Today I got a rumor about the upcoming A-mount stuff:
“Spoke with the head of Sony camera sales in “xxx” (Editor’s note: country name removed). He said 2016 is going to be a great year for A-mount and that it’s certainly not dead. E-mount won’t replace (and kill) it since there are things you can do with the longer flange distance in A mount that you can’t with E mount… Other than that I couldn’t get anything out of him….. Very tight lipped ;-)”
Would be a great start if by CES or CP+ we would finally get the A99II !
Reminder: Today Gold Box deal on the Sony A99 at Amazon Germany.
223 Responses
Just used up my lens budget on an 800mm f5.6.
That also means that unless this new camera can accept Nikon mount lenses I will probably not be buying it.
I am anxiosly awaiting a pro level E mount camera.
Congrats Barry – it’s a helluva lens! That’s what you’re getting from Santa if you behave well 🙂
You’re going to have a long wait Barry. Maybe forever.
What have I said that could possibly lead you to believe I am going to wait for an A mount camera..????
Oh . . . You said “I am anxiously awaiting a pro level E-mount camera.” That’s probably never going to happen. If you really meant to say “a pro level a-mount camera,” why, that is just around the corner Barry. You won’t have to wait long at all for that.
So you believe Sony will build pro A mount cameras and not build pro E mount cameras.
That is such an irrational belief that I cannot even think of anything else to say.
Sony already has 2 pro e-mount cameras A7rii and A7sii
You are half correct.
They are pro level cameras stuck in consumer/amateur level bodies.
they gained market share with pros with the “small and light” thing and canons crappy sensors, so apart from planned shoots like fasion, i think fe camera + adapted lenses is a tougher sell for time limited and once only events like sports and news, also weddings. theres just more stuff to go wrong vs a normal setup.
I have always suggested both pro and consumer body versions, not one or the other.
Now that’s funny.
Barry, if I had your track record of looking into the future, I probably wouldn’t say anything either.
My track record is excellent, especially considering I make my predictions long long long before anyone else , and long before there are any more than bits, pieces and clues to base them on.
Despite that my accuracy rate is as good or better than any rumor site out there.
If critics like you choose to ignore and discount all my correct predictions and only consider the incorrect ones that is your shortcoming, not mine.
Right . . . Like your “a-mount is dead” prediction. You sure nailed that one Barry! What have you ever predicted correctly?
Since the A77 came out
Higher res
BSI apsc and ff sensor
Since the first nex camera came out
Fully dslr compatable pdaf
BSI
IBIS on E mount
Full high speed autofocus adapters for both Canon and Nikon lenses on E mount
Using both in camera and in lens stabilization together
Canon compatable SLT E mount adapter
4K video
90mm f2.8 macro ff E mount lens
FF E mount
Currently..soon
Pro level E mount bodies
Addition of white pixels to bayer array BSI sensor.
F 5.6. 600mm supertele zoom
Soon after that
Quantum thin film, allowing more effective multilayer sensors..including 3d 4 layer pd sensor..bayer, pd, white, pd..faster mirrorless af than any current dslr/dslt
Longer term..10+ years
Quanta type sensor with Quantum type prosessor
A billion jots, not pixels…hundreds of thousands of readouts per second, counts exery photon, colors detected by quatum state so no color filters needed
Current pricessor is binary..0 and 1
Quantom processor will detect a simgle quantum state as normal, +,or-…yherefor ech bit will be base 4
0N, 1N, 1-, 1+
No photon, red photon, green photon, blue photon.
Generating terabytes of data/second therefore requiring quantum type processor.
“Ultimate speed
Ultimate resolution
Ultimate sensetivity”
As forecast in Sony future of photography triangle over a year ago.
And each of my past correct predictions…way ahead of when people were ready to hear them were highly critsized as impossible, and not gonna happen until they did…then critisized by the very same people as so obvious that everyone knew they would happen.
So perhaps you might look back at all my correct prediction, and others made to to push things in the right direction…but I doubt that…I expect you will continue to spout out your mindless comments about how everything Barry says is wrong.
BTW
A mount is dead…if not today then soon when new af like the 3d pd sensor surpass dslr autofocus..it is still ony a question of when, not if…perhaps Sony has given. A mount a reprieve for now..perhaps not…but A mount will not survive. My prediction that A mount is dead was incorrect for the short term..,but totally correct for the long term.
Using that logic, so are you.
Congratulations Barry. You’ve come full circle . . . again. Yes. A-mount will die some day. So will every other mount, and our ancestors will all be traveling around in rocket ships too.
” our ancestors will be traveling around in rocket ships”
Do you ever actually think before you say these things?
You are my favorite troll Barry.
i hear this pro-level e-mount camera thing and i don’t understand what’s wrong with existing line up of e-mount that won’t allow people to make a living working with them.
It is not that professionals cannot make a living with E mount…after all the camera is just a tool…
It is that the vast majority of pros will not purchase a camera with poor battery life, single card slot, and poor selection of native lenses.
Sony needs to build a mirrorless body that current pros will consider to be a pro level body, and improve both the native selection of lenses as well as functionality with non native lenses.
Only then can Sony even think about competing with Canon and Nikon, no matter how much good technology they put into thier cameras.
If state of the art technology alone were enough to be a market leader, then Sony would already be the market leader. Clearly it takes more than that.
2016…the year of the A mount…oh wait, wasn’t that 2014 the year of the A mount ?
2016 is the new 2014. You heard it here first!
Ha, made the same comment before I saw yours 🙂
>He said 2016 is going to be a great year for A-mount and that it’s certainly not dead.
Read: we will finally get rid of old stocks of A-mount
Nah. The a7 series has been a test bed for the new a-mounts. The best of all that new tech will be incorporated. Plus, unlike the a7 series, the a99 replacement will mount a-mount lenses natively, won’t feel like a toy camera in your hands, will be able to focus on and shoot things that move fast, and won’t have to be brought indoors when the first raindrop falls.
I there a reason why I would get a Sony A-Mount camera but not a Canon or Nikon DLSR? A serious question. The size and weight argument are not valid in this case.
Over Canon is easy, sensor. canon lags behind in that department
Over Nikon is easy too, Nikon lags behind when it comes to video.
Sony also has some really nice alpha lenses, if you already own some nice g line or zeiss lenses you really don’t have a reason to switch to caniko
Another reason, C or N does not has EVF in DSLR. 😉
@Jeffry De Meyer
Thanks. Lots of photographers I know don’t care about video. I also doubt very much that the Alpha lenses can even come close to Canon or Nikon mount lenses.
@Kucus
Thanks. Now, that’s a good point. I do like the EVF
Which alpha lenses are you doubting will not come close to Canon’s or Nikon’s?
All of them. I really doubt the lens argument can be in favour of Sony!
Ok i have used a few of the lenses like 16-50 f2.8 or 70-400, and my friends have similar config in Canon or Nikon. From my personal experience these two are the best in their category. Similar can be said for 24-70 ZA or 16-35 ZA or 24 ZA or 50 ZA or 85 ZA or 135 ZA or 70-200 G or 500 G or 300 G from what i have seen out of works of different people i know. I even don’t want to go that far, even the little inexpensive 35 f1.8 is a great little devil.
Yes there are a few older lenses in the A-mount which should be updated like 35 f.14 or the macro lenses and other older primes from Minolta generation. As I see the only companies putting out great lenses there days are Tamron and Sigma, which make most of these for Sony which fills the gaps.
Depends what focal lengths you want. Thanks to the Zeiss partnership, Sony has the only AF Zeiss lenses available for DSLR. That includes a best-in-class 24-70 2.8 and a phenomenal 16-35 2.8. There is also the one-of-a-kind 135 1.8, a lens which made some people switch to Sony just for its unique look. The 24/2, 50/1.4, and 85/1.4 Zeiss lenses are also excellent.
Apart from that there are some classic Minolta lenses (some updated by Sony) that are fantastic: the 135 STF, the 500 Reflex (only AF reflex in the world), the older 80-200 2.8HS, the 28/2, the 35/2, the 100/2… etc. Some lenses are a bargain, others are pricey, but they round out a very nice DSLR offering.
That, on top of EVF, focus limiter, fully articulated screen and a host of shooting aids in the A99 and A77ii make them compelling cameras, still. Sony just needs to show they’re still interested in producing these cameras and lenses and I think there would still be a market. They just haven’t been doing that because E-mount is where they have a “first shot” at taking and keeping a lead position in a certain camera type before Canon and Nikon get out of the gate. But that doesn’t mean the A-mount isn’t already a great and established system.
You know those lenses aren’t real Zeiss right? They are “Sony Zeiss”.
Sony/Zeiss lenses are designed by employees of both companies. Zeiss
says it supports Sony through the design processes, tests and approves
prototype lenses, and designs tests for Sony to test manufactured
lenses.So practically they are Zeiss
Best in class 24-70 f/2.8? ;)http://www.dxomark.com/Lenses/Compare/Side-by-side/Sony-Carl-Zeiss-Vario-Sonnar-T-STAR-24-70mm-F28-ZA-SSM-II-on-Sony-SLT-Alpha-99-versus-Canon-EF-24-70mm-F28L-II-USM-on-Canon-EOS-5D-Mark-III__1538_831_886_795
But the 135 f/1.8 is an amazing lens indeed!
SLT, obviously.
Yes, the EVF…
EVF indeed.
bodies feel nicer, you need a higher end canikon to get roughly same quality of grip material and other bits and bobs, including buttons.
16-50 f2.8 is/was best in class, same for the 70-400mm
top lcd screen maybe better too
a77ii is great value too
What about the A68? Didn’t everyone make fun of it when it was announced this quarter?
Its a cheap and good camera for its price point, with some of the best features in its category if one has the willingness to look beyond the plastic mount and its exaggerated weakness
Yeah, and will only be availabe in the fatland of ‘murica…
I hope so…
“you can do with the longer flange distance in A mount that you can’t with E mount… ”
What a load of B.S. who would be that idiot to believe that? There’s nothing to do with flange distante.
For one is the ease of designing faster lenses.
Wrong answer you can design any lenses made for DLSR to fit mirrorless, like Rokinon is doing, it only look different.
I am not gonna get into Physics one-o-one with you, best is google it and read through different articles available on optics and lens design and the impact of multiple glass elements of different thickness made to bend light sharply. And even i am not gonna make you go so far on this, i have just re-iterated what guys from Sigma have stated in their interviews.
if I google enough, I find the proof that Santa Claus exist.
Merry Christmas to you!
That right. Just deny it. Don’t let anyone confuse you with facts.
What facts?
Which is completely and totally irrelevant. Ever heard of this mechanical structure called a “tube”?
Just because the optical elements CAN be closer to the sensor (which provides interesting design challenges but allows for more compact lenses) does not mean they HAVE to be. And that’s, as sibuzaru said, EXACTLY what Rokinon does. Their optical designs for E-mount lenses are 100% identical to their other mounts. Yes it’s wasted space, but for long telephoto/fast lenses, it’s not that much wasted space. With a shorter FFD, you simply have more options. There are ZERO cases where a longer FFD is advantageous since a lens designed for a long FFD can be used on a body with a short one using a simple tube.
Read this article especially the disadvantages of short flange distance and then perhaps you will understand
http://ilovehatephoto.com/2015/02/23/3-detailed-reasons-not-to-switch-to-sony-full-frame-mirrorless-system/
I addition leaving space inside the lens gives room for internal reflection, which kills IQ of image
The article is bull.
“The flange to focal distance (aka flange back distance) is the distance between the rear of the lens and the sensor/film plane. Since mirrorless cameras don’t have a mirror box, this distance is greatly reduced and thus it can be much thinner, simpler, and lighter.”
No, the flange focal distance is NOT the distance between the rear optical element of the lens to the sensor. The flange focal distance is the distance between the MOUNTING FLANGE of the lens and the sensor.
There is nothing to understand when the article is SIMPLY WRONG in its definition of flange focal distance.
NOTHING PREVENTS THE REARMOST OPTICAL ELEMENT FROM BEING IN FRONT OF THE MOUNTING FLANGE, NEGATING EVERY ASSERTION THAT ARTICLE MAKES.
Such as “However, physics being physics, there is only so much lens designers can do without giving up on barrel distortion or other optical abnormalities.” – Except that there are plenty of options, including the one taken by Rokinon, which is the option of “Use the exact same optical design for all mounts, and just move the mounting flange 26mm backwards in relation to the lens elements for E vs. EF with NO OTHER CHANGES”
(Also of note – it IS additionally perfectly feasible for the rearmost lens element to be somewhat behind the flange, however the design of the camera always puts limits on exactly how far this can be. This is a key aspect of Canon’s EF-S lenses – since their APS-C cameras have a smaller mirror, Canon chose to allow the rearmost elements of the lens to protrude further behind the flange for those lenses. This permits smaller and more compact wide-angles such as the EF-S 24/2.8. There is no limit whatsoever on how far in front of the flange the rearmost element of a lens is, which is why a shorter flange focal distance ALWAYS provides more versatility for a lens designer, as it provides more choices as to where to place the rearmost element of the lens.)
Sigma guys never had tradition in making rangefinder lenses. Their statement came before the Leica Q, what you say about that lens? 28mm f/1.7 wide stabilized, mechanical focus, fast AF and macro.
Could a larger than full frame stacked BSI sensor, IBIS and variable AA filter allow better things ?
Sensor tech isn’t affected by flange distance, AA and ND filter are only present in mirrorless.
SLT or DSLR doesn’t have any space to built in this stuf, only if you get rid of the mirrors.
So the news which is gonna give a lot of people happiness and will make some angry as they jumped a little too fast.
Anyways as i see it, A99ii will come soon with A7rii sensor and a super-fast hybrid autofocus. 5-axis IBIS with UHS-II support and a huge buffer.
Then it will be the long awaited A6xxx with the BSI 28MP sensor and in body IS. After which the same sensor will make its way into A77iii with even faster autofocus and 5-axis IBIS.
I doubt anyone is going to be angry they jumped shipped.
They are all angry. Just read their comments here.
It’s the other way around, no one will give a shit about the A-mount, Canikon offers everything if you need fat bodies.
A-mount almost took Sony out of the game, wake up.
Wait, wasn’t 2014 supposed to be the year of A-mount based on similar rumors? 😉
2016 will be the year of A mount. Don’t worry E mount folks- that doesn’t mean much. It’ll plug the gap until FE cameras start being released again- end of year 2016.
This is a cycle, A7 series had faster iterations because the first generation left lot of people wanting a chunk of things and Sony incorporated those things very fast leading to second generation. Now cherish those good cameras before asking for another one. its not a cellphone after all, which are being released with no meaningful enhancement each year. next iteration of the cameras should better the current ones by large.
All those numbskulls expecting an a7riii or a9 announcement are going to be sorely disappointed, just like selfish children.
Exactly This! The 2. gen A7 was expected to be released rather quickly to make the system more appealing to more people by removing as much of the negatives, as possible. The 3. Gen R/S will most definitely not be released in 2016
E-mount is headed for the back burner for a while. I am guessing that the number of people who would spend $3200 on such a specialty camera is about tapped out.
The only plausible way that A-mount could remotely be better than E-mount is being mirrorless and load a bunch of filters on the empty space of the mirrorbox. BUT even with electronic ND, and variable low pass filter built-in you still lose the adaptability of the system, what made Sony relevant in the first place.
You could just buy an emount camera and buy an a-mount adapter that could load filters in, instead of buying a camera with a permanent a-mount attached then you can’t adapt any other lens on it and utilize emount lenses.
Why do so many assume that the A-mount is not adaptable? My M42-Sony A adapter allows me to use many inexpensive, very good glass!
It’s not an assumption, it’s basic physics.
You can mount lenses with a longer flange focal distance to a body with a shorter one without any lenses/optics and retain infinity focus, NOT the other way around. Adapters do exist in some cases, but they all have optics in them and as a result perform poorly/are expensive.
M42 lenses are one of the only lens mounts adaptable to A – and that’s barely so since its FFD is only 1mm longer than A.
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Flange_focal_distance – A body with a mount on that list (which is sorted by FFD) can only mount lenses lower on the list without special tricks such as optics in the adapter, or losing infinity focus. E-mount at 18mm is near the top of the list, A-mount is fairly far down the list at 44.5mm.
Even for lenses with longer FFDs – Only some of them mechanically allow for an adapter that is shorter than the 1-2mm needed, M42 being one of the rare cases where a 1-2mm thick adapter is even possible.
I know all this! My point is that the A-mount CAN be adapted to other lenses (even if it’s just M-42) contrary to what many say/believe!
Correct- I have several contax-zeiss lenses that were converted for A-mount use
I presume you mean that A-mount plates were attached to the contax-zeiss lenses. How do they perform? Who did the conversion?
They perform great. http://leitax.com/
Also had them done for my colleague on his mark 3
Thanks for the info and link!
With a-mount there is no need to adapt. There are plenty of excellent native mount lens choices already.
adapted lenses can work on e-mount but they don’t work perfectly. There are challenges with those adapted lenses and with each lenses on the same adapter behavior of those lenses is unpredictable(in case of Canon lenses) or is lack luster(as in case of a-mount); compared to native lenses.
Very few people who have expensive a-mount lenses want to handicap it with an e-mount adaptor.
I think you meant the other way around, because that’s the mount that Sony chose for their professional video, that it must be the most modular possible, something impossible to A-mount.
Very few people have a-mount lenses in the first place…
Sony obviously wants to sell new lenses and cams rather than satisfy users who sit on old lenses and buy nothing.
The most expensive and professional grade lenses are only offered in A-mount so say what you will.
How do you know Dmitry? Besides, if Sony wants to sell a-mount lenses it knows it needs to build a-mount cameras. It’s a pretty simple equation.
I have 15 A mount lens why do I need a dam adapter? Is there a 300mm F 2.8 made for e-mount? There is one for A mount I’m using it!
According to the Chinese calendar, it can’t be “Year of the A-mount” again so soon. We need to go through 11 other animals before we come back to it:
Year of the E-mount
Year of the E-mount
Year of the E-mount
Year of the E-mount
Year of the E-mount
El Nino
Year of the E-mount
Year of the E-mount
Year of the E-mount
Year of the E-mount
Year of the E-mount
Year of the A-mo– nvm, here’s an a7Riiiiiiiiii (but keep using that LA-EA4, A-mount folks!)
Sorry, I’m being snarky. Merry Christmas, everyone!
Great news for me! I just hope it comes true!
Why no rating for this rumor?
Seems like it’s being presented as-is, hearsay from an anonymous Sony employee. I guess we’re all free to judge for ourselves. I’m always skeptical of rumors, but with A-mount in particular, we’ve been burned so many times, I’ll only believe it when I see it. Show me a real A99ii, with confirmed specs, and I’ll start to take these rumors seriously.
Because it isn’t a rumor about a specific product just hearsay that it’s going to be a great year for A-mount. It’s completely meaningless. We got exactly the same rumor at the beginning of 2014.
Merry Christmas everyone! May all your Canon dreams come true….oh crap…wrong forum.
nice one
I’m actually renting some Canon equipment to try out next weekend…
“2016 is going to be a great year for A-mount”
lol
How many times we heard this story.
“there are things you can do with the longer flange distance in A mount that you can’t with E mount”
And what are those things exactly?
Built-in filters? The only thing I can think of…
Yes – a drop in filter that smashes the mirror. Sony Australia knew that already.
Touchè!
Built-in filters, yes but also a full frame stacked BSI sensor…
teleconvertors, they require space.
That would be killer.
Teleconverters are legacy of film cameras. With digital you can use smaller sensor with denser pixels
No thanks, I prefer telecoverters over whatever digital stuff you’re suggesting. Not even Sony Digital Teleconverter feature is good enough against Teleconverters, specially artifacts created by algorythms.
Yeah. There’s absolutely NOTHING a longer flange distance gets you. A shorter flange distance gives you more versatility.
Before someone says something about possible angle issues/some lenses may benefit from the optics farther out – there’s NOTHING preventing you from making an extended flange tube for E-mount like every adapter out there, or for a more robust solution – see the Rokinon E-mount lenses which effectively have the adapter built in.
Wrong so wrong. See above. Short flange is limiting. See above.
Sure kludge your little toy cam to makeshift what AMount can theoretically do with ease. But you’ll do it off balance with an ergonomic train wreck.
I don’t get it. Every existing a-mount lens can be used on an e-mount body with an adapter. The short flange distance does absolutely nothing to worsen those a-mount lenses. Exactly how is short flange distance limiting when disgning new lenses? Nothing stops the lens designer from adding exactly the same space within the lens itself, if needed optically.
As stated above…
“But you’ll do it off balance with an ergonomic train wreck”.
EMount so far away from original design philosophy… Not intended for small body with extra large lenses… confirmed by the original flimsy plastic lens mount. It tries to be something that it was never designed to be from the beginning. Fundamental crippling at the design phase.
the performance of those lenses is significantly compromised through these adapters. It is also not a durable solution. Ergonomically awful in some situations. I regularly work with larger aperture primes, large telephotos, flash guns and triggers simultaneously, etc. My A7 quickly grew uncomfortable after an hour of use, followed shortly by cramps in my fingers.
So I am not debating that yes, they can be adapted, but their performance is admittedly compromised compared to how they function on say, an A99, native mount- Do you get that? It’s also pretty simple. Your photography clearly has different priorities but that doesn’t discount other artists.
Everyone saying simply add a cylinder or tube… lens design isn’t that simple!
Sir, you should offer Zeiss your services
http://www.sonyalpharumors.com/zeiss-is-working-on-five-more-new-fe-lenses/
“The short flange distance between the sensor and the rear element is an engineering challenge for ultra wide-angle lenses.”
Then create more distance, simple. The impossible is to do the opposite.
And I will leave that…
http://www.sonyalpharumors.com/exclusive-on-sar-new-voigtlander-10mm-f4-5-full-size-images-specs-and-optical-lens-design/
Only the widest rectlinear lens ever made for FF…
I’m not so sure about the distance. I’ve tried the 11-24 on the A7r, r2 and the 5dsr and the difference in the corners is quite noticeable on the Canon. I’m not an optical engineer, so I can’t tell what need to be done to fix this 🙂 Could be the sensor microlens shape designed for the “more standard” lenses and not the UWA.
Zeiss is the blue sticker provider.
Zeiss already buys their lens designs from Tamron, Cosina and everyone else.
So you’re saying, the guys who designed & patented most modern lens designs have to get the people in Japan to design their optics. Seriously………..
That point 4 of SAR rumor didn’t make any sense. Search my comment on that…
And if you don’t believe in logic thinking, listen to what a Zeiss master says: 3:00 – 4:30:
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=9cnEnRADDLo#t=2m59s
“Mirror causes … forbidden area … forces us to make much more complicated designs for the short lenses”
It’s up to you if you trust a SAR rumor-line without any sign of a true source, or logic and a first-hand interview.
Good to know. So it’s possible but more complicated?
The sentence you just posted is 100% contradictory to the existence of EF-S lenses.
Despite the fact that mounting an EF-S lens on an EF body will cause damage due to mirror interference, Canon created the modified mount specifically to permit having optical elements closer to the sensor, which is beneficial for wide-angle lenses since you don’t necessarily need a retrofocus group – https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Ang%C3%A9nieux_retrofocus – Having optical elements closer to the sensor allows for more compact wide-angles (such as the EF-S 24/2.8)
Also, for fast lenses and telephotos, the short flange distance is NOT a challenge. What part of “You don’t HAVE to put the optical elements close to the sensor if you don’t want to” do you not understand? Seriously, are you unable to comprehend the concept of a cylinder? If you have trouble with this concept, you should look at the various mount adapters out there. The Rokinon lenses are all the exact same design – there were no “challenges” due to the short flange distance, because there is NOTHING that says the optical elements have to be positioned at the flange. They can be well in front of it – however they can’t necessarily be behind it due to interference issues.
This is why a mount with a short flange distance is fundamentally, by the nature of physics itself, more versatile than one with a longer distance.
By “you” did you mean SAR_Admin?
Whoever posted that sentence, which conflicts with nearly a century of optical design (One of the first cameras that forced the use of retrofocus designs were the 3-strip Technicolor cameras of the 1930s). The more optical elements you have in a lens, the more difficult it is to maintain its quality, and a long flange focal distance forces you to use a retrofocus arrangement to move the focal plane of the lens backwards.
http://www.rondexter.com/library/retro_focus_and_tele.htm
They could easily convert any super-tele to e-mount and put drop-in filter capability on them taking advantage of the empty space.
You’re about 95% correct. The shorter flange distance is nearly always an advantage and in every way. However there is one exception and that is the ergonomics of longer lenses. Take for example a 300mm 2.8 lens. It will likely, barring any other design changes, be roughly the same large size and weight on any full frame system regardless of flange distance. The “wasted space” if you like would be more in the lens on a short flange distance and more in the mirror box for an SLR. So what’s the advantage of having that empty air space in the camera and not the lens? Simple – it will balance better since the weight will be more evenly distributed between the lens and camera and with the centre of gravity closer to the camera mount. Indeed for super telephotos, a larger flange still over the Canon EF would make sense from the point of view of ergonomics. Of course there will be ways to improve things, Sony could start building a tougher mount and I hope they show some inventiveness with longer lenses – if they ever make a 300mm lens for the FE mount they should see what Nikon did with their new 300mm f/4 – such a lens would be pleasant to use on an A7RII whereas a conventional 300mm 2.8 likely never will be (I am aware a small number of photographers prefer the giant lens/tiny camera combination; I have seen them and understand the idea, holding the lens with the camera just sitting on the lens but for the vast majority of photographers that’s very awkward.)
Quite where that change over occurs in terms of focal length is hard to say. The shorter flange distance offers theoretical advantages in wide angles and normal lenses but once one goes above 100mm it will gradually shift in favour of the larger flange distances. I suspect most of the world’s SLRs only ever use an 18-55 crop zoom and those customers would almost certainly be better served with a mirrorless camera and shorter flange distance.
It’s worth noting though that even with the relatively wide 35mm 1,4 the new Zeiss FE lens is the same size as an SLR 35mm lens and, on an A7 series camera, is too front heavy and considerably less pleasant to hold and use than the latest Canon version on a 5DIII and at the same time the Sony/Zeiss one offers no optical advantages, indeed many prefer the Canon. Perhaps the only lens so far that has really grabbed my attention as making the most of the new flange distance is the Zeiss 21mm 2,8 FE – half the size and weight of the SLR equivalent and early reviewers say it is just as good. Voigtlander are also promising some super wide angle lenses that look fairly compact and likely wouldn’t be possible on a camera with a much deeper flange distance. And yet the Sony 16-35mm f/4 is similar in size and weight to the Canon lens and by all accounts not quite as good in the corners.
So while it is true that in nearly all ways a shorter flange distance is of benefit (apart from in ergonomics especially with long lenses), it’s not even close to being the most important issue when it comes to camera design for most photographers.
You can fit a translucent mirror and direct a part of the light to a dedicated PDAF module. And such a module can work fine with longer focal lengths and with less light.
And… no, I am not being sarcastic. I like the SLT tech, it still has great potential for development and more advanced functionality.
Interesting admission, if true.
read this article, there is a section on short flange distance
http://ilovehatephoto.com/2015/02/23/3-detailed-reasons-not-to-switch-to-sony-full-frame-mirrorless-system/
Shut up with that old ass biased article.
http://www.sonyalpharumors.com/exclusive-on-sar-new-voigtlander-10mm-f4-5-full-size-images-specs-and-optical-lens-design/
“convergence point”??? LOL
This guy doesn’t know a thing about lens design…
He probably wanted to say “exit pupil” ooh if he had known anything about designing lenses.
Seldom read more BS… Oh wait – some comments here are the same BS
No a99II. Prepare for completely new camera, like all other 9 series before.
AMount can…
…faster lenses in smaller size.
…theoretically add registration shift for macro on any lens.
…theoretically add registration shift to adapt any lens… with macro and T/S.
…mount extra large lens with extra thick six screw mount.
…theoretically enlarge sensor size with same mount.
…AF with lens aperture wide open at any aperture setting.
…avoid pitfalls of fly-by-wire focusing mechanism.
…design smaller lenses that don’t require software correction.
…shoot nearly 1000 shots on one battery.
…can install three batteries.
…satisfy those who have tried, and tried, and tried to like EMount, but… after much waisted time and money, have come to realize that it will never be up to task for the most robust tasks where larger grip, stability, and battery life are required to compete with pro grade alternatives.
________________
I propose that Sony has planned some extremely sound future marketing strategies, and found that AMount is the true answer for survival in the coming years.
Here’s why…
The success of EMount has surely prompted CaNikon to begin designing their own EVF camera systems. I bet they pursue this with existing DSLR mounts. Compact EVF cameras will be available in tiny Rebel size AND larger pro size… all using the same existing mount. Users will not be asked to suffer the pitfalls of a completely different system.
Larger Leica SL and new Pentax FF offerings don’t come with blind marketing research. There is a good market for larger cameras. Everything else will be eaten by cellphones.
Sony realizes this marks the end limit for EMount development, and to compete, they will return to AMount variant sizes with fuller existing lens lineup. They will offer Rebel size EVF, similar to the old a33 (which is smaller than a7), and offer it with full frame like they should have done years ago.
Hope you enjoyed your emutt cams. They are doomed to scraping the crumbs of disenfranchised Samsung refugees… nothing more.
Hey – it’s Christmas. It’s the time for buying things and give it to people you like.
Your story belongs to halloween: Fictious tales in order to scary kids and make adults smile.
Emount… the soon to be Ghost of Christmas past.
Get a grip, man.
None of that are related or limites by the flange distante, you can always increase the distante from the sensor, but never shorten. Don’t be delusional.
Never say never when it’s already been done.
http://www.ayton.id.au/wiki/lib/exe/fetch.php?media=photo:kl:dslr:contax_ax_autofocusing_diagram_c._kyocera_corp_c._ixbt.com_.jpg
Finally someone else who also see’s how fu#kup e-mount was!
??
You live in one of those states that legalized. Happy Holidays! …but, no driving for you!
>He said 2016 is going to be a great year for A-mount
OMFG, seriously this again??
I can’t even… not enough sarcasm for a fitting comment.
Enjoying my holiday reading the comments of the usual crowd of naysayers. A-mount is alive and well. Deal with it!
Don’t worry so much. You can still have your a7s. No one is going to take them away from you.
That’s correct, you can use it for z-sensor shift to use both a-mount and e-mount lenses on them, as well as manual lenses with autofocus.
I’ve seen people suggest this so many times, but it will never happen. Way too much trouble to solve a problem that doesn’t exist. Even with z-shift, you still need to adapt the mount. Just use a normal A to E-mount adapter.
It would allow autofocus for manual lenses.
I don’t think such a feature has enough demand. That, plus the added complexity and as I said before, the need to convert the mount anyway, makes it very unlikely to happen.
Sony has been insisting for years the A-mount “isn’t dead”. But all this time they’ve been putting the bulk of their R&D money into FE-mount. That tells the real story. A-mount may not be dead, but it’s definitely on life support. Sony may give the A system token support in the next year, but it will pale in comparison to the full court press they’ll give to FE mount. And you won’t see much if any support from third parities. They know better than to throw money away by coming out with new products for A-mount DSLRs.. A-mount will limp along for another year, maybe two. But the writing is on the wall. FE is where the action is. Deal with it.
It’s their last year before Canikon bring the big boys mirrorless on the market, even Fuji is rumored to go even bigger with medium format, if they waste time with A-mount now they are lost forever.
Even Ricoh is getting into the game and I would say they have a more chance on FF DSLR than Sony.
The “handwriting on the wall” (see above) is all about a-mount. E-mount is nice, but it’s had its moment in the sun. You may see some new FE lenses this year, but it looks like Sony is moving on. Wait until next year (or longer) for a new camera.
Wishful thinking from an old school DSLR dinosaur. It most certainly does not look like Sony is “moving on” from the FE system. A-mount won’t get anything new next year except for maybe one new body. No new lenses, no new accessories. FE, on the other hand, will see a lot of exciting new gear in 2016.
Hopeful dreaming from an e-mount spoiled child naysayer. You are not going to see much this year from Sony. Maybe a couple of new lenses. You might call that “exciting.” 2015 was the the year of e-mount. That’s all over now.
2016 will be:
– the year of the A-mount
– the year of the Linux Desktop
I came here to make exactly this same comment!
Next year is always ‘Linux year’. And now, also, ‘A-mount year’.
I understand the sarcasm, but there’s a big difference. Linux Desktop isn’t in the hands of one particular organization, whose stupid decisions affect everyone. If we don’t like what Canonical’s doing with Mir, Unity etc., we can simply disregard them and use the latest Kubuntu instead.
Not so with FE / A-Mount, unfortunately.
If not for Sony, there would be no new a-mount cameras & lenses.
There aren’t. (well technically A68, but you know)
I thought 2015 was supposed to be the year of the A-mount.
Every year is the year of the A-mount 🙂
Yep.
I’ve been using A-mount cameras since 1989 and I don’t plan to stop.
Sony never said any year is the year of any specific mount.
Meanwhile, Flickr statistics for 2015
http://blog.flickr.net/en/2015/12/01/flickr-year-in-review-2015/
http://petapixel.com/assets/uploads/2015/12/typebreakdown.jpg
Everybody knows that Flickr isn’t relevant anymore, they even mess up with a lot of cameras.
Aren’t you cynical.
Flickr is still huge with photo enthusiasts. They upload around 1.5 million new photos every day. That’s a huge sample for statistics.
And their statistics confirm what I see. Most people take pictures with their phones. Some of them get bitten by the bug and buy a real camera. That means a DSLR to most people. If they keep at it for a few years, some discover mirrorless cameras.
That kind of translates well into flickr’s stats graph. (There is no use pretending that reality is what you want it to be.)
Flickr also finally got their interface right. So I think it’s now the best way to share quality photos.
(Now, the really irrelevant site is instagram. It mostly contains selfies or pictures of people’s lunch. Sometimes people take selfies with their lunch in it. All phones and random filters. That is the end of the road for photography.)
No one that I know uses Flickr on a daily basis, don’t be naive, they aren’t relevant for a long time now, wake up.
Yahoo is on the way to bankruptcy.
Mess up with camera categories.
it’s not DSLR vs. mirrorless, it’s basically CaNikon vs. everyone else =)
counting from https://www.flickr.com/cameras/sony/?s=type#models
Sony DSLRs summed get 2722 daily users
Sony MILCs summed get 4622 daily users
These statistics are for pictures posted on Flicker, and are not at all indicative of the overal photography industry.
But that’s an indication of what people are ACTUALLY using, including new and old cameras. Better than Sales Numbers which mean less since there are plenty of cameras being sold and then returned and there are people using old equipment already and are not in need of new bodies (but more in need for more lenses and accesories).
People are using cellphone cameras 100x more than this graph would indicate.
It is only indicative of a small subset of users posting to one particular site.
There must be something wrong, in the other picture it says iphone 42%, which is more than 39%. What about all the other smart phones with camera? Something is seriously wrong in the statistic.
Yes, a cameraphone is the way to go for Flickr photo-sharing, better for video too than a DSLR. And looking at that 3% share for Mirrorless, in what, <5 years, that's amazing market adoption given the fact that most are still using their old SLR lenses on consumer quality DSLR's.
@admin (or anyone else who can answer this)… What are these “things” that can be done with a-mount and longer flange distance that cannot be done with e-mount or mirrorless? I can’t think of anything…
More and more, this site seems to be more of an a-mount advocacy site than a Sony Alpha Rumors site.
Seriously? This site is all about E-mout lately.
What else is there? 😛
For real you are fckin kidding right? “A-mount advocacy site” lol
No input on the question?
I’m waiting too on this answer………
You have got to be kidding right?
A “thing” you can do with a longer flange distance? Depending on the placement of your aperture, perhaps have a larger image circle on the sensor?? 😉
Correct answer: There is nothing you can do with a-mount (longer flange distance) that cannot be done with e-mount. You can always add length to a shorter flange; it is impossible to shorten the flange of an a-mount.
Things I expect to see for A-mount this year. 1DX/D4S competitor being released in January/February ahead of 2016 Olympics. Something with 16Mpx BSI sensor with dual AF system with as many PDAFOS points they can fit on it and a dedicated PDAF module with at least 51 AF points, all of them cross type. Capable of going up to ISO409600, shooting at 12fps with fulltime AF-C
A new set of fullframe A-mount F4 zoom lenses. Nothing fancy, just G series zoom lenses at a lower price tag than A-mount f2.8 Zeiss lenses (12-24/4 or 16-35/4, 24-70/4 or 24-105/4 or 24-120/4, 70-200/4 or 120-300/4)
For the olympics a 300/4, 600/4 or 400/2.8 would be nice.
Sounds nice but are you really expecting this?
Being Sony, we can expect everything. From good stuff to bad decisions.
@frankiewithers:disqus 24-105 G was leaked ages ago. Surprised Sony never brought it to market.
Huge list of things in one year. Though 24-104 would be a welcome. And perhaps 85ZA and 135ZA with SSM
I thought A-mout had plenty of lenses already…
For the Olympics, 4K video capability would definitely be a must-have for Sony.
You think the Olympic video broadcast team uses dSLRs to film the events?
What I think is that Sony wants to push the 4K standard into the mainstream so it can sell 4K TVs to the masses. The Olympics will be a big showcase for Sony & 4K. So it will be incorporating 4K capability into everything that makes reasonable sense in advance of the Olympics including a flagship a-mount camera.
If you believe any of the reviews out there, Sony cannot do long telephotos (twice the price, half the resolution). They should give us a mirrorless camera and an adapter that will focus Canon long lenses fast and then invest the money into designing lenses that are actually competitive. And I do not mean the likes of the 1.8 55mm with a Zeiss label stuck on so they can quadruple the price.
FE 24-120/4 sounds awesome 🙂
Either they´re ready for the A9 hybrid (a big e-mount camera with better adapter integration and performance for a-mount lenses) or the a99II is coming. They need to release a bigger FF body soon.
Make this an A9, with A-Mount if you will. I cannot believe that Sony will continue to water down its unique value proposition. A-Mount is not obsolete but cameras with mirrors inside are.
No reason to make it an a-mount if there’s no mirror inside. Then it could add well be an e-mount+ adapter for versatility.
If their camera division can be a hint they are making a bigger e-mount, see fs5.
Besides a99ii Sony needs a 6d or 610d competitor. Slightly smaller and lighter body, with built in flash.
They already have that in E-mount – A7 (regular, not the S or R variety) is exactly that, minus the built-in flash.
a7 is NOT the competitor for 6d or 610d. Sony does NOT produce competitor to those cameras. Competitor MUST have A-mount and must be LOWER than $1000. This is the only way to win.
There will never be a FF A-mount camera released at that price bracket. Nothing you want or think will change that. It simply is not going to happen.
Never say never…
It will be a very good year indeed! Thumbs up to Sony for making the right decisions.
… and my condolence to those who are still in denial, time to get a life. Just because trolls keep writing non-constructive comments here doesn’t mean Sony will listen lol.
What do i want from a Sony A99 II.
Well. Get rid of the mirror, Upgrade the 24mm f.2,0, 50mm f.1,4, 85mm f.1,4, 135mm f.1,8.
Get some new lenses. 12-24mm f.2,8 with the possibility for filter, 200mm f.2,8, 300mm f.4,0, 400mm f.5,6, 200-400/300-500 f.4,0 with build inn 1,4 converter and a 15mm f.2,8.
I also want eye focus high end. The best autofocus eye detecting possibility.
“Get rid of the mirror …” ??? What else makes an A-mount camera special? I can’t see any significant difference between a mirrorless A99ii and a mirrorless A7Rii + LA-EA3 + Grip.
Well, you get rid of the a7rii and the LA-EA3, and you gain (hopefully) a more robust and weather resistant camera that can mount a-mount lenses natively. But, it should also be faster focusing on moving objects, and higher FPS.
Larger Battery. Dual Card Slots. Better lens/body balance/ergonomics. Less prone to over heating due to form factor. I own the a99 and a7s and there’s enough IMO to keep the two seperate at this point. These are all physical size related issues that are unlikely to be solved, so there is still a use for larger bodies.
They can do everything you said in a E-mount like we see on the fs5 so it doesn’t have anything to do with the mount.
Yes, they can do everything I said but they haven’t. Considering I was answering the question of what sets them apart, as of today, I’m still correct in that those things differentiate the two mounts.
A lot of unnessesary E-mount vs A-mount talk here. They are not mutually exclusive. Sony needs both to be a major player in the camera business.
I do look forward to the new A-mount flagship. The sensible thing would be to continue with the SLT mirror. It works and AF is lightning fast. Sony however do need to update a few choice lenses with SSM motors. That makes a huge difference compared to SAM or screw drive. The latter work, but with SSM, AF is as close to instantaneous as you can get. (The downside with a77m2 is that many lenses can’t make proper use of the really fast AF).
I don’t want the A99II to have a new radical on-sensor PDAF design. That technology isn’t mature or fully developed yet. It would probably have a lot of quirks and lens incompatibility issues. That would mean a lot of frustrated users waiting for firmware upgrades and a MkIII. I.e. the same old story.
Sony needs to nail this one.
The year of the a-mount…
Have heard this song before.
To be honest,, it is hard to believe that they would do a major U-turn after pulling out with A-mount in some regions and following “do not invest any resources into promoting A-mount” (literally their words, not mine) in the rest of the world.
At the time, Sony needed to focus on the A7 series. The MkII:s show that they were right.
Sony never said they would cancel A-mount, just slow the product cycle.
Many people read into it that A-mount was dead, which no doubt affected Sony’s sales and reputation.
So now, when they are out of the wods on FE-mount, they’ll give some love to A-mount.
It all makes sense, if you have any.
Right, great year, A68 with plastic mount will be released, a great innovation.
Sony uses supershort flange for large sensors and long mount for small sensors now. So you would not be able to use a focal reducer on your FF A-mount lenses and use them on your E-mount cameras with APS-C sensors.
The plastic mount is no big deal.
The a58 also had a plastic mount and people still liked it.
You will find few stories of plastic mounts breaking from normal use. There are far more stories of metal mounts breaking off from the body.
Especially on small cameras with big lenses, if that sounds familiar 😉
The problem with plastic is not about breaking, it is about wear with mounting and dismounting lenses. A very little wear (change in the flange distance, especially uneven) will alter the optical properties of the lens-camera system. See lensrentals tests with adapters for example of what tiniest inconsistencies will do.
Of course this camera is made to be used with a kit zoom glued to it. 😉
Not specific to plastic mounts. There is a lot of variation in the fit of metallic mounts. Metal on metal will wear too, even more than plastic on plastic.
It’s really the old question if the glass is half full or half empty. Except for some it just seems to be completely empty.
The metal used for mounts does not wear nearly as much as plastic. Don’t be funny.
The only funny thing is that you mention lensrentals. They actually debunked the myth of the inferior plastic mount. According to their huge experience, lenses with plastic mounts are not more likely to break. The funny thing is, if they do they are easier to repair. Isn’t that funny?
Again, it is not about breakage, it is about wear.
….and yet pros use adapters.
Almost all pros use Canon and Nikon FF DSLRs with native lenses. The rest is within rounding error, or just experimentation.
Wasn’t 2015 the year of the A-mount, no wait, it was 2014, or um it was 2013. In other words, we’ve heard this before, and nothing. I’ll believe it when I see it. Clickbait.