Sigma is quite busy launching one lens after another. And it sounds like the next lens could be a 135mm f/1.8 DG OS Art lens. Sounds great but…
…the two newest ART lenses, the 30mm f/1.4 (Click here) and the new 18-35mm f/1.8 (Click here) are not available for A-mount. I hope Sigma’s new policy is not to ignore the A-mount system 🙁
If you know some Sigma managers ask them if they plan to release their new lenses for Sony too! Thanks!
124 Responses
Nooooo 🙁
All Sigma need is a camera with Sony’s sensor and everybody will be happy 🙂
I don’t think it’s a policy. It must be a cash related decision influenced by sheer volume of the other mounts in the market at any given time. Sigma’s own SLR’s dont have volume but its their lens so it would be pretty sad if they didn’t offer it in their mount.
Well I Think you can’t say that. A-Mount is not dead. Sony wouldn’t have bought some rights from Minolta to let it down! Indeed, they are working kind of more on nex release but none of us are working at Sony, so we can’t say anything about what is supposed to be released or be dead… Think about it…
Who said anything about being dead?
Sorry Hendrick… I wanted to reply to Emacs… My bad… :-S
Reply to Great no Emacs… Sorry, I’m at work…
I just noticed. No worries.
If you get the hint from the last talk by Japanese guy…
” please wait a moment”
U would know that a mount is half dead already. Not very profitable move to invest too much is A mount.
Exactly.
They’re doing it because sales are low/small. Little to gain.
As was expected: SLT camera owners don’t care much about IQ, otherwise they wouldn’t buy it with its ghosting SLT-caused problem.
Give it a rest.
Ghosting hasn’t been a problem in any SLT camera after the initial A33 and A55 releases. Even then, it wasn’t an issue in the vast majority of images.
It is still a problem and will be forever. Sony only softened it a bit, but it is quite pronounced in night shooting anyway. Just different angle of refraction for different wavelengths. Sony can’t do anything with this simple fact and I saw evidences a number of times with A77.
Please show that evidence.
@ Emacs
You are talking out of your corn-hole.
There is no ghosting on the A77, the mirror was improved after the A33/55. Professional reviewers are unable to find any ghosting what-so-ever on the later SLT models.
Stop being a tool.
I have compared images from my A57 and Canon 60D and I see no presence of ghosting. I do notice that the A57 does better at night and with sunlight-shadow ranges, but the jpeg engine tends to smear more than Canon. Also, the live view is not as slow as molasses in the Sony.
You saw pigs fly too I bet.
Ghost pigs! 😀
Ghosts, and Emacs, are a thing of the past.
hehe, +1 for funny comment 🙂
Agree. Add A-mount usage by pros too and Sony soon, if it will keep trying to sell mediocre stuff for premium price.
Hi Emacs, how ya doing mate? I bumped into Vim the other day, he said hi to you!
Wow! What a troll you are Emacs! Have you ever tried a Sony SLT? Have you checked SLT users photo galleries?
Get a life!
I reaaaaaaaaly hope Sigma comes up with this for the A mount because these are effin amazing lenses !!! Oh lord !
the new lenses are for pro shooters mostly, and there is no real pro body with a-mount out there
It’s the photographer who is pro, not the body.
you´re right, but i don’t know a pro around here, that uses slt technology
Nigel barker use slt and ifew other s
I do. A99 is an amazing camera.
A guy named Friedman uses the A99. Pretty sure he qualifies as a pro shooter…
you´re right, but i don’t know a pro around here, that uses slt technology
There is a few university lecturers in Australia that use the A99, they also shoot professionally when not lecturing as a job. I would certainly consider them to be ‘pro’ as they are making money from there shots as well as being extremely knowledgeable and have many years experience being a photographer…
If I’ve met some personally I’m sure there must be allot more out there as well…
Just my 2 cents worth…
How many pros use Sigma up to now?
Ad mentioned above I don’t know all that many ‘pro’ but the ones I have met don’t seem to use Sigma all that much, they tend to use the higher end Nikon, Canon or Sony glass… but once again I don’t know all that many so this is just my personal findings with the few that I have seen…
@Jonathan
Don’t know about zooms, but I cannot call crappy 35L being higher end lens than Sigma 35.
@ EmacsNew
I agree, I would not call the Sigma a crappy lens either, I’m just saying most pro’s I’ve seen ‘personally’ have not used Sigma and many of them seemed to be using branded lenses that match the body… if it’s the best option or not I have no idea, just an observation I’ve noticed on the very small number of professionals I’ve seen and spoken to myself.
* I’m sure there must be many pro’s that use Sigma without a doubt.
More than use Sony.
@SeanG16
So you are saying that more people use Sigma over house brands (Eg, Canon, Nikon and Sony) or more people use sigma just over Sony?
If that is so I’m sure that must be the case as Sigma make lenses for a broad range of systems so it’s hard to compare sigma’s entire range offerings to just one mount offering… It’s all or nothing… Eg, if you have found numbers such as Sigma vs Nikon or Sigma vs Sony from Pro’s I’m very interested to see but all I said was locally and from my very limited acess to Pro’s they have mainly all stuck with the vendors lenses (eg, same brand as the body)… does not mean any thing really but just an observation…
Define “pro body”.
I wouldn’t say that you can limit any particular lens to pro shooters only, especially not Sigma DC lenses.
a pro body is a body, a pro uses to work with 🙂 i dont think most casual photographers buy a prime lens for that price.
I make my living through photography and I use a NEX 5n and NEX 7 to deliver. No magazine or agency has yet rejected any of my work for using cameras considered ‘not pro’ enough.
Have some f!ӣng sense in that brain.
Casual photographers, maybe not, whatever “casual” means.
But then everyone in between casual and pro may pay a few hundred for a prime lens, quite easily.
I’m a Pro ( get paid for shooting assignments ) and use a Sony SLT A99 and wouldn’t trade it for any other brand, it fulfill all my needs. I also have a Sony A900 as back up.
Agreed. I too am a pro in that i get paid for my work, and have an a99 and an a900 as a backup. The 900 isnt great on the higher ISOs, but no complaints at all with the 99. Mostly use sigma 70-200 for now – waiting for the sony 70-200 gII!
Now you know how m4/3 users feel :(. At least you’ve got the Speed Booster and Canon to NEX adapter…
It may be a good alternative to the quite expensive 135 f1.8 Zeiss we do have… Now let’s wait and see if it really will be released and if it could be released in A-mount… Please Sigma Corp. do something for us.
It will certainly be interesting to see if the next Sigma DG lens is available for A-mount. The 35mm f1.4 DG was.
If it is, maybe that points to a Sigma policy of only DG lenses for A-mount and NEX lenses.
If the next DG lens isn’t released for A-mount, then oh dear, that is worrying.
Can’t expect third party makers to continue supporting a mount that Sony has left half-dead anyway. Sony has to lead by example.
I don’t get your comment about A mount being ‘half-dead’? It seems very much alive and seems to be doing well (gaining market share year on year and has the best growth), there is also more lenses on the market and available for us each year…
Sorry but I totally disagree with your comment, A mount is not half-deal by any means unless you would like to expand…
The only point I could possibly think in this argument is about the E mount (NEX camera’s) and yes Sony is also doing very well with this mount as well but they certainly have both races as do just about all other major manufacturers as well…
Sigma most probably knows more about the future A mount plans than we do. And they deemed it not worthy of their support.
So as Sony fan, have to face the fact that A mount is already on the verge, but of course there is still E mount that could save the day.
With FF that hopefully come by end of the year.
As a CEO I wouldn’t get my men to s
What is dead is the SLT business model altogether. If PDAF can be achieved at the sensor level, along with CDAF, there is no need for a SLT body. That is why we’ve seen a stall in new models like A78 and SLT FF.
We have to wait for Sony to come up with its new strategy for A-mount cameras.
PDAF on sensor already can be achieved. In no way it put fully-fledged PDAF sensors in danger. Just shoot in lower light and you’ll see how much worth is your on-sensor PDAF that gets only a small fraction of the light gathered by regular PDAF sensors.
Once, when japanese will be taught to read, they will read this article: https://www.google.ru/search?q=optimal+defocus+estimation&aq=1&oq=defocus+esti&aqs=chrome.2.57j0l3.9201j0&sourceid=chrome&ie=UTF-8
And will stop idiotic attempts to implement outdated AF methods at hardware level.
http://www.guardian.co.uk/global/2012/jan/15/digital-auto-focus-defocus-technology
I’m sure if it was easy they would have done it already or are already working on it… as it’s never been implemented in any camera system as the article says I’m sure there must be reasons for this… I just can’t see camera manufacturers not jumping at the idea if it was as simple as they make it out to sound…
Have patience. Sticking FF sensor into NEX body isn’t difficult too, yet we are waiting this for years.
@Boooe
A full frame sensor is already in a NEX.
2 AlphaGuy:
Well… kinda. But even it took 2 years. And I’m definitely not going to put a 50/2 FF lens on VG900 (BTW, can it shoot RAWs?). It might take more than 3 years before FF in small NEX comes out.
There is no “kinda” about it. There is a FF NEX available right now and has been for a while. 😀
Yes, the man will never go into the sky, and the digital will never overtake the film.
But it won’t be PDAF — it will be software methods that provide functions needed for predictive focusing: defocus sign, distance estimation.
I don’t care what it is, as long as it’s fast and accurate.
Yes, certainly. Emacs, I thought, if you know about that, you might know much other interesting stuff too…
So as Sony fan, have to face the fact that A mount is already on the verge, but of course there is still E mount that could save the day.
With FF that hopefully come by end of the year.
As a CEO I wouldn’t get my men to spend so much on A mount but to concentrate with E mount.
Sigma needs to consider market realities. Doing 35mm F1.4 in A mount made sense, as the only competition with AF is the overpriced ($1,500) Sony 35mm F1.4 G lens with design going back to 1987 by Minolta. The Sony lens is mushy (veiling haze) at F1.4 and needs to be at F2.8 to be sharp in the centre.
For 135 F1.8 there exists the excellent A-mount Carl Zeiss SAL-135F18ZA. It has the old slotted screw AF, but works rather well. It will be hard Sigma to compete with it, especially that the Zeiss has been on the market for 7 years now and the market is saturated with them. In other words, people who had seen the value in it have already bought it. The Sigma lens would need to cost less than $900 and be of very high quality to be compettive.
You might be making a good point in some circumstances, but I can’t think of any Sony lens similar to an 18-35 f1.8.
Sigma is indeed busy releasing some quality stuff. But it is sad to see a third party producer like Sigma not supporting A-mount. I can’t blame them. A99 is half baked and is an expensive amateur camera. It does have a wonderful sensor and some nice features, but lacks in 2 VERY important areas: flash system and AF performance (doesn’t cover the frame wide enough and has 1AF point/central group in low light) I had to sell mine. So here’s an opinion from a pro.
Very sad to hear, on the other had I know a few pro’s that LOVE to shoot with the Sony A99 (as mentioned above some have been in the industry for many many years and lecture on the subject at university as well as making money from it on the side)…
I understand there is no camera that can suit every ones needs and we all have features/functions that we need and this determines the systems we end up with or are comfortable with… (100% fair enough and acceptable)
However I would not go as far as saying the A99 is an ‘expensive amateur camera’ by any means and a statement like that to me (and I suspect many others that have used the camera makes me personally think you did not try very hard or you are just wanting to stir the pot (in that case well done)! hahaha
Cheers!
Sorry for being off topic.
I had a99 for 4 months next to a850. If anything, I tried really hard to make it work for my needs (portrait and event work). I won’t list every aspect, but a99 isn’t as well rounded as a850. a99 needs serious polishing in operation speed department and overall set up. Sony was my platform since 2006 and I’ve had KM7D, a550, a580, a850, a77 and a99 during this period. I shoot manually and could care less about the gadgets Sony builds into their advanced cameras like a99. A850/900 is a straight forward photographer’s camera, a99 is lost in between trying to please videographers, amateur photographers and advanced users.
I had the same experience Sergei. I ended up selling the A99 and bought an 850 to backup my 900.
IMHO, Sony took a big step backwards with the A99 by creating a camera that feels like a piece of electronics, with all their inherent bugs and operational challenges, versus the A850/A900 which operate and feel in the hand very much like the Minolta platform they were built from.
I haven’t given up on Sony yet and I’m very much looking forward to their FF NEX if it supports A-Mount. They have proven that they can produce a world class sensor behind world class glass with the RX1, now let’s see if they can evolve the AF sans mirror to world class levels.
@ Serggei
I agree the camera could perhaps be a little more responsive at times but I don’t find it all that bad.. I understand adding features into the camera can muddy the water if it’s a camera or videographers machine… however I’ve never understood that argument, it’s like when Minolta had a build in flash on the top of the line camera and pro’s did not buy it because of this… I personally always though if you don’t want to use it simply don’t… because it’s there does not mean you have to use it… all the other features will work just fine… same as video and other gimics such as some of the features from the A77..etc… they are not needed by most pro’s and I don’t use them much myself but they do come in handy for those creativity shots at times and when just messing around… 🙂
Sorry to here you did not manage to feel comfortable with the A99, I hope Sony brings something out that is better suited for your needs or another brand can fill your needs better… Best of luck with it!
There’s more to a camera system being pro than a certain number of people using it to make money. There’s manufacturer support, a loaner program while equipment is being repaired, wide-spread availability of bodies and lenses through the rental houses, third party support, and so on. This means a lot to serious professionals working in sports, news, fashion and high-end commercial product photography. I’m not talking about people who shoot micro-stock or are occasionally published in magazines. The Sony Alpha system clears falls down here from a pro perspective. When a company like Sigma doesn’t support the A mount with its initial release for a new “professional” grade/priced lens, it creates the impression that system is not a priority for third-party manufacturers. Trust me, this doesn’t help the standing of the Alpha system among real working professional photographers, agencies, etc.
The 35mm 1.4 art lens is coming to Sony. It is several months late, but it will be here. Perhaps they are taking the same strategy with these new ones. Can’t be all that hard to slap on an a-mount after the initial cash flow comes in from Canikon… People worry too much. If there’s enough interest… Email Em. If people are too lazy to bother with showing interest, then THAT will be the death of A-mount.
Yep. Sigma got a long history of releasing A-mount glass far later than on other bayonets. Actually: I barely can recall last lens which was released at the same time for A-mount as it was for EOS or F.
If you’re interested – spam Sigma with e-mails.
Best way to solve it. Make them SEE the interest. Don’t just silently complain in here.
Sigma like other businesses see one thing……….sales!
Canon and Nikon make up what, about 80% of the market?
If anything, the A-Mount is getting less and less important for third-parties to support,we may wish that this isn’t so, but it is and Sony is to blame.
Now with Sony pulling back any plans it had to release anything new till they have something worth releasing won’t make companies like Sigma interested in supporting the mount.
If you want to buy Sony technology buy into the NEX platform and pass on the SLT A-mount for now.
If Sony really has any hopes that the A-Mount is going to thrive and not just survive it will need to act boldly in 2014 with the release of three crops and two or three full-frame bodies, two or three flashes and a bunch of new lenses with a roadmap for a bunch more in 2015. Anything else than a full commitment just won’t do it I’m afraid and be too little and too late.
And even with such a commitment it will take years before Sony can hope to be number two in a market dominated by Canon and Nikon.
Sky_walker, you keep saying that, but you are ignoring the fact that Sigma A-mount announcements are usually at the same time as the other mounts. It is usually production that is delayed, not the announcement.
The fact that Sony A-mount has been completely ignored in the announcements of the last two DC lenses is ominous in terms of the support of A-mount with these particular lenses, and the mount as a whole if the next DG lens is also not available in A-mount.
So… We can’t shoot “Art” with Alphas?
Don’t forget one thing: the A-mount already has the Zeiss 135/1.8.
Such a lens does not exist for other mounts. This may have influenced Sigma’s decision to not release it for the A-mount.
Exactly. Nikon and Canon users have the Zeiss Apo Sonnar T* 2/135. 🙂
There may be quite another reason for Sigma not doing high end A mount glass in the tele range: they have no licence to use the original speicifications neither for A mount nor Nikon or Canon. They are reengineering the interface… And Sony has changed/updated that interface with the A99 and its AF-D autofocus. A high end tele prime or tele zoom must support those possibilities – and the reengineering effort is surely high and takes some time. May be Sigma thinks that the possible sales count doesn’t justify this effort. With the 35mm 1.4 it’s a bit easier as a wide angle doesn’t really need the AF-D mode (or would you use such a glass for e.g. high speed sports photography?)
And just a remark to those guys thinking a “pro” only uses a 5D Mk II/III or D800/D4: I see a lot of “pros” here in Germany doing it that way and then having some kind of “plastic” glass in front of the body… Or those guys using a 1Dx and “real” glass and then saying everybody that he thinks raw is just nonsense and he wouldn’t even know how to switch his bodies to raw…
This is one reason I’ve never personally got into Sigma, if they can’t pay for the license and reverse engineer things how can I feel comfortable there lenses are upto scratch and compatible.
Don’t get me wrong I’m not talking about the optics at all (they have some fantastic optics I agree 100%)… my concerns have always been with focus systems, compatibility and level of implementation (eg, lens profiles, lens ID’s, data being reported back to the camera and captured..etc..etc)…
We’ve all seen issues with Sigma in the past and I really do wish they just put up the money to all the major’s in the field and just did this right as there optics is good (VERY good in some cases) but this one point always makes me uncomfortable…
P.S. I’ve had many friends with Sigma’s and most have not had any issues but then again I know a few that have had stripped focus rings and lenses needing repair and warranty did not cover this.
The 35 f/1.4 will be available for Sony.
A Sigma 135mm lens, however, isn’t needed that much for the A-Mount since we already have the best 135 f/1.8 lens of all.
That’s because A-Mount is dying (hopefully)
And I say that in the nicest way. Sony need to go NEX only. This Mr. Miyagi E-mount/A-mount squish like grape R&D split is bad business. Dump SLT, release FF NEX, kill Canikon. The success of Fuji at the high end of mirrorless should have been enough to clue Sony in. I just bought a 6D, but I would have paid a lot more to go Sony FF mirrorless.
So you wanted to go mirrorless, and you ended buying the most classic of DSLR? ROTFL
Since you’re not too sharp, I’ll explain it. I wanted to go FF for the image quality. I would have preferred a Sony FF mirrorless. That doesn’t exist currently.
Are you saying I should have bought an A99? Now that is laughable. For a stills shooter the A99 is a massively more expensive for glass, while sporting inferior IQ.
I bought a 6D with two pro quality lenses covering 24-200mm at constant F4 for just over 3 grand.
There, understand now dimwit?
Sigma has to be looking to compete more against Sony for market share in the camera segment, than Canon and Nikon, while at the same time catering to the larger population of Canon and Nikon camera owners for sales and cash flow. I think they will release A-mount later, once the initial wave passes and they see how their own cameras are selling with the new lens releases versus Sony. Sony should focus on making their own lenses similar to what Sigma is releasing and beat them at their own game, but I have no hope of that happening. I would like the return of the beer can line (with SSM and weather sealing), and I own or have owned all of the Sony Zeiss glass and G line (excepting the 300mm). It is nice to take a 35-70mm f/4 and or 70-210mm f/4 once in a while. I shot this entire weekend in Baltimore (including an Orioles game) with my NEX 5N and the 18-55mm f/3.5-5.6 kit and the 55-210mm f/4.5-6.3, just to travel light and really test it out, and it wasn’t satisfying at all as the glass quality just isn’t there, and low light shooting was frustrating. I would rather have had my a900 or a99 and a new beer can line which would not have been as small or light, but would have been smaller than the Zeiss 24-70mm f/2.8 and 70-200mm f/2.8 G, and I would have been satisfied with that b/c the photos would have been much better. Sony is half way in with both NEX and Alpha lines, and they need to give one or both of those lines better glass, as now Sigma is making a push to take over some of their market share by making better glass than Sigma have ever made. I want better glass for the NEX or Alpha (I don’t always like to carry my Sony Zeiss or G). If Sony doesn’t release better NEX and Zeiss glass soon (and I don’t mean announce b/c the Zeiss 50mm took four (4) years after the announcement to be released … wait, it is not even available yet, so there you go), I am going to get rid of the NEX line and go with the Olympus OMD with the Panasonic 12-35mm f/2.8 and 35-100mm f/2.8 for my lighter carry set. I may stay with the Alpha mount a while longer b/c the ZA prime lenses are tough to beat and I love the 70-400mm G (older model). Why did they upgrade the 70-400mm already while not focusing on, for example, the return of the beer can line, or weather sealing in the ZA zooms, or HSM and weather sealing in the ZA primes, or a new 35mm f/1.4 to compete with Sigma? Sony is half baked all right, their executives are smoking the hookah just a little too much. Lay off the smoke boys (and girls) and put together the NEX and Alpha systems in a tight and orderly manner. It’s not that hard.
If you want one of the Sony camera system to succeed and not be “half way” with both, then one system must die. They cannot compete with m43 and Fuji X if they must divert budget to 2 systems when they’re losing money hand over fist as a company. The only other companies supporting two lens mount right now are Canon and Nikon, both of which probably have seriously larger lens design division.
As a mostly prime lens shooter, I see the mirrorless competitors differently.
Zeiss 12/2.8
Sony 16mm
Zeiss 24/1.8
Sony 30/1.8
Sigma 30/2.8
Zeiss 32/1.8
Sony 50/1.8
Sigma 60mm
rumored Sony 85/1.8
rumored Sigma 135/1.8
That is one pretty gangbuster set of primes. The only weak one of the bunch is the 16/2.8. The zooms will come, but I really don’t care too much about them. An updated 55-200 would be appreciated. The 10-18 looks great. If you care so much for the 24-70/2.8 and 70-200/2.8 equiv like the Pana lenses, by all means go m43. I checked out the OMD. Ergonomically, it’s pretty horrific. Size and buttons designed for very small hands. It wasn’t for me.
Don’t forget the Sigma 19/2.8 and Sony 20/2.8 pancake.
Sony 30/1.8 is 35mm (typo, I’m sure).
Is there a rumoured Sigma 135/1.8 for e-mount? This story relates to the A-mount version, or lack thereof.
I think 2013 is the year that NEX takes the lead in the mirrorless market in terms of lenses. The number of quality lenses coming out for NEX will exceed what you find in m43 land by year’s end. Sure, they have a few midling zooms, but none of the zooms for either systems are anything to write home about. By the end of this year, we might have a lot more quality primes than either m43 or Fuji X. I’m quite happy that Zeiss and Sigma are on board the NEX bandwagon.
Thank the lens Gods for vintage Minolta glass. Can’t put that in your CaNikoSiggy pipe.
I mean, if you really want to carry the Sigmonsters at…
28/1.8 at 480g, 35/1.4 at 665g, 50/1.4 at 505g, and 85/1.4 at 725g… = 2375g
then be my guest.
But I’m very content with the quality, size, and weight of the tiny Mino’s at…
28/2 at 285g, 35/1.4 at 470g, 50/1.4 at 235g, 85/1.4 at 560g, 100/2 at 480g, 135/2.8 at 365g = 2395g
Oh wow… I can carry six Mino’s at the same weight as four Sigmonsters. Even more if trading the Mino 35/1.4 for the 35/2 at 240g and 20/2.8 at 285g… = 2450g. Seven Minos at nearly the same weight as four Sigmonsters.
Or maybe I’ll leave the 85/1.4 and 135/2.8 at home… and carry the 200/2.8 instead at 790g.
Or maybe I’ll just take the 20/2.8, 50/1.4, and 135/2.8 for a greater range package with one third the weight of the Sig offering.
Maybe I’ll just stick with what I have and watch the vintage value continue to rise, as the new Sigmas lose value over time… but not before their HSM motors fail.
Comments i SAR is soooo entertaining! Absolutely fantastic!!!!
Love and hate in huge volumes. No novel by any writer is even close!
Admin gives a rumor and suddenly 76 comments that hate or love A-mount and NEX.
This is like the Apple community that I work in but even more passion.
GO ON…..
Will be twice as entertaining when Apple buys Alpha from Sony.
Heck, they don’t even need to do that. Apple could just start making Alpha mount cameras without permission. the A-Mount patent is up, and open for anyone to manufacture for… with their own protocols.
Just buy Tamron, Samyang and Sony Equipment since they’re making wonderfull lenses.
I fail to understand the inferiority complex of many of the Sony users on this site. So many get caught up on whether or not a camera or lens is “pro.” All that matters is one uses the right tool for the job. I am a “pro” photographer (meaning I get paid for photo services and it is my main source of income). I just switched from Canon (owned 5D2 bodies and supplemented with 1Dx & 1D4 bodies when needed) to Sony (so far a99). I believe that the Sony a99 will give me a higher number of useable, sellable images (thanks to the in-body stabilization and better a/v capabilities).
If I was a sports or action photographer, I would not consider Sony but use the Canon 1Dx body as my main body because it’s full frame, full res sensor at 10fps with great low light performance is unparalleled. If I was a full time advertising product photographer, then I’d go with a Nikon d800e for high resolution and the added sharpness of not have the aa filter on board.
The thing that makes a camera system “pro” or not is whether or not professionals use it for paying work, not marketing or hype. Years ago I worked as an associate photographer for high end wedding photographers (they charged 10k a wedding). They used 15 year old medium format cameras and canon 50d cameras with crappy zooms (no L glass). While I’m not advocating that, they were good at selling themselves not an equipment rental.
My current concerns with the Sony alpha system I just switched to is lack of lens options, the relative slowness in which updates to products occur and the robustness of the flash system. I would like to see firmware upgrades, but that’s unlikely. I am considering an a77 as a second body for the 12fps, though I would be more inclined if Sony released an updated version with the new hotshoe (the incremental a78 update made sense from my perspective). I’m also hoping for updated ssm 85mm & 135 mm zeiss lenses but considering how long the Zeiss 50 mm lens is taking to be sold, that looks unlikely too. Given Sony’s size & resources, they should be able to handle such things without these delays that shake my confidence. They also have more than sufficient resources to support A and E mount lenses.
yeah! i owned 200 canon 1dx a 1d4 an hasselblad lunar and a nikon 1 but now i have a sony a99 is a godlike camera
The Tamron 24-70 f/2.8 is going to be available soon for Sony A-mount.
http://www.bhphotovideo.com/c/product/845351-REG/Tamron_SP_24_70mm_f_2_8_DI.html
So let’s not mourn the death of A-mount yet. Also, the SSM 16-50 f/2.8 is available for crop bodies.
Yes, I know 1.8 is better than 2.8, but it’s never cheap or light either when done right.
There’s a good reason that Tamron support A-mount though. 😉
Sony don’t have a 11 percent share of Sigma…
A mount cameras are dead after a99… we must focus on nex system
For over 10 years, ignorant people said that about macs.
…and without a cash injection from their competitor Microsoft, Apple would have died. People were right about Mac, it was dead.
It was a mutually beneficial investment. Apple received some cash, and Microsoft didn’t have to worry about lingering patent disputes over their copying Apple’s various IP. Business as usual. The mac platform never ceased production. Your definition of “dead” is erroneous…at best. So by your wildly inaccurate definition of dead then perhaps, yes, Sony is dead. Nonetheless I’m looking forward to purchasing a PS4 and a 50mm 1.4 from this dead company.
The “Z” in the lens disignation stands for Zombie.
You do realise that you are replying to the wrong person re: Sony being dead? Perhaps you couldn’t see past your frothing mouth.
I merely pointed out that Mac was dead and Microsoft bailed Apple out with a cash injection, without which Apple would not be around today. Being a Mac user since the 1980s I don’t need a lecture gleaned from Wikipedia “why”, I remember it all too well.
The “why” is irrelevant and something that clearly you knew nothing about when you made your comment. Well done for knowing how to use Wikipedia though, glad you learnt something, perhaps now you’ll stop talking nonsense about the history of Apple.
Feel free to come back with some weak response, I will not read the predictably tiresome reply anyway.
@Lap
Please provide your source for this clam that Alpha mount is dead? I totally disagree with you… I have done searches and I can’t find any reason for this to be said, in fact all I can find is Sony saying they are investing more into the photographic division and it’s a primary part of there business they want to focus on…
I have not managed to find any hits or speculation from any ‘valid’ sources that suggest Alpha mount is going down or ‘dead’… If you have other information please share it with us else I’m not interested in pointless statements like as Alpha is dead… Sony is investing heavily and gaining market share year on year and it’s a profitable division unlike others for them so….sigh… I give up…
Have to say, it’s not looking good. My guess is that Sony imaging isn’t doing well from A-mount, it’ll be NEX and RX sales boosting the figures.
What I find odd is that they have refreshed the A5x with a new flash mount, but then stopped and not done the same for the A7x, assuming the rumour is correct.
It is also odd to release the A99 and not follow it up with a lower or higher-end full frame, which was rumoured. This is from a company who have previously released new bodies with minor updates.
Sigma obviously know their own sales figures across mounts and it is concerning that they can’t justify their latest designs on A-mount.
A-mount isn’t dead, but it’s certainly on life-support.
@AlphaGuy2
Thanks for you’re reply, I’m personally very happy Sony have not launched a new A77 replacement and I think it’s in line with there previous release schedules. Looking back you will noticed the only camera’s that generally get ‘refreshed’ often are the low end ones, higher end cameras don’t get refreshed often and are normally updated within the 3-5 year period.
I think Sony’s choice to stick to this and support there top of the line camera’s is a much smarter move as it’s not a consumer grade camera and more semi-pro market witch customers investing a larger amount of money and deserve greater levels of support, firmware development and newer models should included leaps rather than what could be achieved in a software update.
From the numbers I’ve seen reported (and it hard to find global numbers and many don’t seem to release it so not easy to make a definite conclusion on this) but it does seem even the Sony SLT/SRL range of camera’s had growth from 2010/2011/2012 as an example which is good to see.
There is no doubt in my mind that NEX is doing very well for Sony and Canon acknowledged that I think it was early last year or end of 2011 perhaps (can’t recall) but they were very worried about it as Sony gained great market share and I believe almost overtook Canon as world leader in photography equipment (including point and shot, mirror-less and SLR)… so they have definitely applied pressure to the big players and as we all know Sony’s sensor business is also booming for them and they are basically a world leader in sensor sales already (but that’s’ been building for some time already from the security camera side of things as well and production/mobiles and point and shoots..etc..)
I don’t think Sony will drop the Alpha range and I’m feeling confident they will do the right thing but us all and the new CEO does seem to have a good direction and is saying all the right things but I guess only time will tell and all we can do is speculate and try and interpret things as best as we can but I feel the future is bright for us all 🙂
Of course SIGMA and all third party lens manufactuers are IGNORING SONY A mount
1) SONY IS ignoring them and denying everyone access to
D-AF Dual AutoFocus proprietary technology.
SONY continues to Keep this function highly proprietary.
Sony barely supports in themselves with only 11 lens as of 4-2013
2) They can’t make any money making lens for Sony A Mount, since A mount bodies are NOT selling
SONY platform is LAST for third party products manufacturers.
If they want to sell glass, it is not in their interest to produce Sony glass, since SONY sales on bodies are so incredibly low, compared to Canikon platforms.
Most of the Tamron, Sigma or other third parties always put the Sony platform glass last.
Sony engineering is terrible to deal with, just look at them ignoring our firmware requests. Hasselblad will be running for the Hills when their needs are ignored, like our Sony users base.
If a Third Party Manufacturers new glass model is popular with the market, The Third parties just have to wait out (or Sit and Wait) for SONY who will try to offer them an OEM deal to private label that glass model under the SONY label. Then SONY will try to rip us off by overpricing it. As committed SONY users we are screwed
Maybe Sony pops in a D-AF Dual Autofocus Chip to make their overpriced OEM glass extra proprietary and extra expensive. As committed SONY users we are screwed again.
Sigma ignores Leica too. Poor Leica. Not even in the top 100 cameras. Poor Leica M is soon to be dead. Sigma must know something.
I am wondering compare with 135ZA – the legend lens, how the sigma copy will be?
^-^
No new Sigma Lenses for A-Mpunt.
No new Sony Lenses for A-Mpunt.
No new Zeiss Lenses for A-Mpunt (3 Primes in 2014 for NEX).
A-Mount is dead! Look at the horrible ISO-Charts from a A99 at DXO-Mark ~1600….
Give the other brands (inc. NEX) a few month (new 7DII) and ANY other APS-C Camera kickes the Sony FF-A-Mount System from the Table! THATS why no company try to risk a lot of money to build new A-Mount Lenses!
@ Terry
What lens would you like from Sony? I often ask this question and most of the time the lens is already available and people just love to complain for no reason and want more and more lenses all the time… the fact of the matter is there is great glass around already not just from Sony but also from the Minolta times, Tamron, Sigma..etc.. There is well over 100+ lenses for sale for the Alpha mount which cover the vast majority of needs… sure there is some speciality lenses not around but the amount of uses that actually use/need them is very small and it’s exactly what it’s called a ‘speciality lens’
At times I wonder why companies keep releasing products every year and it really annoyes me and I prefer a good quality product that last for years withough being replaced but comments like these make me understand why manufacturer try and they seem to fold into the ever increasing demand of re-releasing a new ‘version’ of the same lens… at the end of the day it’s minor changes that often cost consumers more for very little improvements and also cause your current lenses to loose value for resale….
I’m all for new products but only when they are required and have a sizable market that needs them not just for the sake to say we full the range even though we’ve only ever sold 10 of those lenses around the entire world..etc… just seems waist-full and pointless to me personally but every ones entitled to there opinion and I accept that.
I dont want any A-Mount Lens and I´ve never told that! Its my meaning that, when i watch the market, the A-Mount and SLT is over. Look, the slt products laying like lead in the shops.
And why do sony
-give Battery-Grips and Flashes for free?
-don´t bring out any a-mount lens?
-forces the NEX system so strong?
For me it´s clear!
If Sony doesn’t ‘Support’ its users (With moves like changing flash mounts and dropping the A1X) How can you expect Sigma to ?
AND I think SLT is dead… I bet we never see another SLT Alpha body again…( which is why I think they are not coming with the a78 anytime soon) AND if they would have released an a78, It would have been basically a firmware updated a77 ( I believe their own words stated there wasn’t significant enough improvements over the a77 to release it)
Hey Admin,
How about you make a seperate forum for people who would like to discuss the future of the a-moun, so threads stay clean of this repetative conversation…
The sad thing, its even the same people making the same arguments over and over again….
@MrLee: +1 !!!
The only reason why we see a A58 now, ist cause they cant stop the production for such an far developed product. After the A58 is FINISH with SLT.
“This means the recently announced SLT-A58 is the last of it’s kind-SAR-30.4.13”
And who´s laughing now…??? :p
ITS DC NOT DG!
Sorry for caps, its needed. DC = digital crop = APS-C. It will be 200/2.8 eqiv. Obviously nice, but not that great as it would be if it was DG (DG is for full-frame).
Upon inquiring about the future of Sigma A-Mount lenses, got this response. There was a little back & forth too. Now I like Sigma all the more, for their quick and personal response(s)…..
Good morning,
We will still be making Sony mount for some of the new Global Vision lenses. The new 35mm as well as the new 17-70 both have Sony versions. The new 120-300 won’t be in Sony, but the older version wasn’t either. The only upgraded lens that has dropped Sony was the new 30mm and from I can tell, that was due to the older version selling poorly. Our parent company didn’t see the demand for the lens and therefore decided not to produce it.
Please be assured that going forward, Sigma will still be producing lenses for Sony cameras, however which new lenses get made in Sony are determined on a case by case basis.
Please let me know if you have any questions. Have a great day!
Sincerely,
——-(name removed)
SIGMA Corporation of America
15 Fleetwood Court
Ronkonkoma, NY 11779
t: 631.585.1144
NEW!! 35mm F1.4 DG HSM (ART)
http://www.sigmaphoto.com
http://www.sigma-global.com
For the latest updates about SIGMA, follow us on:
Facebook.com/SigmaCorporationofAmerica
Twitter.com/Sigma_Photo
YouTube.com/SigmaAmerica
Followed by:
ME:Wow! Thank you for your quick response. I’m pleased to know that you’ll be continuing your support of the alpha system. I am looking forward to your future fast telephotos (I’ve been holding out in anticipation), and others. For what it’s worth, I would like the 30mm for a walk around – street lens, but I’m sure the 35mm will do fine; although more conspicuous. I might have to find an old Minolta lens for that purpose, so that I can afford both. Thanks again, and I can’t wait to continue watching Sigma go toe to toe with the other quality lens makers!
P.S. I don’t know how I lived without my 8-16mm
Cheers
SIGMA:
You are very welcome. I don’t know who started this internet rumor that Sigma will not make lenses for Sony!!?? Please feel free to share my letter in forums or chat rooms.
Sony has been ignoring the A mount for a while now, why shouldn’t Sigma?