short supply.
I expect Nikon will have whatever new sensor Sony comes up with as soon or sooner than A mount will.
This lens will be permenantly attacheched to my new camera so I am not limited to my current A mount system.
It will also allow me more freedom to choose future purchases as I will have more than one system.
It will also better impress strangers who are already inpressed by a long lens..to also see NIKON on my camera.
I have all my cameras coverered with camouflage that covers all my Sony logos..
I will probably leave the Nikon label uncovered to show my frustration with Sony.
Cleary it is Sony’s intention to gradually phase out A mount over a period of time.
Since I do not intend to switch to E mount I will hold out on buying new products for Sony until Sony gives me reason to do otherwise.
I will be getting a new 60″ 4k tv for my studio…it will NOT be a Sony.
“It will also better impress strangers who are already inpressed by a long lens..to also see NIKON on my camera.” – Clearly a priority.
“I will probably leave the Nikon label uncovered to show my frustration with Sony.” – Go Barry!!! You show them!
please cover your username as well, would be nice if we donÄt have to hear the same old stories over and over again…
You thinking APS-C or FF?
If the lens comes soon I am undecided..
I could go go d7100 aps-c for a little over $1000 and then replace it with the new ff supersensor when it comes out….or I could go d 810 but then I would be replacing a more expensive camera when the new one comes out.
Bestccase would be if the lens as nd the new supersensor were available at the same time.
I actually very much would like to find a way to stay with Sony but I need a long lens of good quality and see no other option than to switch .
In the unlikely event that the contemporary version comes in closer to the quality of the sport version than to the quality of the Tamron version I might still have a Sony option…but that seems highly unlikely.
I do have the New Bigma I just got in sony mount so I have something to photograph my new pond with…the wildlife is amazing with six differrent environments converging at my pond..including a seasonal pond that several very rare amphibians migrate to to breed.
Plus permanent nesting…Wood Ducks, Bluubirds, Barred owls…and too much other stuff to mention.
So getting my hsnds on a good long lens is a very high priority for me now.
I’m going through a Polish review of the Sigma 150-600mm and it’s looking like the best expectations are being met. Better than the Tamron and better than even the Canon 100-400mm L (at 400mm vs 450mm). So the price is justified. Though the difference is marginal: “This is not a huge advantage, but the laws of physics and good performance of competitors did not allow it to advantage was much greater.”
I pre-ordered this morning but may cancel it because I’m still not convinced. My need isn’t as pressing as yours and I’m concerned managing this beast without harnesses, monopods, and tripods. My Nikkor 300mm with a 1.7x teleconverter gets me to 500mm and stopped down a bit is reasonably sharp – sharper than my Tamron 200-500mm at 500mm. That combo fits in my backpack with everything else. The extra 100mm probably isn’t significant. However, mate the Sigma 150-600mm to their new 1.4x teleconverter when it comes out and the reach gets crazy. Though on my FF it’s not that much longer than my Tamron 200-500mm on my Sony APS-C.
So many variables… ;^)
Dear admin
When will you bless us with big SR5 rumors?!?
My hope is, that this week its time for it.
Thanks anyway
A rumour from Russia, the most corrupt country in the world.
SR1.
I can name you more corrupt countries, seems you have not been around in the world yet. Anyway, this post does not treat corruption issues, as much as I know.
OK, one of the most corrupt countries in the world. Happy?
Either way, I wouldn’t trust this rumour one bit.
Corruption rating aside, isn’t corrupted environment the best one for information leakage?
Not really, if the entire environment is rife with lies, smoke and mirrors. In a culturally (as well as politically) corrupt system, ulterior motives constantly distort the truth, hence the lack of trust in any information coming out of that system.
So, you’re saying that if Russian media insists that Putins is a god, that means that Sony won’t give up on A3x and A5x lines?
No I’m not. I’m saying that any information is untrustworthy, so no conclusion can be made.
Besides, I’m more likely to believe Sony WILL give up on all A-mount lines, A3x to A9x.
Actually, from a cultural, not political, standpoint, Russians are extremely prone to conspiratorial thinking. For this reason, it’s a culture in which rumors propagate and spread wildly.
I only photograph corruption, so I approve of this message.
They have not upgraded themselves to institutionalizing a “lobby system” yet. They are in between that and having been a Commie state. 😉
If you want corrupt, just come over here to Connecticut. I’m pretty sure small town american politics takes the cake- even against an international audience.
Stop spreading disinformation. 48 countries out of 175 have a higher corruption rating than Russia.
http://www.transparency.org/cpi2013/results
48, wow. That means Russia are in the top 28% in terms of corruption.
LOL, they’re clearly squeaky clean then.
Clearly not the “most corrupt country in the world”. I googled for like 5 seconds to find that.
So, how about “lies, smoke and mirrors”? Isn’t your message a prime example of that?
Oh for God’s sake. Could you be any more pedantic?
From now on, only rumors from Switzerland will be considered.
Was this pole taken before or after Putin lied about Russian troops invading the Ukraine? Don’t believe anything that comes out of the Russian press (government controlled) or any spokesman representing the government. Russia’s current credibility is ZERO.
They only lie about killing people, otherwise they can be trusted.
Bullshit.
Clearly. That has already been established by the more pedantic members of this forum who like to take everything literally. Should we take all SR ratings literally?
Still you aren’t persuasive why she should treat this rumor seriously
They should limit e mount aps-c line to 3 models, an entry, a mid range and a high end, mirrorless and dslr style, and do the same in the FF series. too many bodies yet, an approach would be to have one of each and make it perfect by MK updates, like they do in on RX100. Sony is very innovative, but too fast in change. Once you wait to see the results and test of a camera, the next is anounced again.
This will be a big mistake from Sony, in that case the Nikon , Canon and other brands has one competitor less for there entre level APS-C camera’s, what are they doing at Sony marketing, there is a market for entry level camera’s, but then better ones then the A58.
why do they not bring us a high end a3000 style body in apsc and FF
Sony still has low end E-mount cameras. And RX cameras. They’re not abandoning the low end segment. Besides, the A77M2 is priced quite well and is arguably the camera most people here in SAR is interested in (performance level wise). Yes, the A58 is a nice camera. But the RX100 (original) is a better camera for those people who would buy one camera and one lens ONLY, in my opinion.
So only pro level a-mount body will remain and no entry or enthusiast a-mount bodies?
….
AND NOTHING OF VALUE WAS LOST
I disagree. The incoming flow of new users will be lost.
they would be better off getting an entry level e-mount body. smaller, lighter and more stylish. exactly what that demographic is after.
Incoming new users don’t need to carry around large heavy lenses. They will do just fine with cameras like the A6000. Sony needs to focus more on E Mount lens options. Atleast work with Tamron / Sigma to manufacture or adapt existing lenses to work on E Mount with OSS. I would love to use the Tamron 70-300 on an E Mount camera for example.
The E mount users, when they migrate to higher end cameras, will have a choice of going to A mount (higher performance for the forseeable future) or E mount. And with an adapter, their A mount lenses is useable with their E mount bodies. Most people are happy with their intro kit (body, one or two lenses). That part of the market is not exactly a revenue generator. I still hope for a mid tier mirrorless A mount APS-C or full frame camera. Let’s face it though. The high quality compact and high quality cell phone cameras have permanently altered the camera market. Just look at the flagging Canon and NIkon sales. The lower revenue is not due to the high end market. Lower end products are not money makers and if you keep driving prices down (as they have), profitability is lost. Besides, there are many places in which the low end DSLR sales has met its saturation point. Sony, Panasonic, Olympus, Samsung and Fuji are moving forward and evolving rapidly with the changing landscape.
The cheaper e-mounts are the enthusiast level.
Its a better situation than the one we used to be in a few years ago (a2xx, a3xxx, a4xxx, a5xx, a6x/a7x, a9x).
Also, the dissatisfaction that CaNikon users are feeling when they see that everyone is now reacting to Sony and Panasonic on new tech rather than leading them should not be discounted.
Last time I checked the A77M2 was an enthusiast level camera. And it is more than competitively priced against the Canon 7D II. My guess is that they use SLT for the A7X/A9X in the near future and switch to mirrorless A mount when the performance is there. In the meantime, they really ought to introduce a mirrorless A mount mid level camera. Looking at Canon and Nikon sales, however, it appears that the low end market (even for them) isn’t as strong as it used to be. Let’s face it. Most people who buy low end DSLRs are better served with a high quality compact (like the RX100 line). Or for many, the cell phone is enough. The low end market is probably not as lucrative as it once was. There is always a need for a high performance tool.
Sound very risky.
Users buy entry level models and move “up the ladder”. Even the upcoming artists and pro’s may first start with low end, and only then upgrade as their talent and skills develop.
Established pros are not very keen to move systems. They already have lots of money invested. It’s not a very dynamic market.
Who is Sony’s target client? The existing use base is not enough to keep the business running.
” The existing use base is not enough to keep the business running.”
Sony could survive alone on e-mount mirrorless. Look at Fujifilm, they’re doing just fine.
They’re a business, not a charity. A-mount needs to make money to warrant further development.
No one cares about a-mount besides existing users, and many have already left to a7series e-mount bodies and those who dont have gone to Canikon. a-mount is outdated tech now. e-mount is the future, like it or not.
E-Mount isn’t anywhere near so far to providing the same capabilities as A-Mount. If there is no replacement, it’s not ‘outdated’.
Depends on what capabilities you are talking about.
*Waits for lecture on autofocus abilites*
LOL, educate yourself.
No need. I own both A and E-mount equipment. I am perfectly aware of the advantages and limitations of each, thank you very much. That’s the advantage of being invested in both mounts. It leaves you less prone to bias.
A-Mount isn’t near the capabilities of E-Mount either… did I win something?
Hmm.. irrelevancy award?
Nobody is proposing E-Mount be discontinued and replaced by A-Mount
Because that would be a backwards step.
True but they seem to be going out of their way to either limit sales or squeeze a few more sales our of the existing a-mount owners.
Sony making cameras is risky.
A T/S would be a good sign of a longer future.
I agree.
I agree.
Until now there are only two options for a-mount. The Samyang 24/3.5 or the expensive Schneider Super-Angulon 28/4.5. If the Schneider wouldn’t be 4k€ I’d go for it.
So if a Sony TS would come in between (IQ and price wise) it be highly welcome.
There is also the Arsat 80mm t/s for A-mount, made in Ukraine. I bought one on Amazon and immediately returned it. Total piece of crap. They’ve since cut the price in half to $400, but it’s really only worth $150 or so, as a novelty like a Lensbaby.
I agree a t/s, being such a niche product, would certainly indicate Sony intends to keep the mount. Let’s see what happens.
Didn’t knew that. According your description it seems to be a fun lens only.
It’s a serious t/s lens, but the build quality and design are terrible. The knobs are hard to turn, the rotation doesn’t even fit when the lens is mounted, the optics are mediocre and mine had some sort of metal shavings in between the elements. It was made in Ukraine for crying out loud, not exactly a hotbed of lens fabrication.
It would be very silly to make T/S lenses for EVF cameras.
They’d better release T/S in-body.
If this rumor is true … the end of A-Mount is near…
Sony want to cut off new users, big amount of current pro user will go to other brands.
Current sony E-Mount isn`t good choice, expensive lenses, no f.2.8 standard zoom, no stabilization in body, no viefinder in low-end cameras.
there will be f/2.8 lenses in a few years. lenses are the same price, it’s just that they only have Zeiss lenses now. Wait till the sony branded lenses come like the 28 f/2 and 24-240 FE lenses.
Actually the FE Zeiss prices aren’t bad compared to a-mount…
I`m a low-end user .. have several lenses, but if the future of A-Mount is high-end I will change system ..
E-Mount camera are general cheap but lenses are very expensive … and opticaly are worse than a-mount lenses
If you’ve ever used E mount lenses, you would not be saying this (E mount lenses are optically worse than E mount lenses). That’s the thing about this plan. Low end cameras are low margin cameras. Nobody makes much money from it. Even Canon and Nikon are feeling the pinch in this market. You could buy a refurbished A77 now for a good price. In the future, refurbished A77M2s will become available. Even at the current price, the A77M2 is a remarkable camera, especially at the price level. Though I would hope Sony would make a mid tier mirrorless APS-C A mount camera as a compact, lightweight alternative.
What about a price of 50mm 1.8 A/E mount is the same? or zoom like a Tamron 17-50 f.2.8
You’re a low end user. Why switch the system?
Keep using your current gear. You should be happy already.
35mm f/1.8 (Which I really feel like a ‘must have’ for any APS photographer) is about $150 more or more than other 35mm there is also ~$600 decent landscape lens, no f/1.4 primes, no good affordable zooms, no cheap ‘all-in-one’ lens and still no macro lens that is tempting for me to buy.
It’s a bit disappointing… I only bought my a200 in the first place because they packed so much into an entry level body (at the time I wasn’t going to spend big money on a hobby that I might get bored with). Likewise when I decided to go full frame it wasn’t with a pro budget in mind. I ended up going FE for a number of reasons, but a big factor was the absence of an a7 alternative in the a-mount lineup. Limiting a-mount to high end bodies forces new customers down other routes, which means most sales will be to upgrades. That means more “disappointing” sales, which ultimately gives them the excuse to pull the plug.
The entry-level A3000 has a viewfinder, and it’s only $300. How much more low-end are you expecting, here? The only current model that doesn’t have a viewfinder is the A5100.
Yes, A3000 has viewfinder, but is useless, the quality quality of camera is low
Agree. I’ve played around a bit with that camera, and that viewfinder truly sucks. The control layout isn’t exactly awesome either. If I had started out with that as my first camera, I probably would have just switched to Canikon when it was time to upgrade.
Admin: will anything happen at Photo Plus in New York ?
no.
No as in….no, but like maybe? Or no as in the affirmative, declaratory- no questions asked (ain’t happening) sense?
I thought for sure we’d get something at PP.
I thought I saw that this photo plus is all about the artisans. I think this is a good thing. It seems sony is listening to the complaints from last year.
If they’re keeping the A-mount, it seems unlikely they’d drop the entry-level models. They might simplify the lineup down to three, and keep it that way, but there’s no reason to drop the entry-level altogether.
Don’t agree.
Watching the common trends on the market, it makes no sense to continue entry level A.
Too much development for too few buyers, because most beginners are concentrating on compact-size and they get more for the same money in E APS-C.
The attraction of A-Mount is fast lenses and fast AF.
And to get that, u need to buy the minimum of A77-II and 16-50
Makes sense
They’ve already got a lineup of entry-level lenses, and would be yielding market to Canikon if they dropped the entry level body. Remember the developing world, Brazil, India, China, Russia, and other markets. There are many potential users who want the DSLR body but can’t afford, say, an A77II.
Even in Europe there are people who want to buy cheap cameras, that’s why the 600d is selling so good
Release A8x or A6x already. This is certainly not a good news if true.
Admin
Can you fix the moderation filter to allow the word flange?
This is a commonly used photographic term that ALWAYS makes the comment go to moderation.
Admin ..can you fix the moderation filter to allow the word f1ange…deleberately misspelled here to avoid moderation.
This commonly used photo word ALWAYS triggers the moderation filter.
Just write “clunge” instead.
This^^^ that annoys me too.
I think this sound good. But i hope they release a7r mk II the first, the better. Im gonne buy bothe the a7r mk II and the a99 mk II if they are released
Admin, stop spreading rumors that A-mount is not dead. We all know the truth. All future lenses from Sony will be in E-mount for sure.
a77lll please stop dribbling rubbish and let admin do its job, thank you from everybody
I never understand this argument that because the A77II was released, it means they aren’t killing off A-mount. At some point (assuming it is being slowly phased out), the latest camera will also have to be the last camera.
sounds great, enthusiast and semi pro/pro markets covered by a mount and everything else falls into e mount.
e mount uses can also use all a mount lenses (especially fast glass until e mount fast glass arrives) via the sony adapter.
not sure why anyone would not be happy with this rumour if it ends up being true.
Off topic:
– DXO tested the Canon G7X. The sensor score is better than the one of he RX100III (71 vs. 67).
– Mirrorless rumors quotes Sigma: I’ts a bit more difficult to make ART lenses for the Sony FE system
because of the not so large diameter of the mount. We don’t know why
Sony did this. Likely because the E-mount was meant for APS-C first and
only after that they did use it for FF too.
@admin: I like your page, but don’t we get critical news or am I only a bit impatient.
Weird, Sony seem to be managing just fine to make great lenses.
The diameter thing is just an excuse for their lack of interest so far. Does he really believe Sony engineers didn’t consider FF at the time of design? If they didn’t, the mount would have been even smaller.
Sigma is spinning.
– E-mount: 46 mm diameter
– Leica M-mount: 44 mm diameter
– Nikon F-mount: 44 mm diameter
Diameter of 36x24mm sensor = 43mm.
You’ve got it wrong. It is not just simple as replacing mount when portining their current ART lenses to e-mount. It requires change in optical formula too.
You’ve got it wrong, buddy. Nobody is talking about just replacing the mount. The discussion is about Sigma claiming it is impossible to design fast lenses for E-mount due to mount diameter.
I keep waiting for utra fast wide angle FF from SONY/ZEISS.
You’re waiting to get a life troll, and running out of talking points.
This is the Sigma Troll/Shill talking point to use after the lens mount one is debunked. Still BS.
I’ve read Zeiss guy who explained that they had to take into account thickness of the sensor cover glass in order get better corner results.
Why? Wouldn’t a tube extension be enough?
If you want a compact lens for the compact camera then no.
True that. But to adapt an EXISTING art lens…
Sony E mount: 46.1mm
Nikon F: 44mm
Leica M: 44mm
Minolta SR/MC/MD: 44.97mm
Olympus OM: 46mm
A bit OT, but do you have the measurements for eos-m mount a well?
Good point. I’m not sure what exactly Sigma wanted to say. Maybe also the ratio of diameter and the distance of mount and focal plane comes into play. My impression is that neither mount is perfect for digital. However, when the As were introduced my impression was that FF was not planed at the beginning. (That of course doesn’t mean that you can’t produce stellar lenses for FF E-mount.) The question remains why Sigma doesn’t offer their high quality lenses for the As. One would think just prolonge the lens tube. I had expected that issues with contrast AF are more difficult to solve, but they blame the mount. Since I want tio believe that not everyone who has another opinion is an idiot (as many here seem to do) I wonder what exactly is the issue (assuming 1. we only have a translation, 2. Sigma was vague).
Btw, isn’t the Canon EF mount 54mm?
Sigma is full of $hit and so are you, move on troll/shill.
You seem to only want to hear good things about Sony and call anyone with bad news a troll.
The fact is Sony has great technology but very little else.
Thier decision are very poor and because rhey do not have a clear direction thier systems are only partly thoght out…because they have no idea what thier system will be called on to do tomorrow.
E mount was fist made for C with absolutely no idea it would later be used for ff.
The mount would otherwise have been made larger in diameter…it would have had little if any impact on the size of the camera.
Now they have to work around this defect because they have foolishly commited to it.
They have also not made the electronic interface compatable with non E mount lenses….another totally foolish decision. Making E mount Canikon and A mount compatable would have made this a univeyrsal camera and allowed Sony to convert Canikon market share..or at least allow them to painlessly buy an E mount body.
Thier neglect of A mount users is another major bad decision.
These types of decisions have led to the failure of other devisions such as tv, computer, and cell phone…and they very much threaten to lead to the failure of thier camera division.
E mount is only popular because there is currently no competition.
When Canikon decides to compete they are unlikely to repeat Sony’s foolish mistakes.
If Canon or Nikon build a mirrorless system comparable in quality with E mount and fully compatable with current Canikon lenses.. Why would anyone buy Sony’s highly flawed system.
Without question…E mount will fail when Canikon decide to seriosly compete.
By then it will be too late to re-establish the failed A mount system that Sony has been foolishly alienating and neglecting ….and Sony photo devision will fail.
Let’s ignore the rest of the BS you just wrote and concentrate on one part (otherwise we’ll be here all day and you’ve posted it 1000 times already):
“E mount was fist made for C with absolutely no idea it would later be used for ff.
The mount would otherwise have been made larger in diameter…it would have had little if any impact on the size of the camera.
Now they have to work around this defect because they have foolishly commited to it.”
Wrong. If FF was not in the minds of Sony, E-mount would have been made smaller. E-mount is bigger than Nikon F-mount, for example.
If E-mount is defective due to its diameter, what is F-mount? I guess you just pre-ordered a lens for an even more defective mount.
Barry, you are truly the village idiot around here.
And stop calling APS-C, “C”. Nobody else does that.
Nice! Spot on too, ‘C’ doesn’t mean anything but the village idiot cannot seem to figure that out. Actually think that Barry may very well be handicapped.
He’s actually reciting the alphabet but gets stuck when he can’t remember what comes after c.
C is for Clown and comes after Barry.
I thought C stood for something else.
It does but its a PG forum 😉
So you have generated a substantial string of comments over the highly relevent and important issue that I chose to shorten what you choose to call aps-c to just plain C…..which almost everone on this forum understands the meaning of….
I suppose you are of the delusion that you have done some enormous service to SAR by putting me in my place.
Perhaps you can find a spelling error or other defect in this response and generate 20 or 30 more comments from it. That would add even more credibility for you with your PEERS.
I care little for your spelling and grammar errors and I’m not looking for credibility, as I am not a narcissist.
So either you are lying or there is absolutely no purpose to your comments..probably both.
You pick petty nonsense criticisms like bad spellin or currupt government or other assorted petty nonsense in order to find something to critisize and insult…thenyou will pick apart the repetitive responses to your repetitive insults with more petty and irrelevent points.
That makes you not only as repetitive a troll as any of the commenters you insut but a hypocrite as well.
As for the mount size…A mount has IBIS ..none of the others do.
The Small sive of the E mount makes any future addition of IBIS to be compatable with thier own A mount system problematic.
The other systems do not have a current userbase dependant on IBIS to worry about.
Barry, this has nothing to do with A-mount or IBIS. You’re trying to change the subject because your first statement was stupid and completely ill-informed.
As per your usual tactics you make insults in order to elicit an off topic or defective response and then critisize any defect you can find in the response you yourself have deliberately elicited.
You are a liar and a hypocrite because if you actually did not want to read this type of comment you would not be deliberately eliciting them.
Barry, you are unable to see anything wrong with your behaviour, as you are rude, arrogant and narcissistic, at the same time as suffering from OCD and being paranoid. It is a potent combination and is why you get into so much trouble here. Unfortunately, you are unable to learn from your mistakes.
Be in no doubt, your posting history here shows you are in no position to judge anybody else’s integrity, intensions or honesty.
You upvote your own posts ffs!!! Is there anything else more pathetic?
So just what are these qualities that you possess and I lack that make you so eminently qualified to judge me?
This isn’t about what I possess, it’s about what you lack, namely people skills and a sense of self awareness.
On the contrary…it is totally about you.
It is those things that bother you most about yourself that you comment about.
The qualities that you think you see in me that you see and hate in yourself are the ones that bother you….and scare you.
Amateur psychology is not your strong point, is it?
What I said is so obvious that anyone can see it…no skill required..the truth of what I have said is…I am sure very disturbing to you.
The nature of your insults and critisism to me has given me more than enough information about yourself that if I were the hurtfull person you think I am I could make comments to you that would be very hurtfull.
Furtunately for you I am not the person you think I am.
Too late Barry, I have already decided to end it all.
I hope you are not serious I would not want you to end it all.
I only want you to end your responses to me.
If you sre serious plesse ask for help…there is no going back.
I meant delete my account, which I have already done. You stooped to new low today. This is my last post here.
My God you’ve got a lot of nerve calling Barry rude! You and your cohort (abortabort) are like a couple 13 year old school boys that can’t think of anything intelligent to say so you resort to name calling. If you disagree with Barry, why can’t you just agree to disagree like all the other civilized folks on this forum do? You and your angry friends and your foul mouths are why internet forums get such a bad rap. This would be a much nicer place without you.
I can happily handle opinions I don’t agree with. This isn’t about agreeing or disagreeing. If Barry does nothing but troll the forum with off topics, repetition, lies and conspiracy theories, then what exactly do you think will happen?
Well, there are several different options.
1. Read him and agree with him
2. Read him and disagree with him
3. Since you never agree, ignore him
4. Continue to read him even you never like what he writes, and then dirty the forum for a while insulting and calling names.
You seem to have chosen option #4. Why don’t you give option # 3 a go for a while and give the rest of us a break.
Sorry, that is Barry’s choice.
So sad that you are not in control of your own fingers.
Civilized folks?
I think you’re looking in the wrong place….
But let me know if you do find any, we’ll start a club.
So Canon and Nikon will have to abandon their only <3 year old systems to compete with Sony and have that from scratch and you think that it will be their great saving grace that they will be compatible with existing lenses. You really are a troll Barry and not a very intelligent one.
“You really are a troll Barry and not a very intelligent one.” <– The truth.
The sad thing is that Barry actually thinks he has something to offer around here.
Here we go, another day of Barry-bashing.
And I can’t think of someone more deserving.
He brings it on himself.
If you post garbage, then you can expect to get treated as such.
But whatever happened to entertainment? You guys are going to regret the day he stops showing up on this site.
Like I would regret getting rid of a fungal nail infection.
If you think that anything Canikon currently makes is an attempt to compete against E mount you are foolishly mistaken.
Canikon will wait until bith thier product and the market opportunity are ready…..then they will launch products that will devastate E mount.
Current Canikon mirrorless cameras are merely testing the market or geared towards other markets.
Nikon one system for example is only a 1″ sensor agnd desighned to compete with M4/3 not E mount.
Keep singing that tune troll.
So what the f**k was EOS-M, then?!!
Shhhh Barry won’t talk about that, only that when they do release a mirrorless system they are going to crush Sony.
Testing the market for what then Barry? To see if it will support junk? To see if they completely dump a new system in the cr@pper that the market will just roll over and take it? Maybe they want to produce the poorest selling, worst recieved systems so they can win a’most improved’ award? You really are brain dead.
This is a low end inexpensive camera..simply an inexpensive test camera…notice that it is compatable with Canon lenses…unlike Sony.
In interviews Canon execs have stated that they are waiting to fully developed proffesional level mirrorls system to be ready before releasing it.
If Canon puts thier new tech 50ish mp foveon like sensor in thier ff mirrorless camera, and makes it Canon lens compatable with fast autofocus. …
And Nikon puts the new Sony sensor in a similar camera…
Why would anyone buy E mount…I know its not what you ,as an avid E mount fanboy, want to hearbut even Sony management knows this situation is comming and is therefore they have devoted the bulk of thier resources ti trying to develope the E mount system before the cimpetition cathes up.
Unlike Sony they do not need to develope an entire new system…just a good new camera.
“These types of decisions have led to the failure of other devisions such as tv”
Totally incorrect bullcarp.
What a tool.
I never will understand people like you, but hey, I even don’t try.
Sometimes you gotta be off topic to be on topic. Nice job- most interesting news of the day.
Ha! So the G7X scores higher than the 70D (and 7D II presumably). Way to go Canon!
I tried the 7D II out this weekend (prototype). Rubbish.
I was in a store the other day with two Canon girls showing it off, didn’t even bother to pick the thing up, had no way to wash my hands afterwards.
“- DXO tested the Canon G7X. The sensor score is better than the one of he RX100III (71 vs. 67).”
That’s the problem when you simply hang your hat on the intermittent “break through” without enough attention on refinement and improvement. Eventually, your competitors copy your innovation, and might even improve upon it.
Apple led the way with iPhone, leaving competition in the dust for a couple of years. But now, Android is taking even greater market share.
Sony innovated with the dSLT, but that was 4 years ago… They continued to neglect the A-mount lens lineup, the A-mount still lacks refinements found in other brands, etc.
Or maybe it is just Canon cooking the raws.
I don’t put much weight into dxo “scores,” which are often misleading.
But what is certain — the G7x lens is a faster aperture across the zoom range, and is a bit longer. On specs, it’s hard to find many advantages of the RX100iii except for the EVF. Normally, I’d say the EVF is a huge advantage, but I felt the EVF on the RX100iii to be very uncomfortable when I tried it.
this is awesome!
Until Sony makes native 2.8 70-200 and 135mm 1.8, 85mm 1.4 and 50mm 1.4 I’m not interested in FE and I’m not gimping out my gear. There is very little advantage to going to E mount unless your into video- I get that. Nikon’s D750 despite not being revolutionary is selling like hot cakes. It’s selling because the DSLR is not dead and most people don’t care if the space between the sensor is empty or has a mirror. What they do care about is access to a vast array of lenses and accessories with top image quality.
We’ll have at least one more A mount go around. I’ll ride this wave until it hits the shores. Maybe by then FE will be able to provide faster lenses, bigger bodies with better ergonomics and class leading AF. Until then…..
Well said
Yawn. Like you haven’t said the same thing (more or less) a thousand times before… we get it, you don’t want an E-Mount camera, can we move on?
And I’ll keep saying it when it’s the same rumor stated a thousand times before. Plus, I’m still drinking my coffee. Takes me time to warm up.
Well until Sony drop SLT I won’t carry big wasted lenses with permanently attached ND filters that the camera won’t function without to get the same light gathering as a ‘gimped’ cr@ppy E-Mount with its ‘slow’ lenses.
DoF is different regardless of light (f/2.8 vs f/4)
DoF differences between 70-200mm f4 and f2.8 are minor at best.
The advantage of E-mount and FE-mount is size and EVF. The size advantage would mostly disappear if you started using lenses like a 70-200/2.8.
The advantage of the D750 — and the Canon/Nikon brands — is the very complete selection of great lenses, along with AF abilities far superior to the A7 series.
…. leaving SLT is a bit of a no-man’s land. Doesn’t have the size advantage of the E-mount, but it does get the EVF. Has better AF than the A7 series, but not as good as the D750. Has a more complete lens line-up than FE mount, but a mediocre selection compared to Canon/Nikon. So the limited market for A-mount are those who want true dSLR ergonomics with an EVF.
I don’t see the real advantage being size, It can be size if you want that. But really a camera that takes mechanical limitations out of the way and lets technology take over, because of that mirrorless can be way more flexible. And that flexibility is the main advantage IMO.
But no one system or camera is going to be right for everyone. Just look at the automotive industry, how many kinds of cars are there??
I listed 2 advantages — Size and EVF. EVF/live view, with a bunch of inherent features, is what you’re talking about. The only change in terms of “mechanical limitations” is the removal of the mirror. Not like the physics of photography is otherwise changed.
The removal of the flipping mirror — that is shared by dSLT and by E-mount. The addition brought by the E-mount is mostly the smaller size.
The mirror and the pdaf sensor yes. I was talking DSLR vs Mirrorless. You have size/weight if you want it it, you have the lenses mount adaptability, the AF system with touch AF or the tracking on the a6000/etc.. Will be better pretty soon here, the EVF is mostly an advantage, and something not talked about much focus accuracy.
Were still in the infancy of mirrorless, when the camera can be totally software driven the only limitation is what we can think to put in them. processing hardware advances way faster than mechanical hardware.
seems like you will stay in A-mount then 😉 Those fast lenses were for film cameras and the first DSLR with bad sensors. Don’t think that half to one stop advantage will make all the difference in your pictures in terms of shallow DOF.
85 and 135 is of course still missing but coming soon. The system is just ONE YEAR OLD
I can live with the 50mm 1.8 or even an F2- that’s not the big deal. I want a 135 F2 or F1.8. It does make a difference over F4 for full body shots. I hear the 85 is coming and I hope the reviews are good. As far as the 135- I don’t see that happening at all. If so it will be a F4. We shall see.
Why not an f2.8 or f2.3 or whatever? 135mm’s are not typically that large until you get to the 135mm Zeiss. Sony have already proven they are happy to make big fast lenses for E-Mount as per customer demands. Yes first release lenses are slower and smaller because they assumed that is what people would want, but the number of people seemingly happy to have the larger size for more light (and demand it) have turned that around. There is absolutely zero need for a 135mm to be f4, none whatsoever, so your comments are based on some rather daft assumptions.
i think you mean zero need for a 135mm to be f1.8. There is, especially when you do full body shots. No doubt there is a difference in how your able to provide a shallow depth of field.
No, you said that it would probably be f4, I pointed out that other than being a smart a$$ comment there is no reason it would be f4.
Plenty of reason it would be an F4. I suggest it be a 1.8 and nicknamed “Fat Baaaastard” but I’m sure I won’t get my wish. F4 is compact and seems to work for Leica aficionado’s so why not Sony. Isn’t that the target audience here? Small and compact…small small small small small. 135mm 1.8 calls for a real camera- as in beefy grip and substance. That could be an FE- I don’t care. But the current bodies are craptastic when it comes to ergonomics. And who uses the word daft? Anyhow, carry on. It’ll be a 135mm f4 despite my daftiness.
Well I didn’t want to say that you are thick, but clearly you are. So there is nothing between f4 and f1.8 in a 135mm? Geez you are bright! I just finished explaining that Sony don’t seem to have any trouble announcing big heavy bright lenses for FE… maybe you should read again? 135mm f2.8 is tiny, no need for f4 and no, the whole thing with FE is not small small small, it’s flexible flexible flexible. it’s just such a pity that thick users such as yourself can’t register that.
2.8- small? Ok. Yes, thick would apply to my neck. When you carry around a giant A99 and big guns like the 135mm 1.8 you get that. My neck is thicker than my thighs and the chicks dig it. Moving on.
Bahahahahaha sad. Yes, f2.8 is small, damn small. Your weeny 135mm f1.8 is small as well in the grand scheme of things, but a 135mm f2.8 is absolutely tiny.
Lol a portion of the E-Mount crowd keeps trying to convince themselves that they made the right choice investing in E-Mount, hmm seems they are a bit unsure as they keep telling all of us A-Mount fans how great e-mount is LOL. Truth is some have and some have not, as we all know it just depends on each individuals needs. The ones who keep telling us why e-mount is better probably are just having second thoughts. I too will always have A-Mount until they produce decent Fast Lenses. I personally could care less for a smaller camera/setup.
I’m endlessly fascinated by the points made, ‘facts’ stated and complaints raised over this A mount / E mount ‘struggle’!
As though most of us have any real idea of the costs and sale success of each line (from any manufacturer!), or that a fantastic camera like the A99 suddenly becomes a piece of junk when a different design comes along, or that we have special abilities to design the perfect camera in spite of physics and the limitations of current technology!
The truth is that the minutiae of design decisions at every stage to determine the profitiability of any product must be almost mind-blowing. In addition, given that our knowledge is likely a couple of years behind the ball so to speak, because of continuing developments we know nothing about, to criticise non-stop is becoming tiresome.
As to the ‘future’ of A mount, if you had the money you could go out now and buy an A99, together with just about every lense needed to cover 99.9% of needs, and have them last another decade or more. Where is the lack of future?
For me, I love the new A7 line and have bought into it. I also love my A99 bodies and will hang on to them in the short term, but if I decided to sell it’s not because Sony have ‘killed’ them, rather simple economics and need.
Where Sony have been weak is the after-sales support and repair, but this has nothing to do with the mount, or the quality of the product.
“As to the ‘future’ of A mount, if you had the money you could go out now and buy an A99, together with just about every lense needed to cover 99.9% of needs, and have them last another decade or more. Where is the lack of future?”
You can also go buy a used A900 and Minolta lenses that cover 99% of needs, and have them last another decade. Does that mean that A-mount OVF cameras have a future?
An active “living” product line isn’t a mystery — It’s what we are seeing with the Sony E-mount and FE-mount. At best, A-mount has been relegated to the status of the Apple original iPod classic — they kept it in their product line for a couple extra years before dropping it.
Only if technology advances to the point when AF speed of mirrorless will be as fast as PDAF of SLT/DSLR in **low light**. I do not see this coming yet.
The speed of FE is lagging, but in other mirrorless cameras… the A6000, and Oly/Pany 4:3 cameras, AF speed has largely get caught up. Even in low light, pretty darn good.
I just go the Nikon D750 though — it was locking AF in near total darkness, maybe no mirrorless camera can do that. But neither can the A99.
“Does that mean that A-mount OVF cameras have a future?”
If you mean ‘Will manufacturers keep making cameras with an OVF?’, I have no certainty, but I suspect they won’t. However, I’m absolutely certain that an existing A900 will have a future, as long as the owner takes decent care of it!
The point I was making is that I don’t understand why people take the design decisions of a company so personally when it will have such little affect on them.
“The point I was making is that I don’t understand why people take the design decisions of a company so personally when it will have such little affect on them.”
For some people, it really is just an academic discussion. But it can have quite an effect on others. It’s not like a television — once it dies, you go replace it with any brand.
Many enthusiast and professional photographers may have a large investment in lenses, that were expected to hold value for years and years.. but that lose substantial value if there aren’t new bodies to put them on. And while those lenses will “function” on older bodies, getting left behind as technology advances is not the answer.
If 5 years from now…. someone is sitting with a Sony Zeiss lens that they bought in 2011 for $2,000… And if all “new” dSLRs can shoot optimal IQ at ISO 5,000,000,000 at 900 fps in 4D, etc, etc…. But you’re stuck with the only options being to use that lens on an “antique body” or sell it for scrap….. I may be exaggerating slightly, but I think that is the concern. If you have spent time and money building up a collection of A-mount glass, the concern about the future does indeed affect you.
There are a good number of adapters already, so the worry is a curious one.
“As to the ‘future’ of A mount, if you had the money you could go out now
and buy an A99, together with just about every lense needed to cover
99.9% of needs”
But who gets into DSLR photography with the top of the line full frame model? The entry into DSLR photography is with cheap bodies and cheap legacy glass. It may be that most of the prophet is in the A77 and A99 models but they will cut off the stream of people moving up to those high-end cameras if they no longer produce a low end body to get people hooked.
You are confusing, as do so many others, the business decisions and potential profitability of Sony products with an individual’s needs. I don’t see why one person should be worried over how another progresses in their photography, or what camera they carry.
If you have a need now, buy the camera that mostly fills that need. It won’t go ‘Pfftt’ and disappear in a cloud of smoke should the manufacturer not produce a new variation, or accessories, in the future!
You are missing the point that Michael made. Most people enter the dSLR market at the bottom end and work their way up. They will not be able to buy a first step onto the dSLR ladder from Sony. They will instead have yet another reason not to buy Sony and get a beginner Canikon instead.
Does there have to be a dSLR ladder?
If an E mount camera can perform every bit as well as a dSLR (and at entry level they do) then I’m not sure I see the logic.
Perhaps it is a consideration as regards Sony’s business, but I just don’t get the tantrums as to whether Sony will continue to produce cameras that have an A mount, especially as there is an adapter which means all such lenses can be used on E mount cameras!
Legacy Minolta glass is the logic. The 50mm f1.7 and the Beercan needing an A-mount digital camera to attach to is the logic. Even the Xi power zooms are pretty cool on a low end DSLR. If the lower rungs on the ladder are removed it will for all intents and purposes stop new people from climbing it. It may not be the same as killing the A-mount now but it will just be a matter of time as it will cut off the flow of new customers for A-mount and guarantee a user base that will disappear over time. It is the same as yielding the DSLR market to Canon and Nikon and some day they won’t be selling any high end A-mounts either.
Yes but if you’re buying your first DSLR, it’s probably not going to be an a99…
Hulk not have to smash A-mount. Sony smash A-mount!
Oh man, todays just getting started.
A mount needs a low end body
Sony should set some money aside and go to sigma, tamron, tokina and get them to make the existing lenses in a mount, where there is gaps, and just slap a sony sticker on, or just use the money to encourage those makes to make a mount stuff.
I REALLY hope this is just a rumor and not an actual decision made by Sony, because it would be preeeeeeettyyyyy damn stupid to make A-mount for the rich taking in account all the money they’ve thrown in R&D for E-mount, let alone the fact of telling people now: Buy an entry camera that has E mount and when you want to go pro, ditch everything because you’re going A-mount now.
Taking in account that Sony now uses E-mount for everything it can now, this wouldn’t bode too well for A-mount users, but that isn’t news at all…
This ongoing stream of vague and often conflicting rumors, coupled with the lack of any roadmaps for the product line is what lead me to finally give up waiting and sell off my full A-mount collection last week. I’d been a Minolta shooter from decades ago and moved into the Sony world with the A100 way back when, so it was a sentimental parting of ways.
Most likely moving over to the Fuji X-mount world because their cameras are comparable for the type of shooting I do, and they at least have a published roadmap of what they are working on and will be delivering…
You may want to shoot with it first. Try out some of the lenses. Not everyone is a fan of their X trans sensor and TBH I find some of their lens builds to be lacking. However, they do listen to their customers and often provide firmware updates. I use Oly for the small stuff. Nah, I’m lying….lately I use it for everything and my A mount Zeiss glass just sits on a shelf. But anyway, good luck.
fuji offering certainly look interesting..however, one big flaw is their “cooking” of the RAW files…the heavy noise reduction smearing all the details..meeeh
And their beta product releases, their slow noisy AF, low resolution, cooked RAWs, way overstated ISOs to make them look better in tests on the Internet.
yes, there are some other flaws too, but the raw-cooking is for me personally completely unacceptable…its funny how fuji users claim fantastic noise-free high ISO, completely ignoring the fact that the high ISOs are also detail-free 😀
Exactly! And they go ‘wow look how clean ISO 6400 is compared to XYZ’ without ever actually taking into consideration the real exposure, they go by what the camera is telling them that the ISO is.
Fuji have managed to pull the biggest scam in camera history and numbers fans lap it up.
Try an a7 too – I’ve had mine for a week and wouldn’t go back to my A77ii (after going through exactly the same thing you did). I know there’s a lot of Sony rage at the moment, but they’ve definitely hit a winner here. Depends what you shoot, obviously, but for street it’s perfect. Haven’t tried macro yet, but I’d be amazed if they screw up on the 90/2.8.
I only briefly played with an a7 in a store display, but it just felt too *small* and toylike in my hands. I think I could learn to acclimate to that form factor for an a7s (I tend to shoot in low light), but that one is so dang expansive, double the price of a Fuji X-T1 right now (which I’d also be adding a grip extension on to make it more holdable)
Where I am the A7S costs about the same as an X-T1… I got the A7S. Also as an Alpha shooter the ability to use my Alpha lenses has a much bigger appeal than anything Fuji. Sony have a roadmap just like Fuji but their lineup is expanding faster than Fuji’s.
Cheap shot… a77II will not see a replacement for years. So they’re really only working on a99II, if that. At best, Sony only has one A-Mount camera in development at this point. And it will probably plastic lens mounts left over from unsold a58’s. They’ll call it a design feature for the benefit of the customer.
Go bank to cannikon boards fool!
BTW Andrea , I smell A99II with dual Bionz X processors , 36MP sensor , super duper fast AF with enough points to cover %70-%80 of the sensor area
Actually, reading all some of the readers’ comments I am actually convinced to understand why this might be a logical move from Sony. As a division the Imaging division can’t afford to take loss and obviously products that are less interesting will bring loss into the division.
Sony probably sees that it’s A-Mount system doesn’t hit it’s target sale. And I can probably confirm this because if I talked about a ‘Sony camera’ into the public masses they are most likely going to talk about E-Mount rather than A.
However the ecosystem (especially the lens ecosystem) of E-Mount has been very disappointing even until now. A-Mount is still a very good option for me (I’d choose A77II over a D7100). So I noticed that Sony is in a dilemma. Hopefully the taken decision is good for us.
Part of the problem is they’re competing with themselves. The A77ii is arguably the best APSC dslr out there, but the A6000 gets all the love… The DSLR market is still big business, but I can see why they’re focussing on the market that they’re more successful in (and being shy about coming forwards…)
Exactly what I was trying to explain… I can somewhat say that Sony gives one of the best cameras out there in each respective classes. Whether it’s Mirrorless or DSLRs. But they’re so good that they’re competing each other.
admin, please stop wasting our time with rumors for cameras made out of dinosaur bones and Cosmic Microwave Background Radiation and give up more news and pictures about the progress of the g series 90 macro, the 35 1.4 and that other lens. 🙂
Don’t trampled in the rush to grab 85/1.4 and 135/1.8 if they discontinue the a-mount…
but..but..those arent confirmed and my moneys already tied up until end of 2015 for those lenses shown at phototankatinka..man i just know that 35 1.4 is going to be 1899.. 🙁
And I’ve got to justify spending a small holiday on the macro… Damn you Sony!
damn the holiday..the memory and results of it vanish 10 minutes after returning to work. the macro is forever* and when youre feeling stressed, you can put some extension tubes on it and get lost in a different reality of detail other than your own. healthy escapism!
And dinosaur bones are still around millions of years later.
Touché!
It would explain the overdue A58II. I’ve been saying here a while now that the important camera announcement is not the A99II, as it is the A58II that would determine Sonys future for A-mount.
Two years ago I predicted that they would drop the A3x first and then drop the A5x series later to push new APS-C users onto E-mount, however some people accused me of trolling!
Perhaps this rumour is merely repeating what is being said here, I hope so as there should be a very cheap A5x series, but then there should also be a cheaper A3x but there isn’t…
The presence of the a5100 and the absence of an a58ii speaks volumes, unfortunately…
It makes sense to allow E Mount to take over the consumer market. I think E mount products are trendier and “cooler” for the entry level soccer mom’s and dads.
Pro A mount is only needed now for pelical PDAF. Thunk about it. Without phase detect AF…A mount is useless over new pro E mount bodies.
soccer moms don’t care if it’s A or E mount…
Only A-Mount rumors get this many comments. Sony should consider the implications of that.
What does it take to admit that A mount is history? Every normal user of anything would admit the fact! If there is nothing in january/february? Is that it?
I think A mount fans will say same thing 2018! What if you all were out taking pictures instead or playing football or something productive…..
When there are no more Alpha’s available for new purchase, then Alpha will be dead. Leica survived for many years, in a slow period, by producing very few cameras. Zeiss survives by producing manual focus lenses in the modern age. Pentax survives with alternative formats.
The road to success, and market niche, is not always paved with the obvious.
I suggest Alpha as the first AF mount, may in the end, be found as the last man standing. The fat lady isn’t singing, nor warming up. She’s on a crash diet.
I like your try! Really. But you can’t compare Minolta with Leica or Zeiss? No way. Nor Nikon!
Minolta is just an amatateur camera from the 70th o 80th like Topcon or Praktica. Sorry to be rough.
Not rough, just wrong. I’ve been making a full time living on Alpha mount since 1985. I guess you never heard about the five generations of 9 series, or the XK, XM, X700, XD-11 (which Leica purchased for R series)… I guess you never heard about the Minolta light meters, color meters, flash meters, that every pro used… Or the scanners that put Nikon to shame, or the Medium format TLR’s that None of your favorites ever made. Heck, the entire company was founded upon the principle of Japanese/German camera company. What other camera mount do you know that has had close relationships with both Leica and Zeiss?… None.
Sorry to be rough, but you should check your history before making such broad brush claims… and that’s all you did.
He’s mentally incompetent. I wouldn’t bother. A pet rock has a better chance of understanding what you’re saying.
I guessing he’s paid to spout off this garbage.
The trolls have been talking trash/BS ever since the A100 was released, and they’ll be saying the same crap well after the A99IV has been released.
And Sony still remains the third largest SLR company in the world, and they’re still growing.
They are wrong, they’ll always be wrong, and no one really cares what they say. Their opinions are worthless in the long run anyway. They are worthless.
I think most of them suffer from sever mental illness.
I have not seen more true words in a while. The A mount bashers and deniers they are always the same and some are actually low paid trolls (turks or something they call them).
Same as the “omg no more sony FF!!!!” until the a99 came out then they slithered back under their rocks, now this with the a mount “omg no a-mount announcement for 3 months” .
Take names for fun and call them out when the next a-mount releases, they will be nowhere to be found. Pure cricket sounds.
NoMore, you are an absolute fuc*ing moron. The fact that you post these ridiculous post indicates that you’re either mentally incompetent or a numpty.
Saying the A-Mount is dying is as moronic as saying BMW is dead because it doesn’t sell as many cars as Toyota or Apple is dying cause its not selling many MacPro’s.
Read the fuc*ing article. Sony is positioning the A-Mount as a premium camera, not a BestBuy special.
In 2018 I’m probably going to me using my 50mp 12fps A99III, with a 70-200G9 taking a crap ton of cash, and earning 10x what you do dummy.
imo, Sony should just come out clean and say what strategy they plan to go with the A mount and E mount….whatever the strategy is, just be transparent and all of this confusion and “hate” will be subsided.
minipixels.net | Automotive Photography
What other camera/lens manufacturer came out clean? No one is transparent, why should Sony be transparent?
The problem is they give a clear roadmap for e-mount, but leave us to draw our own conclusions for a-mount.
Sony had plenty of roadmaps for their SACD, and Mini-Disc product lines. A roadmap doesn’t ensure a product lines survival.
Road maps are used to assure those adopting new technologies that their products will receive continued support. It’s a cheeky marketing tool that has been worn out by the camera industry.
Pentax in the only SLR manufacturer that provides a road map. Canon, Nikon, and Sony don’t have to. Their users aren’t worried about their cameras future.
When E-Mount users finally feel secure (about their mirror-less investment) the roadmaps will likely go away.
The supposed official leaked roadmap? 😉
They have no obligation to disclose their plan to the competition. Also it seems they flit around to whatever seems to be making them the most money.
Can’t blame them for that but the armchair CEO in me wants to take them by the hand like a little child and gently show them what is important to a working professional photographer. As someone said above, it’s not rocket science and sony has all the resources they need.
Sony, release an A88 with better buffer and an advanced A77II AF system and 4k. Do it for around 1700 dollars. Watch it sell more volume than the a900 and A99 combined. It’s not rocket science.
Yeap, go ahead and make only ‘high-quality optics’ for the A mount, so that we can all buy the cheaper and better Sigma/Tamron alternatives with longer warranties.
I have been a full-time photographer for almost 3 years now, and have used the A3XX, A5XX, A5X series for as far as I can remember.
In 2015, they will probably say they only want to keep the A9X series, and all lenses will be Zeiss only.
The only way Sony is going to keep A mount users happy is to continuously develop the A -mount, OR Make E Mount cameras with IBIS & Adaptors that support full AF function for A mount lenses.
But then again, the professionals can’t be using E-mount cameras for work related assignments.
I have a new rumour. Sony will produce the following A mount lens next year.
Sony 500mm f8 reflex
Sony 250mm f8 reflex
Sony 28mm f2
Sony ZA 35mm f1.4
Sony 24-105 f4
Sony 400mm f4
Sony 100mm f2.8 soft focus
Sony 35-105mm
Sony 70mm-210mm f4 beercan
Sony 200mm macro
Yes, it is SR5 level.
I approve of this message^^
Hades has apparently ended an ice age! ;^)
Sony please release a camera body with interchangeable sensor and swappable internal components. So we can upgrade only the components that need upgrading rather than the entire camera body. This will reduce significantly the amount of resources used and electronics waste in the world.
Technically difficult, resulting in higher research, development and tooling costs for them.
Not going to happen.
you’re wrong – one upgradeable camera model may not solve the worlds problem, but millions of upgradeable electronics including cameras would have a significant impact 🙂
Good luck with your campaign.
Do you really think the typical consumer..or for that matter you…would be able to successfully swap out complex electronic components…and go crying to Sony for a refund when the mess it up?
If they made it easy enough to do, then why not. It’s all in the design. Or they could even design it so instead of buying a whole new body, you bring it to the local camera store and they upgrade it for you when they sell you the parts. Like computers used to be (before the recent laptops and tablets that are virtually impossible to upgrade anymore)
What you say sounds on the surface sensible.
The complexity and wastefullness of actually makinkg it happen would not only be much more expensive than replacing the whole camera but would be more wastefull of resources.
Most overwhelming of all though…Sony compatability is already very problematic without replaceable camera parts…I cant even imagine resolving compatability issues sufficiently to appeal to any volume of users…I also cannot see why anyone would put new components in an old camera.
It is currently much more possible to put a new motor in an old car…how many people would want too?
Also how would you feel after upgrading your camera sensor and processor only to have the shutter wear out the next week.
I totally agree with Justtakethepicture that this will never happen.
how would it be more wasteful of resources? Take my desktop computer. I have had the same case for over 10 years now. I’ve upgraded the mother board, memory, and processor three times over that period, and the power supply twice, not to mention swapped hard drives at various stages. All by simply replacing out the old parts with new ones when they become broken, or too slow to work with. If I had to trash the entire system every time something broke, or they came out with a faster processor, I would have had to replace the entire thing at least 3 times over that period, more if you account for all upgrades and other repairs. I would be trashing bad parts along with perfectly usable and functional parts as well. This is a great waste of resources because when this happens you have to spend time energy money and materials to recreate not only the broken part, but good parts along with it.
As for your other examples – New motor in old car. I’m happy with my current car, say they created an upgraded motor for my car that improved fuel mileage. Why would I not want to upgrade it when the alternative would be to buy a whole new car which is way more expensive option. I’m saving money in two ways, by keeping the car and upgrading to a more fuel efficient motor.
Lastly, as for the camera sensor example. If all the components were easily repairable and upgradeable, why would it be a problem if I upgraded the sensor and two weeks later the shutter failed. So they would just repair it like they already do today. It would still cost less than buying a whole new camera.
There is no reason (if manufactures really tried) that they can’t do the same with many electronics. The problem is not that it can’t be done, it can be. THe problem is greed and the need for ever increasing profits and maybe a bit of laziness. They want people to spend their money to keep buying the next best thing every year. They is how they maximize their profits.
Far too few people would share your desire to rebuild thier camera…and making it possible would be a monumental feat of engineering.
So even if you could convince me…which you have note done…you will not convince Sony.
Engineers put astronauts in space and a repairable upgradable camera is not possible? Very funny. Overcoming your kind of mentality will be the monumental feat.
Stupid thread. Sony will release 5, 3, 2, and 1 series when pros adopt worthy 7 and 9 series. They won’t be able to resist capitalizing on the success of that. Ridiculous to think otherwise, as if they’ve ever made a predictable single permanent decision in their history.
This entire rumor mill is flame bait of the worst sort.
Hulk smash tiny sensors, sony smash hope…
First time posting here. I own both systems cameras and lenses. Of course I’m worried that no new cameras with new sensors developed for A7x cameras will be introduced for A Mount. I have the Zeiss 1.4 50mm, Zeiss 1.8 135mm, Sigma 70-200mm 2.8, Sony 70-400 GII. All those lenses are great, I love them and there are no FE lenses (except for the 1.8 50mm FE Zeiss) that can replace that glass. On the other hand, I love having a small system for small lenses so I purchased an A7s with the 1.8 50mm Zeiss, and I’m waiting for the new voightlander 15mm ultra wide ZM Mount, the 35mm Loxia 2.0 and the new Leica Summarit 90mm.
The way I see it is that each system has it’s own great advantages!
Let’s suppose that in sensor focusing with Phase & Contrast detection for mirrorles evolves to a point where it can relate SLT technology.
Wouldn’t it be as simple as selling the new A9X camera bodies in E mount with a simple A Mount adaptor included in the camera?
I really don’t see myself using my small A7s camera attached to a 70-400 or 150-600 lens, Sony has to, and most probably will, sell big body cameras for using all that long-fast glass.
Just my 2 cts.
Unfortunately as a solution an expensive electronic adapter is a pretty poor solution. I will not accept such a solution nor will a fair number of Sony Alpha users.
Such people will probably move system and get rid of their exisiting Alpha gear me included if there isn’t going to be any futher development for A mount.
An adapter is basically is adding 2 additional points of failure to a system.
As someone who uses my camera quite often that is an unacceptable solution and I trust many others will also agree on that point.
The E mount lacks any decent AF option (for an adapter solution) and the adapter costs a cool $400 ATM for sucky AF and poor AF coverage.
Plus the ergonomics for such a combo go for a complete toss.
It’s definitely a lazy solution. For 50mm and under, you can live without IBIS, but the notion of using a telephoto or macro handheld without for form of IBIS/OSS is a joke. If they want to keep customers, why not offer a trade in against e-mount versions of the same lenses?
Yes, I don’t know how anyone survived let alone managed to take a photo without IBIS or IS in general.
I shoot most of my pictures off a trampoline so IBIS is essential.
I don’t mind adapters. My pictures are usually failures so it’s a fit.
This isn’t something new. They’ve been whining about the evils of the A-Mount since February 1985.
Don’t listen to the hype. The A99 replacement will soon be announced, and once its done mopping up its competition (like the A77II just did in the APS-C SLR segment) the trolls will be silenced for six months.
After six months they’ll start their Anti A-Mount rhetoric. None of us will listen. Sony will grab more market share, and the cycle will begin again.
Are you kidding me? “mopping up its competition” A77II was announced last May. It currently sits at #62 on Amazons top DLSR sellers list. It has 25 reviews on Amazon and 26 on BandH. The Canon D7MkII sits at #5 and you can’t get it until Thursday. The Nikon D750 available late September is # 10 with 43 reviews already already both on Amazon and BandH. Give your head a shake. If you want to be credible then at least be honest.
Until Sony finally releases a native FE mount 600mm F4 I’m not switching:)
They’re not going to. Sony’s going to keep its product lines split, so they can get you to buy one of each.
My next major purchases are going to be a A99II, and a A7000 if the rumours are even slightly accurate, and my continued use of an APS-C SLR will likely cease.
Nice strategy. I don’t want another APS-C SLT- but after trying the A77II I got hooked. I’ve been trying to kick the addiction but late nights surfing amazon are hard to kill. I plan on picking up the A99 when it drops a bit as well. You have to have multiple bodies for all the right moments. My cat demands the best.
That’s great to hear. Sony shouldn’t waste it’s time developing entry level A-Mounts, they need to focus on designing full frame (professional) cameras, not the junk you buy at Costco/BestBuy.
IMO Sony should dump APS-C SLR designs, and only concentrate on Full Frame bodies, and lenses.
Ideally they’d have two full frames; one that has an incredibly high burst rate (12-16 fps), and one that has an incredibly high mega pixel count (46+).
The rumors over the last couple of weeks seem to be wish lists, speculation and bad information (a7000, medium format a-mount, a99-style 8k camera).
We are coming up to a quiet time for new cameras and it always seems to be a quiet time for rumors. Considering the next release of new cameras will be around the start of February I guess there won’t be many correct rumors until after Christmas.
Please please please! SONY I NEED A UWA TILT/SHIFT. Similar to the Canon 17mmTS.
no we are going to make it a 24mm sorry :p
Ah! That sucks! Well E-mount users will have 4 different 24mm tilt shift options(1 native and 3 adapted) and only one wider option that is adapted. Maybe soon ish a wider option will become available. That you for the heads up. Much appreciated.
Regards James
I shot my first full weekend with my A7 using some FE glass, but mainly my 70-200 2.8 Tamron USD via LA-EA4. Resulting photo’s are crisper and have detail/pop than with that lens on my A99. (Both carefully focus adjusted) Same sharpness, but overall the A7 photos are just better. The A99 sat in the trunk. Now I’m thoroughly confused…
I’m calling BS. The A99 with the 70-200 f/2.8 G2 series easily blasts a A7 with the adapter out of the water. My A900 with a 70-200 f/2.8 G2 also makes the adapted A7 look inferior.
It’s probably the lens you using. Tamron isn’t not known its quality control.
The only BS here is yours. Please show evidence of such nonsense…
Not likely, I wouldn’t post work on this site if my life depended on it. The above statement is utter non-sense.
I’ve used all of the above platforms, and the A7 is not in the same league as the A99. Had he said A7r or A7s I would have agreed.
BS. Again. A7 is exactly the same league as A99 in IQ, end of story.
He claimed it was better troll. Which it is not.
Correct but then you went on to claim the opposite that the A99 and A900 would ‘blow it out of the water’ which IS BS.
Your mother should have abortaborted you. Maybe we wouldn’t have to read those annoying troll posts you crap out.
Yes, how trolling of me to call out absolute BS from.the retarded A-Mount crowd. Sad little peasants that don’t support their own system always waiting for the next big thing, you only have yourselves to blame for A-Mount drowning.
Pleas do us all a favour and go play in traffic. I’d make the world a better place.
The only thing that will.make the world a better place is the whingers (A-Mount stalwarts) move to Nikon so they can see how much greener the grass isn’t.
I agree with abortabort , A7 is better than A99 in sharpness.. I tried both cameras with minolta 600mm f4 .. A7 photos were a bit sharper but it was noticeable
It’s because of the new Boinz X processor in the A7 , image processing is different than the A99 with Bionz processor although both cameras are using the same 24 MP sensor
You own the hallowed 600mm F4? I assume you shine it every day and only take it out in perfect weather conditions. One day…one day….
Lol .. Yes It sits in my room waiting for bird immigration season (which has just started) .. It’s show time for the lens 🙂
Have you tried the A7 vs the A77II? They have the 24mp and same processor, right?
Yes I did , but the A77II has an APS-C size sensor while A7 is a full frame camera , you can’t compare 2 cameras from 2 different categories , A7 has way much better image quality
He wrote the photos came out better. Did you see the photos? He is the creator and can judge which came out better.
Ultimately, the image quality out of an a7 should be able to always equal or exceed an a99 (discounting ergonomics, ibis, and other camera specific features) since the sensor is the same, but the a7 has a better processor and no light loss. In bright light the quality should be close, in low light the a7 will surpass the a99.
Explain your logic, he said he used the same lens on both bodies.
The adapter has a SLT mirror, so you loose 30% of your light. The A99 is optimized for SLT, the A7, even with the adapter is not. Plus the A7 with an adapter using a 70-200mm wouldn’t have been stabilized.
That’s how I know it’s a BS post. I’ve done the test, which is why I’m waiting for the A99II. It’s also the reason the A900 remains my primary camera (when I’m not using a 5D MKIII).
The A900 comment is a complete sarcasm BTW.
One thing to check would be the post processing decisions. I have read somewhere that the a7 is much sharper in sony idc software than say lightroom, the reverse could be true for a99. Maybe if you have time do a head to head test at f8 using both jpeg and raw. I’m fairly sure the result should be almost identical.
I just jack up the sharpness till my eyes bleed and step back from my monitor about 30 feet. Pictures look so sharp I swear you could cut a block of cheese with them.
A99 sat in the trunk huh. Crazy- just crazy. All that grip just going to waste.
I know I would shoot a 70-200mm one handed if only I had an A99! Oh wait, no I mean an A99 II because the A99 is ‘old cr@p’ now, gotta wait for an A99 II and spend every day complaining that it hasn’t arrived yet.
A99II is crap before it ever came out…so is pretty much any other camera out there. Why? Because 36MP is old news, so is 50MP….so is pretty much anything these days. Take a look into the real future.
http://www.betterlight.com/fullRes_zoomifyLIST.html
Stare into the awesomeness of 386MP panoramic files using a scanback. People want to talk about 36MP being a notable increase…blah blah. Forget….about….it. I’m not interested until we’re over 200MP MINIMUM.
a 396MP camera in your hands will just result in a poorly composed blurry image.
Of course the A7 will take better photo than the A99. A7 has a better sensor.
The only advantage of the A99 is the FPS and the rugged construction.
They have the same sensor.
They have the same sensor but different processor , Bionz X in a7 and Bionz in A99 this is the main difference.
Even in fps , a99 can go up to 5 (full frame) and 10 fps (cropped JPG only) which is useless for me at least.
A7 can go 5 fps (full frame) without focus tracking , which is useful for me :/
IMO a7 wins over a99 .. 1-0 a7 yaay
The A7 only has an advantage if isn’t using the new adapter.
My problem with the A7 is the grip- that’s my only real complaint. The rest of the camera is just a necessary evil. If I could saw off the A99 grip and glue it on the A7 I’d be fine. It would look like a Sony Frankin-monster but who cares. My pictures are scarey anyway so…..
So go into business making a moulded grip for it?
See that’s the thing. I have no issue with the FE. I just don’t get why there are no removable grip options. This way, for those holding out for the DSLR like ergonomics you can customize it however you’d like.
I couldn’t agree more, the thing I have been saying for years is that Sony should develop a truly modular camera around a simple ‘brain unit’ that is sensor and processor and that’s it. That hasn’t happened sadly, but to me the A7 series is the closest they have come yet.
ROTFL…………………….
I should have never sold my NEX-7, and bought a A7.
My toilet has better ergonomics. I’ve had one for a year, and I hate it. I normally leave it in a bag these days, and I’ve gone back to using the A99 with the 24-70, and 70-200G2 for most of my work.
I’m going to toss it when the A7000 arrives, cause it’ll be the better all around MILC. My Zeiss 16-70mm is so much better than the 24-70mm.
It’s not a sound investment.
I agree. I own the NEX-7, and it was definitely a solid choice when I bought it. I haven’t sold mine, and I’ll probably never will.
I use it alongside the A99, and A77 daily.
The A99II, and A7000 will both be must buys.
Same clowns I guess.
You sir…are what we call a camera addict.
Well you can buy one for peanuts now, about what the NEX-7 is worth.
I couldn’t read this without defending my baby a7 , to me it has one of the best ergonomics ever .. NEX 7 was the best (the menu sucks though) , but not anymore , specially when you look at the price vs features.
NEX 7 is not even close to be compared to a7 in any category .. IMO
Hulk smash puny camera!
You must have a horrible toilet.
because much more folks want new cameras to mimic mechanic SLRs which had no electronic buttons.
My only problem with the A99 is that here it literally costs double what an A7 does including LA-EA4 adapter and costs 25% more than an A7S with LA-EA4 adapter. It has some benefits but they are not justified by the price. Add that it has less lenses to choose from and the A99 becomes not a great choice. I would take 2 A7’s over an A99 any day. In fact my A7 + A7S cost me about what an A99 costs, both with LA-EA4’s.
Where do you live??
A99 body is cheaper than A7S body. For the cost of A7+A7S you can buy two A99.
In my opinion, an entry level for A-mount is important for the ecosystem of A-mount.
Only A7X and A9X is not enough to attract new comers.
IMO, if Sony develop a model with DSLR shape body with a E-mount and IBIS (very important), with an adapter like LA-EA to put A-mount lens on. The other spec is similar to the existing A58 is fine, so that people buying this model will enter both A-mount and E-mount at the same time . Then they can choose to upgrading into A-mount lineup or E-mount lineup higher grade bodies.
The existing A3000 line is too weak to attract serious shooters and no IBIS is just making A-mount lens handicap.
I agree, I think they need to keep the A58 and make version 2,3 etc….
Thank you Sony for destroying the A-mount infrastructure they purchased from Minolta. Having invested in A-mount since purchasing a Minolta 700Si several years ago I acquired a second hand Sony A900 a couple of years ago. I am now disappointed at the seeming lack of interest by Sony in the A-mount going forward.
I am not impressed with the lag in the D-SLT cameras I have tried out. It is not a route I wanted to go down unless they sorted it out. Now with the range of cameras looking like being limited to high end, I am now seriously considering jumping ship and moving to Nikon. My other half doesn’t want a high end camera, but the ability to share lenses would be essential. By selling all of my A-mount lenses I might just about scrape enough money together to buy a Nikon D750 and a couple of half decent lenses.
I’m going to just buy another a900. I shouldn’t have sold it. Oh well, you live and learn. After that maybe I’ll go Nikon. The a900 did everything I needed, no lag in dials and battery life to die for. I sold it because I thought the A99II would be out by now, but no dice. A99II just doesn’t do it for me.
I bought two a900’s and an a850. Really nice to have a flash system again, and a body with perfect ergonomics and speed. First a900 died after 160,000 shots. Thanks Minolta!
a99 ok for natural light. But image stabilization doesn’t work nearly as well as a900. And all those stories about a900 poor high iso are based upon old raw file converters. Adobe RAW 8.4.1 and DxO provide great iso for a900. It’s a dream camera.
That’s what I did about a month ago. Sold all my Sony gear [took about a week] and bought a Canon 6D, 24-70 f/2.8 II and 70-200 f/2.8 II. My only regret was that I didn’t make the switch years ago.
Ok, I’m not looking to start ANOTHER E vs. A-mount flame thread but objectively for a company who makes both an SLR/SLT mount and a mirror less mount, wouldn’t a tilt-shift lens for Emount make more sense?!
Got that already with Metabones and Canon. Why bother for such a specialized market which is so well served.
OTOH, I’m already using MIREX and Mamiya for Alpha TS needs. Good for tele, but nothing good for wide stuff.
There is a fair chance that Earth will be hit by a large meteroite next year. This as a comment to the Statement that there is a fair chance that These rumors will become reality. Define ‘a fair chance’! It makes no business sense for Sony to keep the A-Mount going long-term. Five years from now, if Sony is still around then, nobody will talk about SLRs or SLTs anymore. If people having invested heavily in A-Mount lenses gave up on AF, they would have no reason to complain either as these lenses work well on E.-Mount cameras in all other respects.
I think this great news for Sony´s Alpha Mount. Instead of having to design and build 5-6 so so alpha cameras, with 1 of them being actually good and popular, they can focus on making two great models, with excellent features. It would be awesome if this decision made the Alpha mount entirely full frame, for both models (yes, including the A77 successor). My idea: make the A77mk3 Fullframe, same or lower res as before, but bringing the low light A7S sensor from their mirrorless line into the mix. The A99 should be a hi res beast, with crisp images. Both should include video, but the A77 mk3 should be the better one at that, just like the A7S. A99 should be the hi res king (50 mp maybe)? Still should be good enough to enable quality video recording, just not as versatile as the A77x
I am not familiar with all of the argurments on the particulars of E vs. A mount. But – it seems to me that E mount will probably win out as the more popular mount. It seems 3rd party lens designers favor the e-mount. A friend of mine shoots the A77 – and it is a great body. I like some things about it more than my D7000. BUT – I still can’t help but think that all of that could have been done with e-mount as well. And the AF systems will eventually come on-line and be just as good as the SLTs.
My only problem with Sony dropping a-mount is what it does to all the people who have invested in a-mount glass. Sony has a pretty nice 16-50 f/2.8 zoom that is not cheap – and that lens would be stranded of no more a-mount bodies are made.