Soon Sony will announce the new RX100MKII and maybe a new FF RX and Mobile Cyberhsot camera too. But what about the NEX-7 successor? I just got an info form one source. It’s marked as “SR3” and I ask my trusted sources to check the info (Thanks!).
According to the source the cause of the delay of the NEX-7 successor launch is a manufacturing problem that was discovered with prototype runs of the “NEX 7 replacement camera”. Sony is now looking for an economical solution that does not compromise the camera. There seems to be no ETA yet (no defined release date).
The source also told me a surprising news: Design team focus right now is definitely on mirrorless A-mount cameras, not NEX, as E-mount is seen as a consumer product and A-mount as a top end product.
Thanks to the source!
——–
Message to sources: You can send me more info anonymously by using the contact form you see on the very right of your browser. You can also contact me directly at sonyalpharumors@gmail.com.
For readers: Subscribe the RSS feed (Click here) and Twitter (Click here) stream and the Facebook fan page (Click here) in order to not miss any news!
——–
Reminder (SR = Sonyrumor):
SR1=probably fake rumor
SR2=rumor from unknown sources
SR3=50% chance it is correct
SR4=rumor from known sources
SR5=almost certainly correct!
101 Responses
Noooo! Will Fuji remain the only company to recognize the top-end value of a mirrorless (form factor) system?
+1
+1
Although I would love to see new GR camera with M-mount (not GXR).
@Admin
what’s the release date of the a mount ff mirrorless bodies in 2014 (end, mid,beginning)?
How much will they differ in size to the mirrorless ff nex?
Just asking to see what’s sony’s strategy.
If they differ enough in size why not having two professional systems? BUT: when a mount is becoming mirrorless, is there a chance that a mount eats up e mount? And a mount sales are becoming stronger (as you wrote in the past- concerning a mount sales in 2014)
I am confused.
My understanding is this, E = eighteen (18mm) which is the distance of the flange to the sensor. If NEX has full frame, then it can’t be “E” mount because of the increasing of the distance. Therefore it has to be the A mount. In which case, it isn’t going to be a NEX. Is it going to be in the RX1 category? Why would it be? If the A mounts are becoming “Mirrorless”.
So, for my own sanity, I’d take all these rumors with a grain of salt. I just have to wait and see. I hope Sony realizes (I’m sure) that Fuji has incredible products under it’s wings and only going to get better. Not to mention that Fuji is ready at any moment to take down any of its competitors. Sony has to wake up and get with the program and give the consumers across the board great products with the prices we can afford. Remember, most of the consumers don’t drive a Lamborghini to work.
Economical solutions mean that maybe the quality manufacturing found on the NEX 7 would be compromised somehow? One of the appeals of the NEX 7 vs Fuji was the build quality factor. A major plus of the RX1 vs anything is the solid build factor. I mean, why would NEX be downgraded to maybe less than RX100 in build quality?
I doesn’t make sense to me.
That being said, I thought FF NEX would be a professional aimed product commanding a price only justified by its features and build quality.
“One of the appeals of the NEX 7 vs Fuji was the build quality factor.”
Seriously? I haven’t held a NEX 7, but as far as I understand the lenses are mainly plastic and the body ist made in Thailand…
The 7 is VERY solidly built, it’s a beautifully crafted camera. I have it alongside the 6 and they’re like night and day in feeling in the hand.
You probably should go touch one in person and then get back to us.
The lenses are mainly metal. The bodies are indeed made in Thailand – out of magnesium alloy. The build quality is quite good.
“The Sony 18-55mm OSS is a plastic lens covered in metal. It’s not tough, but it might feel like that from the outside.” – http://kenrockwell.com/sony/18-55mm-oss.htm
Wonder if he did any drop-tests… Ken is biased against Sony, always have been, so keep that in mind.
The kit zoom looks nicely built, but its image quality left me underwhelmed; do not expect to do professional shooting with it. Armed with the Zeiss, the Nex is formidable.
“One of the appeals of the NEX 7 vs Fuji was the build quality factor.”
yeah, that’s why I kept NEX7 instead of Fuji….oh wait, I kept Fuji —rolleyes—
How is E-mount a consumer product, it is the few mounts used by Sony’s PROFESSIONAL video division
Are you sure? I work in a Sony building and all I see them shooting are Canon 5d mk3s.
what does that even mean, I work in broadcast and most people use Sony, E-mount is in every way a professional mount, no where do I see A-mount been promoted by the professional division
If that’s how Sony views its NEX-line then perhaps it really is time to switch to Fuji.
I have no problem with the quality of the NEX cameras but I don’t think an $800/€800 Euro camera body is targeted at snapshot-happy amateurs. If it were, it wouldn’t find a lot of buyers.
And while I would be happy to see a full frame NEX, I think there is little point in having one of those if the lens lineup, especially on the high-end, does not improve significantly and FAST! Where is that G-Normalzoom everyone has been begging for for years?
“I have no problem with the quality of the NEX cameras but I don’t think an $800/€800 Euro camera body is targeted at snapshot-happy amateurs.”
True, but that doesn’t mean it’s a top end or professional product either.
IIRC Admin told us the NEX 7 replacement would have a brand new sensor with OSPDAF
This should be SR1 as its just wishful thinking from an A mount user. The new 7 is only rumoured to be a slight redesign to fix the overheating issue.
“The new 7 is only rumoured to be a slight redesign to fix the overheating issue.”
Source?
To Admin
Will NEX-7 successor has a AA filter?
Thanks
Which probably means that A-mount MILCs are way more promising in the near future! FF NEX has more problems than benefits as of now.
Promising? A-mount camera hardly can have any advantage over EOS or F-mount. May be EVF, but it also has drawbacks, so emphasising on long flange distance camera looks more like a waste than a good deal.
Exactly. If your pseudo-DSLR doesn’t have a mirror, why do you have to carry that huge body? The mirror was ever the only reason of the long flange distance. Why not make a larger (“Pro”) body with a large viewfinder, grip and whatever you need, but with an E-Mount?
This extra 2cm gives you an instant access to a lot of _existing_ FF lenses, it gives lower angles of incidence (lower vignetting and color shift in the corners), and it gives the space to add something useful, like variable (or stackable) ND filters (imagine to to care about filters for each lens ever again). Also a few lenses that can benefit from shorter flange can be designed with the rear element going deeper inside of the mount.
Some nice suggestions indeed. But you can do all that with an E-mount and and E to A-mount adaptor. It is even more versatile because you can have different adaptors.
Angle of incidence is just an engineering problem that can be resolved in some way. So, please, don’t consider this as a valuable factor. And it MUST be solved. Because in this case we will have compact and high quality wide angle lenses. And this would be real advantage over Nikon and Canon DSLRs. Keeping A-mount for mirrorless cameras is, I repeat, won’t bring any significant advantage.
They do what they can do. The couldn’t make FF NEX last year, they can’t make it today either. For the NEX-9 to become real, few things should be done:
1) fast AF in the fullframe mirrorless body;
2) compact premium AF FF lenses for E mount; and also maybe
3) better sensor performance with higher angles of incidence to adapt rangefinder glass.
None has been solved so far, officially. But the future is bright, provided they don’t put FF NEX on ice.
E-mount has some really expensive lenses for a “consumer” product.
It would not surprise me if A-mount eventually becomes a premium full frame only mount with APS-C being NEX for us lowly “consumers”.
Why do people have such a complex about being a “consumer”? Consumers can buy everything from a cheap point and shoot to an A99. Expensive does not mean “Pro”, it just means generally of a higher quality.
A person who buys a Ferrari is not a pro, they are a consumer, just a well off consumer.
I was using the term as a differentiator, only the terminally dumb like you couldn’t see that.
No you weren’t.
Classy post BTW.
The A99 *is* a consumer product, like all Sony cameras.
Al I want is a PREMIUM FF A-mount camera with a LUNAR grip!
Nice if Sony could make a new A-mount camera about the same size as the “old” Nikon F75 film camera so we could use the growing and good A-line lenses. The rumored Nex ff would “only” be for mounting our Leica-glass (the new Leica CL) and other lenses via an adapter as there has to be even one new ff E-mount to build up = takes time.
— provided the sensor is improved. It doesn’t work with VG-900.
I hear the error is, the new Nex7 is not guaranteed to break after two years. I hope they fix that, so sukers, I mean people can keep buying Sony toys over time.
This is interesting.
If we’re getting mirrorless A mount cams next year, Sony MUST have a workable on-sensor PDAF design in place. The NEX 7 replacement should, surely, have that superior AF tech. Existing NEX users won’t complain (if it gives them DSLR level AF performance) and it proves the concept for nervous A mount users.
Are they ready with PDAF on-sensor, I wonder? They surely need to demonstrate it before releasing FF A-mount cams, as the serious DSLR market won’t trust such a radical change (initially at least).
Finally , even if the news is not good , better than none ,
…that is a very unfortunate decision. the e-mount with its short flange distance was the best thing sony had going, and the astonishing third party adapter development surrounding the e-mount is there to prove it. I have no doubt that an e-mount pro grade camera would be a huge success, but a pro camera limited to a-mount lenses will never be more successful than any previous a-mount models have been, regardless on how amazing the camera will be. If sony brings out the most innovative a-mount camera ever seen, most people having the means to buy it will still just sit tight until the brand whose lenses they own will come up with something similar. the e-mount seemed to be able to bypass this by making it accessible for owners of lenses from other brands simply by adding an adapter, some of them with full functionality of af and aperture. given how much money some of these adapters cost and how well they sold is an indication that the market would not only be willing to go in the direction of an interchangeable mount camera, but also willing to pay top dollars for it. why miss out on that market and leave other brands to explore what sony has currently an advantage on since these adapters exist already?
If Sony came out tomorrow with an e-mount pro camera, a canon pro lens owner could walk into b&h buy the camera, buy an adapter for his canon lenses with af and aperture support and start using it with his own lenses the moment he walks back out of b&h. that in itself is amazing.
It seems like they are not willing to recognize their own potential which is sad really, since I have no doubt that if sony doesn’t go down the adapter camera road, somebody else will eventually.
Sony wants to sell lenses too. Margins on cameras are not great, so make a camera and let canon/nikon get all the money from lens-sales isn’t necessarily a great thing for them..
This. Although Sony will have to somehow open up the PDAF abilities to adapter makers. Shouldn’t be that hard or impossible. Yes, Sony wants to make money on lenses but they’ve acknowledged (by making the e-mount open to other lens manufacturers) that they don’t have the resources to full exploit the mount. Plus the Alpha mount is great but it is an uphill battle to convert CaNikonners who have a glass investment.
Someone in Sony realizes this because they offering incentives on the FS700 bundled with the Speedbooster. Somehow the still camera division has lost sight of which system is actually selling at Sony.
Sorry but I find the mirrorless A-mount interesting but a bit silly. Although the filter ideas was cool. Still not worth the extra space, but cool.
Perhaps sony realizes value consumers (including pros) see in support for multiple lens systems, but don’t want to strand their own investment in a mount lens development… What to do?
How about making a 2nd ‘A’mount flange distance with adapter to reach current flange distance? Adapter is electronic pass thru, can have varients for 0.7x, 1.4x, 1.7x, 2x, slip-in nd filter, etc. Others can do (electrically complex) adapters for canon, nikon, etc. and of course inert adapter for manual focus.
Over time sony lenses have advantages and customers will likely gradually transition toward sony lenses.
I love my Nex7, but don’t want to shell out for aps-c lenses as I expect to want FF someday. If I can get NEX lens flexibility in ‘A’ mount I’m thrilled. No sense in sony having A and E FF top quality lenses – the market is unlikely to reward that kind of redundancy.
So I’m hoping sony sees things like I do and 2014 will be an amazing year…..
The delay is due to the back log of Lunars. As soon as they clear out, a new NEX will be announced.
There are no manufacturing problems.
+1 This sounds more realistic to me as well…
How much of a backlog could their be for a ugly, bastardized camera that costs 4 times more than it should? Are there really that many tasteless idiot with money to burn in the world?
“…focus right now is definitely on mirrorless A-mount cameras, not NEX, as E-mount is seen as a consumer product and A-mount as a top end product.”
If this is true, my several years long NEX romance will come to an end as soon as Fuji or some other brand shows how to do it right.
/Owner of NEX-5, NEX-5N (x2), NEX-7, FDA-EV1S, LA-EA1, MB SpeedBooster and a sh£@load of accessories and 50+ lenses of various brands and models.
Chill out – reading way too much into an article here. The wording or translation may not be exactly accurate, and the a-mount has been lagging behind nex development, so they are probably trying to keep everyone happy – this time focusing more on a-mount.
I am thinking the same. I was considering selling my D800E because I thought Sony was going to make NEX more pro and go FF. Now, it looks like Sony is going to put lipstick on a pig (A-mount) that have the same giant size lens as Nikon but worst quality. With this one ridiculous decion, they may have killed the mirrorless dream. It’s up to Fuji now. They have a killer sale going on right now. For the price of a consumer Nex 7 and 24/1.8, you can get a Fuji + 35/1.4 + 14/2.8 + 18-55/2.8-4. It’s only 16mp, but it’s Fuji’s only interchangeable lens camera so they’ll keep the priority strong on mirrorless and not some bastardized dslr with Dslr sized lenses.
The NEX camera are among the very best of their category
The Sony A-mount camera are not really considered as top level, compared with Canon/Nikon.
So it’s not surprising that sony invest more on A-mount as they want to focus on high-end market.
As long as they still invest enough in NEX series to let them remain at the top of the market, no problem, but of course such investment are much less than the investments required to make A-mount camera the best.
“E-mount is seen as a consumer product”. The “consumer” word here is used as a derogatory/inferiority term i feel. If their design teem sees it like that, it could explain a lot. I hope Kaz can spot the trend soon enough.
profseionals use RX cameras. consumers consume e mount products. the wealthier ones among them buy Lunars. get with the program!
Which professionals use RX cameras? Professional dentists perhaps.
One of the main advantages of current mirrorless cameras (excluding Samsung NX) is the option to use also M-Mount lenses and there are many people who will never spend >7k$ for a Leica M with all the limitations it still has.
Sony would make a huge mistake to disappoint all those waiting for a fullframe mirrorless that can adapt M-Mount lenses!
There are some of us that do this, but this is by no means a huge sales-booster for Sony or the other mirrorless makers. As with most mirrorless/dslr/dslt cameras, the majority of people buy it with a kit lens and perhaps down the road a few other lenses.
E-Mount includes the professional FS700 already, while ZEISS started to offer lenses beyond most consumers’ budgets. With E-Mount Sony’s taken the mirrorless market against the major players without any problem. Of course they don’t want to disappoint their A-Mount customers, but on the long run a Full Frame NEX with LA-EA3 is Sony’s key product and they do know they can’t afford degrading E-Mount for expanding A-Mount.
For me, this strategy makes perfect sense. Otherwise there would be no reason to have e-mount AND a-mount. I am an amateur and happily using the NEX System, also with some a-mount lenses and if Sony comes with an SLT without SLT I might consider it as second body.
Finally Sony have come to there senses and are giving priority to A mount mirrorless bodies, which I take to mean both APS-C & FF. If they come with improved IBIS thanks to Olympus, better focusing and viewing expereince, with a next generation sensor with improved DR they could well suddenly eat into C&N’s market shareas long as they don’t get their pricing wrong.
This is the main challenge for Sony. They cannot compete with the Canikon pricing for their entry level FF models. Unless Sony can also come out with an entry level model, their success will be very limited.
Isn’t the A99 an entry-level FF camera?
No, it isn’t. According to Sony, it is a “mid level” camera (they listed the A900 as the pro camera).
Isn’t the A99 an entry-level FF camera?
@Hendrick – Economical solutions may be related to the production line, not to the camera product design.
@Admin – I would double check this one. Why? Your source doesn’t appear to know manufacturing very well. Most manufacturers go through some low-rate initial production run to find potential issues in the production line or in the supply chain, then cease production to fix the problems before a full production run. As try as they might to be prepared, manufacturers fully expect they will have to fix something that can’t be anticipated before an initial production run.
Think of a low-level initial production run like a full dress rehearsal to find issues. For example, they might find that their tooling wont last on a full production run because there are defects in the hardened tool coatings, or that molds might lose their shape beyond tolerance because of the cyclic temperatures, or that the an extrusion process can’t keep up with the rest of the production line, or their HEPA filters aren’t working properly because the purchasing department bought a generic filter replacement that doesn’t quite fit right, or some of their equipment needs to be sent back to metrology for calibration, or the site inspection didn’t expose a newly developed vibration issue or electromagnetic issue, or the vendor’s material is below spec, or a counterfeit element was introduced in an outsourced sub-assemble, or a flood impacts a vendor’s stock and the vendor’s ability to produce, and on and on. This is just a top-of-my-head, extemporaneous list. Imagine a real due-diligence list. In other words, there are millions of things that need to be double checked before the full production run.
**Every experienced production manager knows to put buffer time between the low rate initial production and the full rate run to fix these issues. So, there should be no delays in the schedule.
I don’t get why you are disqualifying the source. “I would double check this one. Why? Your source doesn’t appear to know manufacturing very well. Most manufacturers go through some low-rate initial production run” Isn’t this what the rumor says? “NEX-7 successor launch is a manufacturing problem that was discovered with prototype runs” “marked as “SR3″ and I ask my trusted sources to check the info”
+1, the article seems fair enough.
Sony design team.
Profesionals need to be able to shoot any assighnment and generally have more than one camera.
For high red shoots in good shooting conditions a super high res camera is best preferably with a 36mm square sensor.
For low light shoots a super high ISO camera is needed.
Lastly of course a general purpose high quality camera is needed.
PLEASE do not neglect the high res and high iso cameras. Without the confidence of knowing your system will handle a demanding assighnment professionals will encounter they will never switch from cannon or nikon.
One camera does not need to do everything well but one camera system most definitely does!
Mr. Animals by Barry, it has come to our attention that you would like a super high resolution camera with a square sensor. After reading your request every day for the last few years, we have decided that you know the market and available technology better than we do. Although we have been holding this tech back in our vault for a few years now we have decided to make it available in one week, we are here to announce to you –
THE ALL NEW SONY OMEGA
– 36x36mm sensor
– 512 megapixel sensor
– ISO 25 to 409,600
– 16 fps at full resolution
– Quad-core Bionz Processor
– Fully-weather sealed
– Hybrid OVF/EVF
– Built-in Tilt-shift Sensor
– 5 Axis SteadyShot
– All new revolutionary i-Mount
MSRP. ONLY $9,995
ACCEPTING PRE-ORDERS NOW
make.believe
Thats more camera than even I have been asking for.
Do you often hold parties at your home, Barry?
I bet they are an absolute blast!
Here Barry.
http://www.phaseone.com/en/Camera-Systems.aspx
Medium format is not practical for photographing animals in the field. Thanks anyway.
If I were sony I would come out with a 12mp full frame nex a 24mp and a 50mp all targeted at different users.
From what I can understand, I imagine that Sony is positioning the FF mirrorless in A mount, while APS-C will remain in E mount. It makes sense to me. FF sensors imply bigger lenses and bodies. Only PRO would buy such big things. Although a FF sensor can be fit into an E-mount, it is a forced an unnatural way of doing things. Let E-mount for APS-C and A for FF. Technology is improving so fast, that APS-C sensors will do the same of current FF sensors in few years.
Sony a-mount = FF; RXn = FF || interchangeable FF; NEX-n = APS-C and e-mount; this makes sense.
Not so much –
RX = cyber shot = fixed lens
this probably means:
– no remote jack for future NEX cameras
– no tethering
– no proper UI, e.g. with exposure bracketing + remote control
– no auto ISO limit
– no custom modes
taking into account that even their “professional” A-mount line offers most of these things, why would anyone want to stick to sony instead of going for “classic” canikon all the way?
I’m seriously considering selling my NEX stuff now. If the NEX system stays a pocketable consumer camera with short focal lenghts, then why not get a DSLR + a fuji x100s (or maybe even an m43) for on the road … which might come even cheaper in the long run…
should bn “taking into account that even their “professional” A-mount line does not offer…”
I think you are reading WAY too much into this article. Besides, with Sony moving towards “smart apps” in some of their nex cameras, some of what you want can be easily accomplished, say with an app and wifi capabilities.
My guess is that Sony’s camera R&D dept is smaller than we imagine, and they focused on Nex for a while, neglected the a-mount and are now switching priorities for a while to catch up. I think you will see both highly spec’d nex AND a-mount cameras.
+1
There is ONE design team, and wise enough, they do one thing at a time.
Now that time have come to a-mount. (Atleast until before the production issues)
If Nex is a consumer product, why an FF Nex then? Another fear is that “consumer” means focus on zooms with “enough” quality.
A-mount cameras will be DSLR style as I understand it from what’s said at this site. Why in the world must a mirrorless have DSLR design? We all know that OVF DSLR cameras will disappear over time anyway.
I need something between D800 and RX100. Maybe the best thing is to patiently wait until there is a FF mirrorless that does it all. Fuji, Nikon, Sony, Canon? Well Fuji seems to have a good strategy. CaNikon can do it if they want – in the long run they must. Sony are lost, have no map, GPS is down. Do they really know where they are? (Nex 7 consumer??) Do they really know where to go? (Nex FF consumer??)
Square sensors is like going backwards 100 years…. Remember the old photos? They were square! Instagram(Wack) is going in reverse too… If you want a square photo… CROP IT! I prefer the more cinematic look of a widescreen horizontal image 99% of the time…
Huh?
I just means that you can crop to whatever ratio afterwards, and both vertically and horizontally. The cost of a square sensor is probably smaller than the price of a vertical grip.
He wants a square sensor to capture more of the image circle. Lenses project a circular image, so a square sensor with an extra 12mm of height would theoretically capture more of the projected image. Such a hypothetical camera should offer the option for 3×2 shooting (just as when you put a 35mm dslr camera into video capture it enters a 16×9 crop mode.
Nah…if you going to go that way, then it has to be a round sensor. Capture all the image circle, for maximum crop flexibility. 😉
Square sensor offers many advantages and no disadvantages except possibly for larger camera size.
Maximizing the image area available would allow the most pjxels while maintaining the maximum pixel size.
Allowable formats would include verticle, horizzontal, widescreen and of course square.
Format decisions can be made after the shoot instead of in the field.
If you need to stich images to increase resolution as well as take a full image shot this format works best.
Lastly and most importantly the camera does not need to be rotated in the field leaving the photographer free to concentrate on just getting the best image.
whys everyone getting there knickers in a twist?, e mount cameras dont have as many buttons or the more comfortable grip/shape of the dslr’s, but the nex’s are better than other compacts ive tried :), heck the 5n doesnt even have a hotshoe.
there not top level camera’s, as reflected in price and features, but they are very good camera’s anyways 🙂
Because for most NEX owners, there was the hope that NEX would become more robust. If we want dslr sized lenses, what’s the point of A-mount? Sony thinks we will simply buy A-mount mirrorless dslrs? This is unbelievably delusional. If Sony is abandoning NEX to rot like they do all their cameras, most of us will go back to the more robust Canikon DSLRs with their lineup of higher quality lenses and Zeisses. If this means the NEX bodies and lenses won’t improve over time, then I will halt all purchases of NEX equipment and find a more robust small and light and higher quality solution. Oh look, Fuji is doing just that. How convenient. Sony and all A-mount fans are delusional if they think NEX fans will stick around for half baked A-mount. We’re used to our camera maker being more stable and constantly improving our equipment not abandoning us on a whim. Picking Sony for mirrorless was done with trepidation, and those fears are starting to be realized if SAR is to be trusted.
Anyone else read about Fuji’s organic sensor? 60 degree angle of incidence they may actually have a full-frame sensor that can handle range-finder lenses. Why is Sony squandering its lead here?
My friend, “organic” means “there is a piece of plastic”. Like the rest of the toys those factories churn out, and – sadly coz I always liked the brand – Sony too. Yes, the A99 feels cheap, too. Just look through that viewfinder. My my my it’s time to wake up.
Yup, I noted it. It’s a good that Cmosis and now Fuji have prioritized this, since it will help a lot when building small short-flange lens lines.
As for this SAR rumor, it seems Sony are content to continue wasting energy trying to increase their dslr market-share. Having superior technology will never trump the network effects that Canikon have.
Fuji’s is committed to a robust and more professional X mount with high quality lenses. They also have a killer promotion going on. Is it time to consider abandoning this consumer NEX system for a more pro X system?
My only real concern about Sony labeling the NEX line as a consumer line only, is what that means in terms of glass development down the road. There are still many gaps they could fill with new lenses to suit the budget and now videographer audience they are hoping to satisfy, but I hope this designation of theirs doesn’t give them a sort of “license” to ignore the strongly present enthusiast crowd dying for more premium glass at a cost of absolute compactness. Sure a larger lens defeats the initial NEX intentions, but to stay viable in a market you have to be able to adapt and adjust to your market. As we’ve seen with the popularity of the NEX 7 and Fuji X line, what was once deemed a category for point and shoot upgraders, now also includes converts from DSLR systems looking for a more portable solution. I don’t think many people prefer lugging around such massive equipment, it’s just that a short time ago, that was really the only option for getting the highest quality.
Then again, this could all just be a matter of word choice and enthusiast level consumers having a problem with being clumped together with novice or casual photographers in the consumer category. I may be mistaken, but isn’t the new Nikon D7100 considered a “consumer” model? And what a fine camera that is. As long as Sony doesn’t leave the premium glass offerings up to solely third parties, and invests in quality glass of their own as well, if we have options like the D7100 out there as part of the “consumer” class, then fine by me. I could care less what Sony calls their various camera lines.
Sony should use the NEX format to compete with Leica. What’s the point of a large mirrorless DSLR? Nikon has already nailed the low cost FF with the 600 and the 800s will probably be just as cheap once Canon fires the next round. Play it smart Sony, evolve the NEX to FF, make it more robust (meaning thumb grip doesn’t peel off after a week). And make some common sense changes like the ability to use a remote for HDR. Or HDR that produces a RAW image + HDR JPEG instead of a JPEG + HDR JPEG. Or change the location of the strap eyelets so the camera points to the ground instead of horizontal where the lens catches rain, dust and strangers on the subway. Keep the live view, keep the EVF, make a better sensor and IQ. Beat Nikon with your sensor – that should be easy shouldn’t it? Leave the flange distance where it’s at. No one will be that upset if the NEXFF doesn’t use APSc lenses.
Exactly. The line about NEX being kept as the consumer grade camera negates a lot of this. It started out very good with an increasing amount of functions for enthusiasts and semipros. I don’t want to see any smile shutters or miniature effects in the top level NEX cameras. I want a stripped pro level FF mirrorless with a flange focal distance that allows me to use any lens I choose. I honestly thought Sony would deliver such a camera, but obviously not. An A-mount mirrorless will never be able to do that, regardless how good it is in other respects.
If Sony wants to battle with CaNikon with their A-mount, they must make a tremendous effort, puttin a lot of technical and financial resources at that, and still risk failing.
Who else is about to go out and buy a Nikon due to Sony’s inability to get new products to market ?
The best lenses are made for Nikon and when comparing side my side – sure the Sony’s nice and light but I can see fine hairs on this woman!!!!
Can’t do that from across the beach with a NEX7 and any lens I have.
http://www.flickr.com/photos/herosjourneymythology45surf/8989135024/sizes/o/in/photolist-eGkEEC-eGgKwM-eGofZo-eGicNs-eGnVSb-eGdaWD-eGgW7p-eGc9jv-eGiAGJ-eGmdEq-eGohBu-eGp9By-eGev7v-eGo6MG-eGuHUz-eGnxJ9-eGhL2v-eGgYF8-eGiDBJ-eJqHpJ-eGjXao-eGdjte-eGdf1D-eGY5kQ-eGjp4J-eGjSpG-bEbhrE-eghd2w-brfpqb-egbF88-egby4z-eghiaQ-eghBzw-egbqNZ-eghzLL-egh8yh-eghk63-egbUqM-eghnEo-eghCbN-egjswy-eghGDW-eghh93-egommw-egbo8D-ehMs9r-egh9Nb-egniHy-efAXZs-efoN7F-efoRmg/
As you could tell from my own post, I would definitely consider the D7100 should I choose the DSLR route. I’m one of those anticipated, point and shoot upgraders that the mirror less market was initially targeted towards, having gotten the NEX 5n last year and have thoroughly enjoyed it’s image quality. But I’ve grown out of it and seek a camera system with a more manual, and physical button approach. The NEX 7 seems to be that perfect step up for me but with the e mount lineup seemingly directing its focus towards power zoom lenses and entry-level/compact optics, it leaves people like me seriously considering other options.
I don’t really see myself going for a DSLR since I personally see the end of the reflex mirror technology before too long (once an AF system of mirror less cameras can catch up) but Nikon’s extensive lens lineup (premium lenses too, not just in quantity) as well as quality third party options has really gotten my attention. Being a true fan of portability though, a more realistic switch for me would be going with a Fuji XE-1. I am completely envious of Fuji’s commitment to premium and extremely fast lenses for their X cameras. Now, if only Fuji could include a tilt able screen I word be sold. That’s one feature of the NEX line that continues to keep me interested, though such a simple feature.
The NEX is saving their butts, they should pay very close attention to it.
Half of sar readers seen to fear the demise of a mount for e mount.
The other half fear the demise of e mount for a mount.
I see no indication whatsoever that sony is eliminating either.
E mount has compatability with other manufacturers lenses but not with a mount lenses because no stabilization.
When sony puts stabilization into e mount then we can revisit the issue of a mounts future, but not until then.
Also, the current e-mount lenses do not provide full frame coverage. A-mount would be needed for some time if they do indeed move to make the NEX cameras full-frame.
Compact s mount cameras could be made as a cube of about 3″.
There is no ironclad reason a camera can only be the shape we are used to.