Sony manager MR. Kimio has been interviewed at Dc.watch (google translation here).
1) The first part of the interview is about the current stagnation on the camera market. And he talks about the Xperia Z1 and the QX cameras to be one of Sony’s way to win young people and balance the losses in the compact camera business.
2) Sony will focus on more high-end photographic products.
3) Sony will keep focusing on creating something new and they will “surprise” us.
4) We will definitely NOT stop to produce A-mount cameras.
5) The Sony manager literally says that next year quite some people will say: “What the heck is this?” as soon as they see some of the very innovative new Sony cameras 🙂
As you know here on SAR we talked a lot about some crazy tech developed by Sony: The new Non-Bayer sensor, the Z-shift sensor cameras, liquid lens tech and so on. What would really surprise you?
Found via Mirrorlessrumors.
129 Responses
Please surprise me!!!!
A dSLR would be a nice surprise!
+1 for a DSLR with an OVF !!!
I think you guys realize that it will not happen. If it does, then I guess we can request for Sony to start making conversion kits for Minolta SR Mount lenses as well. I’d love to be able to adapt a Rokkor without actually having to shave off 1mm of a mount spacer. And its surprising why Sony wouldn’t just take a 50/1.2 or a 58/1.2 Rokkors, recoat them, add AF and make a pretty good buck on them. These lenses fetch $300 on ebay used, easy.
When the guy is saying he will continue producing A mount cameras he probably means A mount is actually dead and no more lenses will be coming. Bye bye A mount.
What he probably means is that people like you should go hide somewhere and never come out.
+1
+1
Nice
Well right up until they didn’t Olympus alluded that an FT camera was coming .
+1
i don’t want a new surprise…i want a firmware update for the a99 🙁
main reasons? (just curious)
the super bad video performance.
It’s almost the perfect SLR like camera for video.
But it lacks detail due to bad lineskipping.
they could fix it via firmware
What would surprise me?
1. Continuity
2. Support for faithful customers (see paolos comment above). I want a77 firmware upgrade.
3. The creation of a whole SYSTEM, not a bunch of a individually scattered components. The F60 flash is still crap, people seem to not be able to use Sonys only professional flash professionally.
just curious: what are the things that needs fixing in a77? and what’s wrong with the flash? (all flashes overheat – but I don’t own this one myself).
1. Tethering
2. Shooting raw+extra fine
3. Auto-ISO in M-mode
4. Flash overexposure
Those are my 4 examples, others are welcome to fill in.
This list is actually not the order I prefer… Auto ISO in M-mode is #1 to be added for me. Why?
Remove motion blur in PP? Yeah right.
Get good bokeh in PP? Yeah right.
Remove noise in PP? No problem.
So YES I do want AE while getting desired bokeh and preventing motion blur.
auto ISO in M mode on A7 is really good. I’ve gone from shooting Aperture priority to Auto ISO overnight.
The f60 flash overheat about about 20 fires over a few minutes. I bring a pair to events I shoot and continuously swap them because they shutdown and stop working. I miss shots and I cannot rely in them for a wedding ceremony (bad experience once before).
In the same usage scenarios Canon’s flashes have never shutdown on me (I’ve used the ex 420, 580, 580-2, and 600-rt). The thermal design or sensor ( probably both) have significant flaws. This $600 flash performs as I would expect a $50 eBay knockoff flash to perform.
+1 on A77 firmware
1, Auto ISO at M-mode <- RX10 & other FF have this function
2, Auto rotate the orientation of menu, especially useful when using with the Vertical grip.
<-A350's menu can rotate automatically
3, Allow set the +/-EV button to other function.
eg,ISO <- because the vertical grip don't have ISO button
I never use the +/-EV button, because EV can be change directly by the real dial already,
4, Allow to set AE-L by shutter button
Agree on #3!
I 100% agree with Emir.
WTF E-mount ? I want A-mount stuff : new APS-C to replace my A77 and FF bodies + lenses : 400mmF2,8, 600mm, SSM100mm macro etc…
I hope you have lots of money to buy these lenses that you want Sony to come out with. I’d like them too, but money is a finite resource (for me, at least). That being said, a mirrorless A77 replacement would be nice.
All I want for my a77 is better ISO and buffer. As far as my a900 (I skipped the a99) well, nevermind- we all know that successor isn’t going to happen. And yes, 400mm please, but I think Sigma will cover that later. That Sony will be overpriced no doubt.
You can have the flash fixed for 100.00 but that is again ridiculous. I wish I could meet these higher ups and ask why the hell they made a almost perfectly designed flash then cripple it. I have decided to just go all manual with old nikon and Yn flash but really wished they would fix the damn thing.
I know and I plan on sending one of them to be modified. Supposedly it nearly doubles the amount of pulses before overheat shutdown. At this point, it’s worth another $100 to have a flash I can somewhat rely on.
Great news.
Possible surprises:
1. Firmware update
2. Sony acquires Nikon
3. Medium format mirrorless
4. Foveon like sensor with global electronic sensor
5. Retro mirror camera ala Minolta SR
I don’t like “what the hack is this?” kind of surprise. Remember QX-100?
I don’t think he was referring to things like 1 and 2 🙂 I also doubt they will get on the retro bandwagon. So, somewhat realistically:
3. Medium format mirrorless
4. Foveon-like sensor with global electronic shutter
6. shifty sensor
7. new AF technology
8. modular camera (switch grip, sensor, mount etc.)
9. integrated filters in an ILC
10. other stuff I can’t think of
What would really surprise me:
1. liquid lens (battery life will be down to 36 shots)
2. shifty sensor AF
3. some light-field technology
4. new hotshoe
5. flying toaster
While Nikon is in bad shape financially, Sony would be foolish to invest in it, the only reason Sony took a stake in Olympus for their lucrative medical business, Nikon on the other hand have nothing worth investing in that Sony does not already have.
…except of course Nikon’s camera business is profitable, whereas Sony’s is not.
A huge customer base is valuable, and Sony would be in a position to instantly be able to instantly challenge Canon for market dominance.
Look at Nikon’s previous financial statement, the camera business is doing quite poorly and Nikon have no where else to diversify. Let’s see what Sony and Canon have besides imaging:
Sony: Consumer electronics, Sony Music, Columbia pictures, etc.
Canon: massive corporate printing business
Nikon: Binoculars and spotting scopes
I give Nikon about 5 years, unless they diversify
Nikon’s numbers are down, yet still profitable. They are still making money selling cameras, Sony is not.
“Look at Nikon’s previous financial statement, the camera business is doing quite poorly ”
There share price is doing poorly , but the bottom line is even with a downgrade in profits forecast .Even so it will make 65 billion yen ($673 million) for the year .This is down nearly one-quarter from its forecast issued three months ago of 85 billion yen, although this would still be a rise of 27 percent from a year ago.
Any other camera companies making A 27% jump in profits ? . Just last month Sony drastically cut full-year net income projection by 40 percent down to 30 billion yen ($305 million). Sony also unexpectedly posted a second-quarter loss, missing analyst estimates for a return to profit.
Sept 30 numbers:
Nikon
Operating margin 5.86%
Debt/Equity 0.17
ROE 9.18
Price/Earnings 18.00
Price/Sales 0.76
Price/Book 1.68
Price/Cashflow 9.80
Sony
operating margin 3.38%
debt/equity 0.54
ROE 2.04
Price/Earnings 45.39
Price/Sales 0.28
Price/Book 2.50
Price/Cashflow 2.95
A mixed picture, but it looks like purchasing Nikon would be relatively attractive to Sony.
There is a lot of money upfront and invest in electronic business . They just sold over 2 million units of play station 4 in first two weeks.
It also gave Sony the necessary patents to make the full frame OM-D.
Nikon is owned by Mitsubishi which is about 7000x bigger then sony. I don’t see Mitsubishi selling Nikon since they helped created the company in 1917 and use it as an R&D center for more then just Camera’s but all kinds of optical R&D.
7000x is being little over-dramatic. 5x sounds more plausible, which is still very significant and supports your point.
Only 3x bigger. At least in terms of revenue, employees and assets.
Nikon is NOT owned by Mitsubishi. Nikon is an independent company with its shares publicly traded on the Nikkei.
From Thom Hogan “”In Japan there is a history of “company groups”, or keiretsu. A keiretsu is basically an affiliation of complementary companies, usually with interlocking business relationships and share holdings, For example, former Mitsubishi-owned companies, in particular what is now Bank of Tokyo-Mitsubishi, hold a percentage of the outstanding shares in Nikon (<5% the last time I looked). ""
You mean the Mitsubishi Foundation（”財団”, got the translation from Google），which is probably at least 10 times as large as Sony.
But Sony is also owned by the Mitsui Foundation, which is around the same weight as Mitsubishi.
surprise me by making a great, feature complete, high quality camera.
@ just me
What’s wrong with QX-100?? It is designed for a specific market segment- teens and young adults. Sony is selling a lot of those and making money.
I hope it’s not something like a FF QX-thing :-S
hey… that actually doesn’t sound bad. fixed zeiss zoom lens with full frame on your cell phone 🙂
A little difficult to read…
What about a digital Minolta XD? As a tiny A-Mount camera maybe!
E-mount lenses WITH aperture ring?
E-mount lenses with kind of manual feeling and hard stops for focusing ring instead of todays focus-by-wire?
These have already been announced. Zeiss said they will build native FE mount lenses a while ago.
And here we go again, raising our hopes&expectations :))
Feels nice to dream though 😀
Are we safe to do so!?
Judging from the A7%A7r&lenses i really hope so.
Please complete the A-mount systems just like Canon & Nikon, not interested in gimmicks, we need genuine photographic tools to take photos.
And that would be the biggest surprise.
+1
how about a pro A mount…not just another semi pro camera that gets 2/3 the way there.
+1
While a geniune Pro camera is out of reach of many, its a Halo camera, that creates brand image and earns pro recognition. Both of which Sony needs badly. This is the kind of thing that could sway Canon/Nikon users into a Sony system. With what Sony has today, even with all its patents, great RX series, all the innovations, etc., in the eyes of more than 70% of the Semi-Pro/Pro camera market, Sony is just an amateur, who wants to play with big boys.
+1
A fully open source firmware. THAT would be something 🙂
I would rather be “Surprised” before Xmas than after. LOL
Electronics companies don’t announce products in December. In general announcements are made September and October and the. Pick up again later in the winter. November and December are for selling.
What would surprise me? If Sony started caring about professional photographers and listening to their voice. More firmware updates, more high-end lenses & system accessories, lower operating lag in flagship cameras. That would be something!
+++++++++!!!
I would like to see a ff compact with evf build in.
Maybe with the a7R sensor. 🙂
a positive surprise would be the resurrection of the ovf line of cameras.
It could be advanced as well. Why not a hybrid OVF/EVF- a true a900 successor.
A900 with new sensor, better jpg engine and LV would be nice.
However I still prefer A900 over D600 or 5DmkIII
What would surprise me?
1. Alien (as in extraterrestrial) technology.
2. A camera that sees through women’s clothes, but not men’s.
3. A film-like, or even liquid sensor, that captures the image as a whole, not divided into pixels. Also a completely new kind of processor and memory to process and store these non-digital images, as well as display devices without pixels, that shows the images undivided, just like they were captured, and just like we see objects in real life.
4. A camera that doesn’t need a battery, but rather gets energy from the user’s blood. You just hook it up intravenously, and you’re good to go.
5. A camera that has all the features that anyone would want, the best image quality and performance of all cameras ever created, ergonomics and user interface that suits everyone, all at a price that everyone can afford.
6. That a camera that makes people say “what the heck is this?” actually turns out to be a great, photographic tool.
Surprise us positively…..in releasing Lenses…(After buying the camera..we need lenses)
How about 10 useful lenses for E mount in a day…which are NOT…wide angle, and not a x-200 zoom.
(Lost the count….how many x-200mm lens variant… E mount has… LOL !)
I would like Sony to do with the RX1 what they did with the RX100 when they upgraded it to the Mark 2 – backlit sensor and a flippy out screen. Either that or make the shutter sound in the A7 and A7R silent/quiet. VLAD’s suggestion of a flying toaster would be interesting…
A camera with a senor size from medium format, 250 MP with 100 fps. Hybrid evf/ovf and 5000 shots with battery. No noise until ISO 51000.
And last but not least the camera has the same size as the RX100.
🙂
While I’d love to have a MF camera, I would not want to lug one around–unless Sony does for the camera what they’ve done for the A7 & A7r–make high quality lenses with a modest max entrance pupil size.
What would be a positive surprise would be if Sony finally understands ILC are not about a camera, it is about a system.
1. Make public the lens road map, not just say 15 lenses….
2. Make lines of lenses like CaNikon has. Bright, heavy, expensive vs a little less of that, still H Q but cheaper.
3. On the camera side make sure basics are top quality (like AF performance and accuracy)
+11111111111111
+1+1+1+1+1+1+1+1+1+1+1+1+1+1+1+1+1+1+1……infinity
Fully Agree
Maybee an affordable RX2 with 45mm/f2.8? Would be nice..
I know it. They are going to introduce hologram projectors and a set of 3D lenses.
What would amaze me is that Sony shows its current customers base some respect by updgrading existing lines in a coherent manner, rather than being all over the place and throwing a myriad of new stuff at the wall and seing what sticks. That would really surprise me, in a good way, but I’m not holding my breath…
ILC-QX7 & ILC-QX7r. FE mount for iOS/Android devices.
Go modern on flash hot shoe, by returning to the Minolta hotshoe. They already have flash designs that work properly with that.
For Sony to ever realize and actually support an in depth A mount system would be beyond a surprise. Not going to happen and E mount is not really good for supporting such a system, it will always be limited by Sony’s lack of vision when they invented it.
The multiport shoe is a huge step forward over the old minolta shoe:
– Universal support across camera lines
– Camera-powered accessories through the shoe
– Data transmitted through the shoe, such as audio signals
The only problems are short-term: the adapter for legacy stuff isn’t tight enough and there are not yet 3rd party accessories. Given the recent expansion by way of the RX and e-mount bodies with the new shoe I expect there to be many 1st & 3rd party accessories to eventually come as the user base grows.
You know what would really surprise me?? Support for windows phone…
I don’t know what would surprise me more, Sony adding support for windows phone, or that there are people that actually use windows phone.
E-mount and 5-axis IBIS please!!!
IBIS IBIS IBIS IBIS IBIS IBIS IBIS
+11111
No doubt we’ll see some camera manufacturers go under in the next 5 years. Olympus is on the list for companies that might disappear in 2014. There camera business is appalling. What’s there plan? Increase the amount of higher end cameras to make up for the freefall of sales in compacts. Good luck with that. The way I see it is the A7 and A7R just owned your 4/3rds. Even though Olympus is actually very good, they are overpriced to boot. Double wammy.
I don’t mind if Sony continues in the e-mount. The fact is they don’t have a choice but to go with where the market is. Alpha can still gain ground, but it needs to stop imploring tech that polarizes the market. EVF- great, don’t force it on consumers though. Give them an option of an OVF. Soft video in the A99? Come on…flash support seems to be an issue for many as well. Get the whole system together and lead in ISO next time around. AFter all, ISO is the new MP and thats what’s selling cameras.
I think Ricoh/Pentax will go before Olympus. They are #7 in global market share, after Canon, Nikon, Sony, Panasonic, Olympus and Fujifilm. They have said that they strive to become the #3 imaging company, but I don’t see that happening.
Casio might be the first to go, though, since they only make compact cameras, and that market is in free fall. Leica is safe, because they make luxury niche cameras, and that particular niche isn’t threatened by what happens in the market as a whole.
Of course, all these companies will continue to exist even if they are forced to leave the imaging business, with the possible exception of Nikon, the only major manufacturer that has cameras/lenses as their main business.
As usual, the computer generated translation is pretty painful to read. I’ve translated the section about the A mount myself and will paste it in below. Also, Kimio is his given name and Maki is his family name.
_________________
Q. You put a full sized sensor in the mirrorless A7 series cameras. Now you need to fill out the lineup of 35mm fullsize compatible FE lenses, but does this mean that when it comes to exchangeable lens cameras your primary focus will be shifting to the E mount?
A. First, we will not drop the A mount. As we told you when we announced the A7, we are currently developing new A mount products and hope you are looking forward to their release. The E mount allows for more compactness, but each line has unique characteristics.
Q. In light of SLR market share figures by maker, and the growth of the mirrorless market in Japan and E. Asia, and considering that Sony is currently shipping more E mount (including FE) than A mount cameras; doesn’t continuing both lines place a large burden on Sony?
A. Sure, our mirrorless sales were larger. But you have to consider that we released a lot more mirrorless bodies this year than A mount bodies. New product purchasing cycles come in waves but that doesn’t mean one line or the other is more important to Sony. And we also attempt to respond to the differing market needs in different geographical regions.
There are many types of customers. There’s never been a premium mirrorless camera like the A7 until now, so this is probably the birth of a new category. On the other hand, as stated earlier, sales of conventional SLRs is dropping. Does that mean SLRs are no good? Well, it’s clear that SLRs with high hobbyist appeal are still holding their own. So then what does Sony need to do to design a camera that has a uniquely Sony hobbyist appeal and that will deliver a moving experience to the user?
There are certain types of value that only an SLR can achieve so we continue to attempt new things with both lines.
Q. CES and CP+ are just around the corner. What can we expect from Sony in the coming year?
A. It’s not like we time our product development with the shows, but we do intend to focus on products such as the RX series and the A7, and continue the Sony tradition of bringing you products that expand the realm of image capture. We hope you will eagerly await our new products that will have users wondering, “What in the world is that?”
Sensor shift tecnology would be a waste if it only adjusted for flange distance.
Hopefully Sony is smart enough to include af and macro focus in the capabilities.
The z sgidt movement should he as great as possibl as both macro and long lenses require that.
A camera shape differrent from the typical would be ok if it would allow more sensor movement.
Various modes or priorities would be usefull with differrent combinations of lens focusing, senser focusing…
Lastly use of a standard E mount adaptor on a hybrid mount would allow additional sensor movement as well as infinity focus..therfore nore close focusing ability.
+1- Well said. As far as camera form, what do you have in mind?
I was thinking possibly of video camera shape or cube shape.
I do not actually care what the camera shape is..i only care that it supports a substantial amount of sensor movement.
Any shape can be made attractive and ergonomic so the best strategy is to first desighn the most funtional possible shape and then make it look and feel good.
Sensor shift for only flange distance would be a waste? It would open up so many more lens opportunities for a-users and would truly be the universal camera you’ve talked about. It certainly would extend the life of a-mount bodies.
AF capabilities for manual lenses sounds nice in theory, but it could adversely affect the IBIS abilities of the camera as well as it’s durability. Additionally, Sony has been moving away from constantly moving parts in their cameras. This sounds like it would be very mechanically intensive to be effective. Plus it would take away the advantage (to some degree) of using sony’s native AF lenses which would be a business decision for them. Finally, Sony has yet to produce a camera that autofocuses fast and precisely with their own AF lenses let alone vintage manual lenses!
Thanks to focus peaking, focus magnificationand the EVF manual focusing on a Sony camera is probably better than on any other camera lines out there.
Agreed, hardly a waste and I don’t believe sony will make sensor shift AF.
If z shift is used for a single use ot will be a base hit and meet a lot of resisyance..I would buy a normal a mount.
Multifuntion is a home run and everyone loves a winner.
I don’t mind surprises. BUT at the same time, Sony need to understand why user attached to Canikon. It’s the support and a complete product line.Photography don’t really need “innovation” every year. How innovate you can be…at the end it’s still Aperture, Shutter Speed, ISO, Light and users…
What I highly suggest Sony to do is, do what they are doing, stick to it, COMPLETE and SUPPORT it.
i.e.
1) Firmware upgrade for varies camera. i.e. A99 need UI (the lag, no customizable menu), function (Lens support in AFD), and performance enhancement (focus under low/high contrast area, Video codec, flash delay). A77 as well.
2) Flash just fix the damn flash. Plastic shoes on the F60AM is a joke and overheating with 20 or so pop is unacceptable for professional flash. (I shoot professionally and did use other high end system)
3) SSM all the old lenses, it’s almost 2014…we all know Minolta already have those in their factory for decade… just bring it out…
4) Highend FE camera, I love the A7r, but it’s not good enough for professional work.
One more thing Sony, I love RX10, but can you just get everything right at the first take since you don’t like to UPDATE FIRMWARE with enhancement and fixes? Please give us option for zoom speed control.
Thank you. We all love what you are doing. Keep it up.
A high resolution nin bayer sensor is of course something I am extremely anxious fir.
It is my sincere hipe that Sony will speed up prodution of it as late 2015/ early 2016 is an extremely long time to wait.
It would also be good for sony to produce this before the competition an put it in a UNIVERSAL type body with ibis and sensor z-shift focus
How high is this high resolution you hope for?
Latest rumors are for 54mp sensor…
If this turns out to be 54mp x three layers that would be great ( I suspect they might want to call that 162mp. ) that would produce a 54mp image with true non extrapolated pixels that culd be scaled up in post processing to 212-496 mp for large prints of extremely high quality.
What I am not sure of from the current rumor is whether the 54mp they are talking about is 18mpx 3 layers or 54 mp x 3 layers.
So the short version of my answer is 54MP X 3 LAYERS.
Are you making prints the size of billboards or the side of a building? Why would you want a sensor that big? 36MP is enough for that stuff. No would would want to buy a camera at 54mp x3 layers, let alone 54mp. Your costs of storage and having a computer to process that amount of information would be through the roof. It’s absolutely illogical for Sony to make a sensor that size. There would be very few who would need that, let alone but that. It would be terrible business to implement a sensor that is 5x the amount of data of the D800 or a7R, especially for those like me who shoot uncompressed raw.
I actually had one of my 35mm slides ( of 4 ducks ) used for the famous Kodak photo wall in Grand Central Terminal NY. Ovrer 100 ‘ across.
54 mp would print at 20″x30″ which is printng industry standard and just about all my stuff is bigger than that so yes i need and utilize all tjat resolution and more.
Obviously you have not bought memory in at least ten yeats or you would know that two terabytes costs $100.
A few months ago you yorself were arguing no one needs more than 24 mp.
Now that the A7R outsells the A,,7 you changed your argument.
If i look back far enough will i find you arguing for 8mp?
Thats the problem with pixelphobia…it keeps reocurring, and no matter how many of your arguments i counter you will be ready with twice as many more.
You are fortunately the minority..most people who actually buy a new camera will buy one higher in rezolution than thier old one.
Yes a nice surprise would be a firmware upgrade for the RX1. Just a few things I’d like to see improved:
1. Faster wake up time from power off to on.
2. Improvement in battery life (if possible through more efficient firmware).
3. Manual focus distance setting retained when unit goes into power saving mode. (This might not entirely be achievable via firmware alone).
Yes please surprise me… with firmware camera improvements updates, more a-mount lenses, better flash support, a lot more lens profiles for existing lenses for lightroom, more attention to customers, less dreaming …
That would be the greatest surprise indeed! I doubt it will ever happen though. This new Sony face scares me like a zombie.
It can surprise me by releasing some fast EF glass…
Come on Sony! Do a rangefinder style camera like Nex 7 with a global shutter sensor, 5-axis IBIS, better EVF, and on the top, liquid lens for ultrafast AF. That would just be absolutely awsome!
and I nearly forget, a 16 to 140 mm lens f4 constant if it weights less than 550 grammes, elseway f 3.5 to 5.6.
Better start saving money – for that what-the-heck-is-this camera.
Two things that would truly surprise (delight) me, would be for Sony to release:
1) A-Mount camera with 36X36mm square sensor (I specify A-Mount because I don’t think E-Mount would be able to accommodate the larger sensor).
2) A Monochrome version of the new Sony A7 and/or A7R
Many a-mount lenses would prevent the use of 36x36mm sensors ( including the Sony zeiss lenses) because the rear element is covered by a sheath with a 36x24mm cutout. I read somewhere this has some purpose ( I cannot recall if it is to reduce CA or flare or something similar). Thus many lenses would be incompatible and I don’t see Sony updating much of the line or offering modifications.
For now, surprise me with an a77 Firmware updates…
+1 +1 +1 +1 +1 +1 +1 +1 😛
Admin, there is a serious bug when typing forum posts via an iOS device. Many,any times when typing the screen autos rolls to the top, the menu drop down opens by itself and then the page sometimes auto-refreshes (resulting in the loss of whatever one was typing).
This has happened to me via an iPhone 3GS, 5 and 5s ( the latter two running the most up-to -date version of iOS). This has not been happening on any other sites. Perhaps there is a wordpress bug.
OK! Thanks for reporting this. My programer will check into it!
Surprise us by bringing in some consistency.
Like adding weather-sealing and SSM to all pro lenses.
Like adding pro AF modules to all high-end cameras.
Like creating a clear-cut plan for existing systems, so when we buy expensive A-Mount gear, we know we won’t have to use it via some kind of crappy adapter in the future.
surprise … no new lenses for A7(r) until 2015 🙂
They can surprise me by fixing the flash system across the board. That is and will always be my major complaint with sony.
You have surprise me enough sony, i cant remember when canikon did that, well df a bit surprise, they are very predictive line up.
But, besides surprising innovation you have to have a very strong commitment to your road map like canikon does
Yet again not a word about what the discontinuation of the NEX product name means actually means to customers and no indication whether current NEX users will see cameras released in future which bear any resemblance to the models they bought into the system for!
This guy has done three interviews now – DPReview, Imaging Resource and now this one and it’s the same old story in each: change, change, change…
Does it occur to Sony that *EXISTING CUSTOMERS MATTER* and that we would like to see some support for the products we bought into and some confidence that we will want to continue with the Sony systems we have invested our money in, into the future?
I know what needs to change, and what would be a *pleasant* surprise… some proof that Sony is interested in keeping their existing customers rather than operating a ‘revolving door’ in which they encourage new customers to join through ‘radical innovations’ at the expense of old ones leaving through frustration!
+1
+1
Sony did surprise me with the A7. Last night I was at the local Sony dealer. That thing was even more horrifying in person. Nothing, absolutely nothing about it felt right in my hands. It was short( Nex7 is short, but it fits nicely in your hands). The back side is a mess. The grip is hard and the sharp edge between the body and the grip is persistently annoying. The needless orange ring is double the width of the RX1. You could feel it’s good machine though. It would fit all my technical needs since I don’t have pro needs. But I just had to leave the shop. I like simple efficient things. I kept wondering as to what is the most hideous product I have ever seen – not just in cameras. What is the most hideous thing you have ever seen?
Same impression here – against the mainstream. And I am posting this out of disappointment since I had high hopes. The product would be great if it was not for the impression that while developing they were on a hurry. If only Sony-engeneers took their time to bring out something well thought out. Now the point is that this guy wants to bring out something new every six months instead of refining the A7 / A7R. What we have today is the final product. Experience tells us that there will not be firmware upgrades nor refinements but a new unfinished surprise. I would like to ask Mr. Kimio if his department is his personal playground??
I get the feeling that he is a very ambitious man who wants to build a portfolio of ‘product successes’ (whether they are ‘system failures’ or not) in as short as time as possible in order to launch a bid for one of the top positions
Amazon pre-orders and focus group reactions are important to such people. It is immaterial to such people how well the product sells medium term (and certainly not long term), and how many dissolusioned existing customers leave because they see the previous strategy they bought into abandoned
People looking to buy into A7/A7r now because it appeals to them should look very carefully at what is currently happening to NEX owners who bought into the NEX system because it appealed to us. Where we are now, the A7/A7r owners will be in a few years time!
Wot?
Because NEX will go away as a name?
And the new compact emount cameras will have a slightly design and a different name?
Wishing for the square sensor. In fact I wished my a7r was a square sensor. All issues from older nex lenses, most of the third party manual legacy lenses are visible on the corners of long side of the rectangle.
I shoot raw in full frame and crop these corners. Cropping a square 36mp image to a desired rectangle (by the way larger image sharing has been done online rather than printing) will be easy without loosing too much resolution.
Lens is circular Square (if not circular) sensor will always accommodate the lenses better by it’s nature.
I would like to see a real Good aps-c camera and not some experimental thingi…..
That would be….. wohoo. 🙂
Who do you send the flash to to have it upgraded, and what does the upgrade consist of?
The info below was taken from a sony forum.
I reviewed my correspondence with someone from Southern Photo Technical Service, and it seems they are actually promising a 50% improvement (assuming the f60 can get off about 30 shots @ 1/2 power). I tend to get around 22 or so shots when using the bounce adapter, which leads to overheating much faster. I don’t like having to go through the hassle of sending it to them or spending an additional $100 on this flash, but it will be worth not missing shots or not having the anxiety associated with worrying that the flash may shut down after firing a few continuous flashes during an important moment).
Here is information I received from them (note: I do not work for them or receive anything from them nor do I guarantee their claims):
“Hello! We will modify the thermal detection system used to monitor heat in portions of the flash unit to increase performance by about 30 frames or more. We do not offer our technical secrets beyond that. Our modification will allow about 45 continuous shots at 1/2 power level before the flash tube area gets hot enough to shut down the system, before the flash diffusion panel begins to melt. We have found that if we shut the protection system down completely, a full melt down of the diffusion panel and zooming system will occur.
(Our bench mark testing is performed at 77deg. — manual 1/2 power level used as an average to get 44-45 shots using Alkaline type batteries)
Total amount of flash bursts will vary by room temperature, delays between shot and flash level output. Full burst shots will reduce the total amount before shut down.
So our customers have been very satisfied with our modification that will allow significantly more shots without it shutting down, yet will still protect the flash tube area from significant damage that would require repairs.”
A closer collaboration with Hasselblad would benefit Sony in understanding commercial photographer’s need, e.g. TrueFocus, true high-speed flash sync without loss of power etc.
On the other hand, collaborate with Olympus and make good use of their technologies like 5-axis stablization and excellent optics, give them FF sensors and E-mount in return to grow the retro-style camera market.
Further advance in AF technologies to challenge C/N in sports/wildlife photography
To further disrupt the DSLR market, Sony can make a DSLR with 2 sensors and EVF:
Sensor 1 (for EVF, PDAF, video and high fps shooting) – Mirror down mode
4k resolution (4096×2160 8.3MP APS-C) ISO upto 100K >30fps
Sensor 2 (Liveview w/CDAF, for high resolution still picture) – Mirror up mode
48MP-54MP (3×16-18MP per color 24x36mm) ISO upto 6400 6-10fps is ok
Weather-seal for all A-mount lenses
Olympus to deisgn and produce more E-mount FF lenses
More Zeiss AF lenses and G Super Telephoto lenses for both A-mount & E-mount
I would be surprised if they released a camera that was actually user friendly