A trusted source told me the Sony A58 will be discontinued this summer. There is yet no info about a possible replacement. He also told me he didn’t hear about a possible A65 replacement neither.
And like I told you last week the A99 is also likely going to be discontinued. But in that case we can be 100% sure a new A99II will be announced before Photokina!
Plenty of rumors to come: I am working on RX and E-mount camera rumors too. Will share them as soon as I get feedback from more trusted sources. If you have “heard” something about the next big Sony Photokina announcements you can share me a message anonymously by clicking on that button you see on top right of the page (image below):
—
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
the a3000 replaces it successfully.
a3000 is e-mount, it’s a completely different system
An entry-level newcomer will not care if it’s a different system – they have no previous investment in lenses.
So? a3000 is still a mirrorless camera, very different beast from an entry-level DSLR. A person who wants a DSLR won’t buy this.
A person who wants a DSLR won’t buy an SLT either! 😛
Besides, who said it has to be a DSLR-type camera? What if they just want an APS-C camera and the image quality it brings? The A3000 might very well suit their needs.
Technically speaking, SLT is digital single lens reflex (DSLR).
If they just want a camera with a larger sensor than their phone/compact, they can buy a3000, or Fuji, or Samsung NX, or Olympus/Panasonic.
But people who want an entry level DSLR, choosing between a Canon Rebel / Nikon d5300 / Sony aXX, won’t see a3000 as an option.
“But people who want an entry level DSLR, choosing between a Canon Rebel / Nikon d5300 / Sony aXX, won’t see a3000 as an option.”
Sorry, but many people WOULD see it as an option. You’re generalising, rather than appreciating that there are many different types of users with differing requirements.
too bad e mount lens selection is still trash
I guess so… if you’re stuck in 2011.
Compared to mft and their own A-Mount, sony is way behind
Did you expect Sony to match those systems in one swoop?
sony came out only 2 years after MFT and has less than half the avail lenses.
A company of sony’s size should have all this sorted out already.
Yup, Panasonic and Olympus released much nicer lenses.
2 main reasons I’ve heard so far for beginners to upgrade from compacts are, simply put, “I want to shoot when it’s dark” and “I want to shoot moving stuff”.
You can do both with a58, but only the former with a3000. So, different category.
That said, there’re definitely people out there who would love their a3000. Esp. given its price.
“You can do both with a58, but only the former with a3000. So, different category.”
That’s positive thinking, but the reality is that neither camera is very good at shooting “moving stuff”. The A58’s PDAF system is neither fast enough nor accurate enough to track moving subjects. This has always been a Sony weakness, only recently addressed properly in the A6000 and A77 II.
The a3000 is a toy in your hand, compared to the a58. By no means a replacement whatsoever.
a58 itself is far from the prosumer market which Sony is targeting with the a-mount system, so removing it makes sense. We already have the APS-C king – a77II and now all we need are a couple of new full-frame bodies – the A99II and maybe an A88.
A mount is dying
Indeed! May be Sony itself!
After spending so much on the PDAF module for the A77II I very much doubt that. I think Sony are shifting A-mount to high-end, having E-mount for the low-intermediate end.
When you have FE mount cameras that out resolve any A-mount. That is hardly low end or intermediate…
*sigh* I didn’t say all E-mount models, re-read what I said.
“sigh” then don’t generalize…re-read what you said…
You saw what you want to see in order to criticise the comment, you were wrong. No matter.
….see above comment…
So’s e-mount. The nex 3 and nex 5 were brutally murdered in their sleep… Meanwhile the a7 series is breeding like rabbits. It’s a conspiracy I tell you!
:))
A-mount is being cleared of the lower-end models, since the a-mount system is now being targeted at pro-sumers and professionals. A58 does not fit with that strategy. Sony introduced the best APS-C so far – the a77II and now they can release a couple of full-frame bodies to round up the pro-sumer offerings in a-mount.
So a58 gone, a65 doesn’t look like it is getting replaced – so gone, a77 replaced with a77II and by the looks of it a99 is going to be discontinued. So if Sony are not careful we will have only one a-mount – the a77II. All the others will be gone. Great.
I certainly hope they will be bringing out some new FF a-mounts this year. I have specifically waited for this (some might say – that was foolish). In fact I was originally looking at the D800 and decided to wait to see what Sony are going to do. In hindsight that was most probably not a good idea.
I have waited this long so will wait a bit longer. At least we are getting closer to the new D800(s/x) release. Come on Sony it is time to show us what you are doing with FF a-mount.
I suppose if they don’t bring out any FF a-mounts this year, then the conclusion we will have to come to is that a-mount IS dead. Especially if they have discontinued most of their alpha DSLT lines. It will be hard to buy a Sony DSLT a-mount if it looks like they are not supporting it.
no worries! a-mount will live forever for it’s 2% happy owners.
I am in the same situation right now , I want go ff , and no way to pay 3500$ for 5dm3 or it’s secssor , so it’s either a99ii or d810(d800s)
For me I have to resouns to study with sony
1- the evf (what you see what you get)
2-I have a65 it’s good camera and I will use it for backup
But in the end it all depend on price really so I can wait tell photokina and see what will happen .
Same boat here, been holding off buying the a7r (too many niggles) and waiting to see what nikon do with the d800(s).
Now if sony suddenly came out with the a7r(s)……. 🙂
I’m looking for a ff camera too ….
MMmm…nothing in sight !!!
A7 ? A shaky beginning…
D600 /800 ? With too much dust and foggy af
Pentax seem something serious but i Can wait another century !!!
It may be that there is no replacement, Sony may concentrate A-mount on the higher-end. Like the A3xxx they may do a A5xxx dSLR sized E-mount using the A6000 OSPDAF sensor.
here we go again a-mount is dying yada yada yada please stop it everybody only time will tell.
If there is no replacement, then there is no basic camera to bring newcomers into the mount. No new users means eventually the mount will die. Simple as that.
Of course there will be a replacement. And since A58 is getting discontinued, that means it’s already on its way.
Exactly. Sony knows what they’re doing – remember the nex 3 and 5 lines were killed off and amalgamated, so I wouldn’t be surprised if the same thing happens with the a5x and a6x.
I’d like to see them go back to the a57 design (metal mount etc), give p&s shooters some hand holding (smile shutter, jpeg features etc). A solid entry level apsc body is definitely a necessity. The a200 got me hooked back in the day…
That was my thinking until I picked up an advanced compact.
A current advanced compact is better than any entry level DSLR and kit lens offering.
Most ‘entry level DSLR+kitlens’ beginners will never buy a second lens and never see the possibilties because they will never get out of the ‘kitlens ghetto’, and will therefore never get bitten by the photography bug.
With a good advanced compact, the built-in lens lets the user try most things: portrait, macro, landscape, street, post processing, and do it all well… so they typically get bitten by the bug and see the reason for interchangeable lenses. So their next camera will not be an entry level DSLR: it will be a mid range DSLR.
Entry level DSLR+kitlens are basically superceded by advanced compacts, and there is no advanage between advanced compacts and full DSLRs until you are at mid level DSLR level. Dropping entry level DSLRs is an astute move, and I bet the market research backs it up.
Thats actually better for the user too, because the mid range DSLR does not supercede the advanced compact in the same way it does an entry level DSLR: the compact is, well, compact, and won’t be sitting on the shelf in the same way an A200 would once you got an A77.
If you ask me, A-mount is going the Olympus fourthirds route. That´s not good for entry-level users who don´t want to spent more than 500-600 on a camera body for their hobby.
The should be 3 cameras in alpha lineup, some entry-level, a77II and a99II
That’s good news. Means a59 and a99-ii (whatever the actual names may be) are on their way.
But there should definitely be more than one FF, I think…
Please please please an a88. Just stuff the a7 sensor in the a77ii… (I promise not to whinge about af coverage).
Stuffing FF sensor into A77 body is impossible. The mirror box and the shutter are designed for APS-C size sensor. It might occur to you that the FF sensor is physically larger than APS-C.
It would be, in principle, possible to have different resolution sensors (e.g. 12, 24 and 36 Mpixels) all of them FF in A99 body, but that does not mean that any of the new camera versions will be cheap or cheaper. Note that A7S, which has only 12 Mpixel sensor, is more expensive than A7 (24 Mpixel) or A7R (36 Mpixel).
Personally, I am expecting only one version of A99ii; most likely with 24 (most likely) or 36 Mpixel FF sensor with the design emphasizing fast PDAF and fast frame rate. Good camera for sport and perhaps video.
I suspect it’s relatively easy to modify the A77 to take FF. Fundamentally the mirror box is the same size as it’s the mount that dictates the dimensions. Yes, the sensor and shutter is much larger, but Sony managed to squeeze an FF sensor and shutter into the much smaller body of the A7 series (albeit without the ISS).
Unlike a “true” DSLR, there’s no complex mirror flipping mechanism to install, nor is there a true pentaprism/pentamirror, so I suspect there’s plenty enough room to modify the A77. Bear in mind that the Canon EOS 5D was based very much on the body and controls of the Canon 20D. Indeed, Sony may well have had that in mind in producing the A77 II. Time till tell.
Well A77, A77 II and A99 are already ridiculously similar. If they were bringing out an A99 II or A88 best bet is its an A99 chassis with A77 II AF sensor and A7R sensor.
A7S is more expensive due to smaller market volume (people who need 4k and pixel haters are not that numerous), while A7 & A7R use sensors slightly modified from D600 and D800.
Awfully early for Sony to be replacing the a58. Maybe a near-nothing ‘upgrade’ like the a3500 to sync the model numbers with 9s (i.e., a59, a99) but that doesn’t make sense because of a77II. Maybe bump up the MP to 24 so we can look at it as some consolidation of the a58/a65?
They’ll likely launch the A66 to replace the A58/A65.
Actually the A666. It will be a hell of a camera.
This is what I’m thinking also. A-mount APSC will be mid and high end so will have 2 model A5x &A7x, and there will be more A-mount FF models.
E-mount can be converted to A-mount easily. However E-mount bodies should have an IBIS without exception as the A-mount lenses are not stabilized generally.
Yeah, bring on the RX rumors. I’m interested in any possible revision of the RX10, now that they’ve taken care of the RX100 line.
RX10 II — wow, yeah. bring it. And RX1 with built-in EVF, 35/1.4 lens phwaooorrr!!!!!
Since Sony has begun using mark * designations, e.g. 77ii and we hear rumors about 99ii, maybe the 58 replacement will be 55ii so all A-mounts will have the double-digit designation.
I would like a 55ii that is more in style with the 57 rather thant the 58 (screen, mount, connectivity)- but properly upgraded of course with BIONZ X and so forth. And to compliment it it would be nice with a 33ii that basically is a 55ii but in that smaller 33 and 55 style body for those who wants a more compact system camera with A-mount.
If there will be not a58 or a65 successor in entry line price, the a mount will have no future….
Don’t hold your breathe LOLOL
I think it’s pretty clear both the A and E mounts don’t have a future.
Think about it.
What does you make think that?
Essentially, there are only two things that a replacement for A99 – lets call A99ii – could do that the current A7, A7R and A7s cannot do at the the current state of the OSPDAF. These are – very fast focusing and inelligent, fast focus tracking for both stills and video.
Moreover, Sony has n their product range good 300 and 500 A-mount telephotos and good 70-200, 70-300 and 70-400 A-mount FF zooms.
It makes sense to use these capabilities in an A-mount FF DSLT optimized for fast AF and high frame rate. Sport, wildlife photogs and serious videographers will appreciate it.
A99ii may be the last A mount model, as Sony efffectively stopped investing in A-mount lenses.
In a few years OSPDAF will catch up and the need for A77ii and A99ii will disappear.
Also, this is positionig means that there is really no longer a need for low end A-mount DSLT cameras. Mirrorless ILT is good enough for a budding amateur. Alternatively RX100 or RX10 will do.
Fast OSPDAF doesnt mean no more A-mount. It could be many A-mount cameras with Fast OSPDAF (better ergonomy, longer optical distance to sensor – better picture`s edges quality).
“ergonomy”? (that is, the photographer’s word for “big size”?)
nothing prevents Sony from making larger E-mount bodies (like, A3000 vs. A5000, VG900 is even larger)
“longer optical distance” uh um… they already have A-E adapter, and BTW some E-mount lenses (e.g. FE70-200/4) have their back element far from the image plane anyway.
The only major thing lacking in E-mount is IBIS
I have an a65 and the 70-400II. I shoot with that combo for 4-6 hours a day on the weekend with no fatigue whatsoever. Last weekend I did a couple of hours of street photography using the A7R. My fingers and writs were hurting like nothing else at the end and I had to let go of the camera, could not hold it any longer. So yes, Ergonomics is HUGE and the e-mount bodies are nowhere near where they should be when it comes to comfort and ease of use.
You say they can make larger e-mount bodies – Yes, absolutely. But what is the point? The e-mount system was envisioned and built from the ground up in order to be small, light, portable and compact. Why would they build bigger bodies? This goes against the vision of the e-mount system. And makes 0 sense to have a big e-mount body, then an adapter, and then an a-mount tele-zoom.
You forgot to add that E-mount should have used 1″ sensor, or even better, not exist at all 🙂
>My fingers and writs were hurting like nothing
whereas bigger grip does reduce strain on fingers, stress on wrist is more due longer lever from distance from center of mass.
>But what is the point?
The point, as long as people buy it, Sony makes profit. Don’t be so selfish.
>And makes 0 sense
E-mount gives you more possibilities.
There are big lenses which are E-mount only (e.g. 50/0.95). Do you think it’s zero sense for them to exist?
I could say, it makes zero sense for interchangeable lenses, because it invites dust and casual people use fixed lens cameras anyway.
the adapter doesn’t provide IS now does it?
Until sony starts building IS into E-Mount bodies, many buyers are going to avoid them like the plague. Especially seeing how unstable sony is as a company.
A-mount for high frame rate??? It’s largely limited by sensor and, to lesser extent, CPU. is 11 fps of A6000 much different from 12 fps of A77 II?
There were spectulations that Sony could add extra sensor so picture in EVF wouldn’t blackout, but this didn’t happen and unlikey ever to happen.
It is the combination that counts: high frame rate, large buffer size, large sensor, very fast and sophisticated AF and good selection of telephoto lenses and zooms. Vide D1x and D4s and their use in sport and wildlife photography.
are D1x and D4s A-mount cameras? OO
nothing in that combitation has to do with mount, save AF (and solutions of mirrorless AF are catching up).
Also CaNikon provide Pro support programs, that matters too.
I think you’re underestimating ibis there – so far the only stabilised native FE lenses are slow zooms. If you’ve never tried it, it really does make a night and day difference in some situations.
As for less lineup, the a-mount has a fairly complete collection and we’re still seeing new a-mount lenses. Not at the rate of FE lenses, sure, but given the state of the FE lineup it’s hardly a surprise that FE is their priority (AE lenses have also been sidelined for this).
At a guess, well see the end of a-mount when e-mount af performance and native lens selection makes it obsolete. Adapters aren’t the solution…
I think it makes sense to have only advanced and pro gear in A-mount as in my oppinion E-mount much more tempting for enthusiasts and new-starters. E-mount cameras are simpler, more compact and this helps with learning and experimentation, including usage of all sorts of ancient glass.
For any pro needs they have to keep up-to-date the A77 and A99 series and lenses.
However, this dosen’t mean they can’t make a A58/A65 style bodies with A6000 parts at minimal cost for people that prefer this camera shape.
unfortunately, there’s nowhere to grow in E mount either unless you go full frame.. which is cost prohibitive for most people
not a good sign for sony’s imaging division.
I agree that there is a gap in the E mount line right now. I am sure Sony are working to close this gap, but the technology is still developing. A6000 seems to be the first Sony mirror-less camera that has satisfactory performance in comparison to a DSLR. Its logical that they would be working to put this technology in one or two bodies designed for professionals, rather than enthusiasts. It the UK A3000 kit is at £230, A5000 kit £350, A6000 body is £550 and NEX7 is £650 and there is plenty of room for 1 or 2 higher spec bodies before the full frame £1200 A7. Also the three full frame bodies A7/R/S can get some of the AF technology of A6000 and some more pro features.
My guess is that in 2 years time E-mount will be a fully populated mirror-less line up. Hopefully lens line a bit mote saturated as well.
i hope you’re right!
For the moment, i’m adapting A-Mount lenses to my E-Mount camera. It works great tbh, but the lack of stabilization and awkward size means its not as easy or convenient
do you think E’s 35/1.8 and 50/1.8 having price 1.5-3x their DSLR counterparts is cost prohibitive for many people, too?
many amateurs buy CaNikon because its cheaper, they can find a lot of cheap lenses and much easier to sell. Lack of some tele zooms is significant only for a small fraction of buyers.
So just two?
No, not just two. Virtually everything in E-mount freaking expensive! 😀
EF & F mounts also have quite few CROP lenses, CaNikon are forcing their customers to upgrade to FF, too.
the only mirrorless lens which is better than DSLR lens for the same price which I can think about is Sammy 8/2.8
I hope sony is able to either provided more lenses soon, or make current lenses cheaper.. my wallet is waiting!!
The a7 series is no simpler than a-mount cameras. Earlier Nex cameras were built around simpler interfaces, but that’s no longer true.
Especially with the a7s, the e-mount is positioned for all levels of buyers.
Simple– if they replace it, then a-mount is safe for the foreseeable future.
If they don’t replace it, then without an entry level camera to get people started in the mount, the days are numbered.
They may keep making niche a-mount prosumer cameras for a few years, just to sell to the existing and shrinking a-mount customer base. But without a full product line, the mount would only be around a few more years at most. While most entry level users never advance to high end cameras…
Most high end camera users started with an entry level camera!
I think that Sony made this decisiona a few years ago already, as evidenced by total lack of new lenses for A-mount. They are just milking the A-mount lens ecosystem, as they are unable in a short to medium term to provide a rich enough lens ecosystem for the new mounts.
I think there is truth to that. They NEED to offer the adapter and a-mount glass in order to claim they have a full lens lineup for e-mount cameras.
But they are clearly blurring the lines between e and a. I doubt they have made a final decision — if the a77ii becomes a blockbuster seller, you’ll see more a-mount. But I think the strategy is to have e supplant the a mount.
That’s unfortunate, since E-Mount lenses have such poor selection. Using an adapter removes IBIS, which isn’t that great for telephoto lenses anyway
I think sony’s erratic product planning is sending more users away than it is bringing users in
E-mount lens selection is improving rapidly. At the current pace, it will catch up to A-mount is no time. The big gaps are long telephoto, and fast (2.8) zooms. To compromise with lens size, they’ve stayed away from super fast zooms. But the recent 70-200/f4 G lens is a very nice addition to the lineup. The 55/1.8 is rated absolutely amazingly. Unless you need a 400mm lens, or you really need 2.8 zoom lenses, the E-mount lineup is starting to shape up pretty nicely.
They do have some nice lenses, unfortunately most of them are way way way out of reach for typical consumers
You can say the same thing about Sony full frame A-mount lenses.
You can say that about all full frame lenses
That’s a whole different can of worms…
But it’s not really true. While a 24-70 2.8 is expensive in all mounts, Canon and Nikon have more affordable alternatives that are more affordable. The cheapest fullframe zoom lens from Sony is the 28-75 for $900 — and it doesn’t even include SSM. Nikon has 5 fullframe zooms that are under $750 including a 24-85 for $600. Might be an inferior lens, but Sony has nothing to even compete. Canon has a full frame 28-135 for around $480 — So Canon’s cheapest full frame zoom is half the price of Sony’s cheapest full frame zoom. (Again, inferior lens, but Sony has nothing to compete).
Not to mention price comparisons like the Sony 70-200/2.8 for $3000!!!! While the Canon is still selling their first generation for $1450 and their current generation for $2500.
In APS-C lenses, Sony is competitive with the other brands. In full frame lenses, the Sony line up has a major affordability gap.
I always hear about lack of new lenses for A-mount. I don’t miss anything important really in the system.
As a system the A-mount lens kit is full of holes. Even basic lenses are missing e.g. a decent 1.4/35 from Sony (Sigma does not count in this listing). Great number of lenses in the catalogue are 25 year old, screw AF designs from Minolta – e.g. 20mm, 35mm, 50mm macro, 100mm macro. Even some otherwise excellent Zeiss lenses are screw driven e.g. 85 and 135mm. No modern 28mm prime. Nothing really below 20mm other than the 16-35 Zeiss zoom. No 180 or 200 mm telephotos and bright telephotos. No 180 mm macro. No high quality smaller F4 lenses and constant F4 zooms. No tilt and shift lenses.
Making tilt lens would be silly for Sony (because they don’t longer have OVF), they’d better add that function in-body.
Why do you need OVFs for tilt-shift?
I don’t.
It’s the reverse: OVFs made these bulky tilt-shift lenses to appear
The 1.4/35 G is not “decent”?
Also I don’t see a Problem in “screw driven”, I loved the 3.5-5.6/16-105, even though it is screw driven – SAM and SSM are fine, but not neccessary (other than not being AF-compatible to LA-EA1/3 😉 ). 180 Macro -ok, is missing, but you really Need one? If so, it is provided by third Party – do C/N have one? There are some telephoto like 2.8/300 and 4/500. Sure, there is no 4/70-200, 4/24-70 etc. in e-Mount, they only have pro-line glass for it. But I don’t see it as a hole. Because the Needs of most People are fulfilled without having every single glass that C/N have. T/S is a Special lens, I don’t think many would buy it. They have other “Special” lenses however, such as a small light 500 with AF (Reflex) and the STF 135, that no one else provides other than Sony (and Minolta before).
I think the more telling thing will be seeing e-mount fast zooms. To be honest if the a7 had ibis or primes with oss, I’d probably have taken it over my A77ii.
As far as I know, There is yet any sign that A-Mount is shrinking rapidly, but you’re right on the lenses. Since 2012, there are only 8 Lenses released for the A-Mount system, while E goes away with twice of that (16). And those lenses are the G-Sport lenses and some body-kit lenses such as the 55-300mm and 18-135mm. It might actually tell you that they’re abandoning A-Mount solely for Intermediate and Low end cameras.
I also never believed that as E-Mount will replace the A-Mount in terms of Functionality and general performance for atleast the 5 coming years, so I hope they are never going to abandon A-Mount.
Any RX2 related news or is it strictly under wraps by Sony until photokina?
my new A65 will be here tomorrow tht shoudl hold me over till i have to get rid of my screw drive lens
Really disappointing news
Why? Just because no successor has been announced for yet on a RUMORS site!?
Um. Yea.
LOL, this is a rumour, not news.
Really disappointing rumor
Ha ha! Cheers for the laugh.
The A58 is getting outdated. sometime it will be time for a new model. The fact that A58 is going to be discontinued is not yet officially announced by Sony so why should they announce a new model already.
How ironic! I was just speaking to a Sony Store rep to assist me in making a purchase of an A77II and he said something very telling. He was casually trying to dissuade me from buying the A77II and trying to convert me to E-mount. He kept comparing the A77II to the A6000 and saying it’s almost as good and half the price and half the size. Toward the end of the conversation he told me that if it were him he wouldn’t buy the A77II because the A-mount system is not going to be developed any more.
So yeah. I didn’t end up buying anything at all. Now I’m looking at Canon.
I’m not sure how much they really know, to be honest. When I bought a nex 3 for my parents the staff didn’t know it had an apsc sensor (they were trying to push whatever bridge camera was on special offer) or more worryingly that the lens could be changed. If Sony has a plan to kill the a-mount, they definitely won’t have shared it with sales staff…
I’m pretty sure this is why the Sony’s are being closed across North America. The incompotent salesman couldn’t close a $1199.99 sale. I’d have fired him on the spot.
Most people who work for any company don’t know what they are talking about half the time. I hope you don’t end up regretting your decision
.
I hope not either, but it seems pretty irresponsible to not trust what comes out of the mouths of Sony store employees. It seems they wouldnt say something like that unless they heard it somewhere and felt comfortable that it was true. Couldnt they get in trouble for spreading rumors?
in-company rumors are just as bad as external rumors. I would not give anything about that. And Sony released not only the A77-II but also three high class (Zeiss and G) lenses just last year for A mount, so things are not looking bad. And by the way, E-mount is fully compatible with A-mount with four adapters. So even in worst case your investment will not be unusable :).
“but it seems pretty irresponsible to not trust what comes out of the mouths of Sony store employees”
Wow naive much? You actually listen to the cr@p from salesmen in stores??? Care to buy some snakeoil? 😉
Have you ever worked for a large organisation? The people on the shop front NEVER know what the company is doing, they are the sort of people who are out of a job tomorrow and don’t see it coming.
Wow so you’re telling me the sales staff is able to predict the future?
Wow that’s the complete opposite of what the Sony salesmen said to me. You must have talked to store’s idiot.
The salesmen told me the E-Mount cameras is Sony’s consumer, and prosumer (mass-market/low income), and that the A-Mount cameras are designed for the enthusiast/semi-pro/professional market. The kind of people that can afford to spend 1k or more for a camera body.
The A58 is being dropped because its a low margin/low profit camera, and doesn’t fit with Sony’s vision for the A-Mount, which is, “Sony Pro”
Was he not aware the A7(R)(S) costs more than 1K?
I wasn’t talking about the FE!!!
It’s all the same mount. No different to DT and FF lenses. If Sony dump the A58 without replacing it, A-mount will be higher end ONLY. E-mount system may end up covering everything from entry-level to pro, and already does to an extent.
E-Mount isn’t something “Sony Pro” users want. Its a Compact System Camera. The consumer DSLR market is tanking, but the high end DSLR market seems to be in good shape.
Mirror-less isn’t for everyone, you can stop preaching were not listening.
Most of us would rather buy a D800, than a A7r.
You’re trying to speak for everybody who is a “Sony Pro”, without considering individual requirements. “Most of us” – who is that exactly?
You make the mistake of assuming e-mount is limited to CSCs, when the biggest advantage of e-mount is flexibility in terms of body size. Don’t assume all future e-mount cameras will be compact.
I’m not preaching about mirrorless – but you will need to listen to the manfacturers at some point, because everything will be mirrorless in the not-too-distant future. Existing A-mount cameras are already half-way there. The question is whether Sony will stick with two mirrorless systems.
I agree with the others that Sony Store employees likely have no more knowledge of what’s coming than we do. Likely less to be honest. Yes it was bad form of him to repeat something he heard from who knows where.
Honestly all of the brands will be in a predicament sooner or later. DSLR market share and ILC market share will continue to get squeezed by mobile phone tech. It probably wont go away anytime soon. But even if Sony is killing off A-mount, it is still wise to invest in it at this time. The A77II will provide you with years of enjoyment and class-leading features. In that time, you wan watch what happens to the camera industry. Maybe you’ll see A-mount go away, maybe not. Maybe E-mount will decline and RX will take over. Maybe Canon and Nikon start slipping away cause they’re too stubborn to innovate and move away from SLR tech. Maybe A-mount will actually gain market share as E-mount becomes more popular. No one can forecast these things. And ALL manufacturers are in the hot seat. I am personally more comfortable with being invested in Sony than I would be in Canikon right now….
+1
Agree with all you said.
Sony’s repositioning the A-Mount. They haven’t launched any consumer oriented products for the A-mount for over 18 months.
Their last releases for the system were the A77II, 70200G2, 70400G2, Zeiss 50mm, Zeiss 24mm. Clearly professional grade products.
So he must of thought the guy couldn’t afford pro-gear, and tried to sell him something cheap.
I wish that were true and it might be. We’ll soon find out. I think the full frame A99 successor should tell us everything we really need to know. Is it a warmed over upgrade or a true successor.
When the A88, and A99II arrive in November our business will likely buy both. The A88 will replace our A850, and the A99II will replace our current A99.
I’m really hoping Sony will launch a Zeiss 35mm f/1.4 (or f/1.8) or update the 16-35mm, and 24-70mm Zeiss lenses.
Zeiss 24mm?
I think users need to just get use to the idea of their brand potentially shrinking or going away all together. All manufacturers are facing the same reality. In terms of cameras- who cares? An A77II or hopefully the A99II as you stated- years of enjoyment. Most people never use up the useful life of their cameras- not even close. I don’t think A-mount lenses will drop in value anytime soon either. Zeiss glass is still highly desirable in the market. Although, I’d be more afraid of companies like Sygma driving the value of your gear down than Sony discontinuing the A-mount line.
I don’t know and never find a salesman of Sony that would speak so confidently like that. You should take that guy’s storytelling as a grain of salt. If Sony were really trying to abandon A-Mount, There is no way that that salesman will tell you. Because that’s spreading secret and leaking some confidential company information. He’s just telling his opinion.
More like a showel of salt =)
I’ve never found a store salesman who knows the product they are selling, never mind the direction of the company that supplies it.
Lol, you’re somewhat pretty correct. That’s why it’s favourable to buy online before someone misleads you with some false information.
I wouldn’t believe this unless I had a similar experience. I called a Sony store a few months ago looking for an A99 demo. The guy spent almost all of the time trying to convince me to take a look at the A7R. He kept talking up all of the benefits of using a mirrorless camera over that heavy DSLR. If Sony’s rep’s aren’t trained to speak up the A-mount line then that is telling.
What it tells is that they’re trying to pay off the investment they made in E mount. A mount R&D has long since been paid off, whereas the E mount needs adopters in order to become as profitable as they’d like it to be. In A mount, Sony has large degrees of competition, but in FF E mount they essentially have none. It’s a sound strategy to push people towards the sector of the market they have cornered, especially when you consider that high end DSLR’s are all pretty similar.
Yes because some random sales guy working in a crappy Sony store knows their boardroom strategy! It’s obvious that he is reading SAR and feeding you cr@p!
Now I used to be a salesman myself. And on certain company products, certain items would be pushed more cause a) I get commission if I sell you that one in particular. b) The company themselves want those pushed out more for whatever reason.
Considering how easy, relatively speaking, it is to bring out entry level bodies, there will almost certainly be an A58 replacement, likely bringing some of the SLT advantages back to the basic model. There is also less need to differentiate between upper and lower models with only one, so the A59 (or whatever) will have faster fps, better screen and all the latest updated improvements. Hell would not be surprised if the A59 gained the A77 (original) AF module either.
This is the beauty of entry models, plunder the parts bin of previous ‘enthusiast’ models and stick a new model number on it.
A58II or a4000 E-Mount? We’ll see. They’re doing pretty well to keep their secret.
SAR and others said SLT was done a year ago… Since the a77II is just a “Remix” and the a58 is discontinued I guess its true. I Hope it is… Sony can do much better… Its time they offer it to us.
LOL
Much better? Than near perfection?
LOL
MrLee is clueless and needs to use the A77II before spouting nonsense.
Wtf? A-mount is abandoned? It’s because smartphones have taken the market share!
Could this be… planned from the start by Minolta?
It was actually planned by Neanderthals.
Why is Canon reporting 90% profit drops in Austrailia? Why is Nikon’s profit forecasts dropping rapidly? All DSLR camera makers are in serious serious trouble. All of them.
Selling zero margin, mass market DSLRs (rebels) is a very bad idea. I’ll probably bankrupt Canon.
how do you know how large is their margin? Unlike Sony Canon enjoys economy of scale.
Anyone with a Business Degree, and experience in the consumer electronics market or has common sense, understands margins are slim on the low end cameras bodies.
you have never been in the consumer electronics business at larger scalem don’t you?
The margin is slim at the retail end, a little less slim at the wholesale end and not at all at the manufacturers end. But then you’d know that as you have a business degree blah blah…or not…
This just in!
Sony announces that A-mount and E-mount are both being discontinued this summer. RX will be the only focus
Nikon files for bankruptcy. Canon merges with Fujifilm and cuts sales forecast by 80%. DSLRs are still offered but at very inflated prices and in limited supply.
Olympus, Samsung and Pentax/Ricoh all pull out of digital cameras completely.
Smart phones rule the world.
The A58 sensor is surprisingly good in terms of the Color Reproduction Precision (SMI)According to the DXOmark Color Accuracy measurements it is the second best with SMI = 85.
Which is huge advantage over most of Nikon and Canon camera sensors.
And sadly, much better then all the new Sony offerings 🙁
Here is the DXOmark camera sensors SMI measurements grouping:
0 -100, the more SMI value, the better precision
CAMERA – SMI
– 86 –
Sony A77 – 86
Sony A65 – 86
– 85 –
Sony A99 – 85
Sony Nex 6 – 85
Sony A58 – 85
Sony Nex 7 – 85
Sony A35 – 85
Nikon 1 V3 – 85
– 84 –
Sony RX1 – 84
Sony Nex 5N – 84
Sony A55 – 84
Sony A37 – 84
– 83 –
Sony A77-II – 83
Sony A57 – 83
Sony Nex C3 – 83
Sony A33 – 83
Canon G1X – 83
Fuji S3Pro – 83
Nikon D4S – 83
Nikon D3300 – 83
– 82 –
Sony A7 – 82
Sony Nex 5R – 82
Sony Nex F3 – 82
Sony A6000 – 82
Sony A5000 – 82
Sony RX100-II – 82
Canon EOS M2 – 82
Fuji S5Pro – 82
Samsung EX2F – 82
– 81 –
Sony Nex 5T – 81
Sony A3000 – 81
Sony RX10 – 81
Sony Nex5T – 81
Canon G1XM2 – 81
Nikon D5300 – 81
Nikon 1 V1 – 81
Panasonic Lumix DMC-GH4 – 81
– 80 –
Canon G15 – 80
Nikon D3200 – 80
Olympus PEN E-PL5 – 80
Olympus PEN EP3 – 80
Panasonic LUMIX DMC-G6 80
Samsung NX 30 – 80
Samsung NX1100 – 80
– 79 –
Sony RX1R – 79
Sony Nex 3N – 79
Nikon D7100 – 79
Nikon D5200 – 79
Olympus OM-D E-M10 – 79
Olympus OM-D E-M1 – 79
Olympus PEN E-P5 – 79
Olympus OM-D E-M5 – 79
Olympus PEN EPL3 – 79
Panasonic Lumix DMC-GX7 – 79
Panasonic Lumix DMC-GH3 – 79
Samsung NX 300 – 79
– 78 –
Sony A7R – 78
Canon 1100D – 78
Canon G16 – 78
Nikon D800 – 78
Olympus PEN EPM1 – 78
Panasonic Lumix DMC-GM1 – 78
Samsung NX2000 – 78
Andrea is there RX10 successor in the cards?
successor? It was just released!!
I don’t get it why people always want to have NEW stuff, no matter what. Be satisfied with what you get otherwise you will always be disappointet and whine afterwards this new stuff is not what you totally aspected again.
Say it ain’t so..
Makes sense, A55 was a good camera and Sony bettered it with A57. Though A58 had more MPs but it was a confused camera, kind of something between A37 and A57. Bad LCD, low fps.While A57 challenged its own elder brother A65, A58 kind of stepped back. Instead it should have taken the mantle from A65.
I hope Sony brings something better, like 24MP sensor with 40 or so focus points, like a trimmed down version of A77ii, and price it arround current A77 levels.
The A58 is a crop sensor camera, right? That’s why it doesn’t stand a chance in the market. All cameras should have been full frame in the first place, and Sony is now slowly realizing this.
Sony should just dump a Full Frame sensor (16mp would be good enough) into the A58’s body, and sell with a cheap 28-105mm f/3.5-4.5 kit lens.
Take away the ability to use screw driven lenses, and the stabilization system. Put the Stabilization in the kit lens. So users are forces to buy Sony APS-C Stabilized lenses, with SAM III. They’ll love ya for it.
Call it the A66, and sell it for around the same price. I bet there would allot of low end DSLR buyers.
I’d make a great Staples, Walmart, Costco and Best Buy camera.
without the screw drive for Minolta lenses, they can stick it zhere I think about. Do not start the Nikon follies.
Screw drive support and stabilisation in all A-mount bodies are really really really appreciated by me and many others. Keep it consistent over product range and over time. Makes it easier to choose and understand. And creates confidence.
I know several users of Nikon entry-level DSLR:s that have had a blank face of deep confusion and surprise when I told that that they do not have a focus motor in their camera and that explains why they have problems with older lenses.
I think the market is drifting the other way around and Sony understood that almost every one wants a nice and cheap full frame camera, hence the A7 models (I know that they are not cheap, but you have to start somewhere)… the next step I think is to abandon completely the aps-c for the A mount, maybe except the 77 models, and focus the A mount in the FF camp…
I’d rather use APS-C for macro and the crop is useful at the long end. Full Frame has its place, but not in my camera bag.
APS-C A-mount will be A77II only. That is a good camera regardless of tech.
Amazon US ranks (the lower the better) with kit lens:
A58: 3020
A3000: 1300
A65: 711
Which one would you discontinue? Yes, thought so.
The A66 is definitely going to replace it. During its lifetime the A65 easily outsold the A37/A57/A58.
Sony will likely launch a A66 by the end of they year.
A-mount will go the same way as Betamax. Sony will keep a limited selection of higher end models for the next decade to keep customers happy who invested already in A-mount. Obviously at some point they will ditch it completely, Sony won’t support 2 mounts till the end of time.
E-mount is like the mini-disc, or SACD, great technology but no one seemed to give a crap about them, after a couple of years.
It more likely that sub-$800 A-Mounts will disappear, and smartphones, or cameras like the RX100 will make mirror-less cameras irrelevant.
Actually that’s already happening.
Insecure, much?
Smartphones, RX100s etc. will no more make mirrorless cameras irrelevant than they will A-mount. RX100s are nice cameras but are not a replacement for interchangeable lens cameras.
MD and SACD never had much market penetration and were not that long around as A-mount. It will take Sony 10 years from now to admit they abandoned A-mount. They will keep producing and re-releasing one higher end APS-C and one full-frame model just as they did with Betamax till 2002. 🙂
E-mount will replace A-mount in all price segments. Not now but it’s just a matter of time.
If you guys are lucky you can get the a58 + kit lens for ~275 at target. http://forums.redflagdeals.com/showthread.php?t=1480305