The new A77II A-mount camera hinted by a Sony roadmap slide back in late 2013.
Small correction on the announcement date. A trusted source told me that Sony plans to unveil the new products on Wednesday afternoon at the London Gala for the Worldphoto event (Source: Worldphoto). Well previous rumors I got from Asia said announcement would be on May 1 and indeed in Asia it will be May 1 by then 🙂
I still have not the exact hour of the announcement but it should be around 10am May 1 (London time). Will let you know if I can find a stream of the event.
So far this is what we can expect to see:
Sony A77II: An “upgraded” version of the current A-mount A77. With new 24MP sensor and Wifi, faster Af and EVF.
Sony RX100M3: Features an amazing 24-70mm f/1.8-2.8 lens and a pop-up viewfinder
I have been told there is more than that and I hope I can give you more details about that in a couple of hours!
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0 Responses
please let there be info about FE lenses!
Please let the not be any e-mount stuff on an a-mount event.
If you watched the A7s presentation at NAB, you could notice that he used the term “Alpha Mount”, meaning both E and A, when referring to the full range of 54 lenses that is available for A7s. Sony has also before this mentioned that there is no incompatibility betwenn the two mounts… They have also referred to A-mount cameras as the “old type of Alpha”.
I am not sure who they are trying to fool, but it seems obvious that for Sony E-mount is the future and that A-mount definitely will be phased out. Of course they will not issue any statement that A is dead, but future cameras and lenses will be E-mount other than a few that has been under development for long time and now is ready.
There is no such thing as a Sony A-mount event! For them everything is Alpha and a small part that is declining is this “old type of Alpha”.
Well, if they said “old type of Alpha” , then all is said and done and a-mount will slowly die.
And just like the Hasselbad V-series (503cw etc), a-mount will be taken out of production long before the announcement of its death.
They will announce that E-mount will be discontinued in America, and A-mount in Asia. Europe and other regions will still get both mounts for the time being.
I’m super exited with this upcoming Sony event.
It is strongly believed that Sony will announce pricing and availability of the A7S at this event as well.
Sony should let their customers know where the voyage is going. If they can’t tell us about their plans and visions for their camera systems then I don’t know if I see me walking on their invisible road that can fall apart any time =_=
What would you like from them? This comes up ALL the time. So please, explain to me what you think they should give you?
People want reassurance that their system of choice will get continued support and development for the foreseeable future. There is a real fear that Sony might abandon any of their lens mounts at any point, and pursue something totally different.
so, you think they just brought out the new 70200G2, 70400G2, CZ50, 300G f2.8, 500mm f4 (in 2012) for shitz and giggles?
A company supports a product right up to the day it is shelved. The development time on lenses is measured in years, once they have the development costs back, they could shut the system down immediately.
For all we know Sony could have changed strategy this year and are running down A-mount, albeit very unlikely on full frame, but it is certainly possible for APS-C.
Fact is, once Sony crack OSPDAF and bring out stabilised E-mount tele-zooms and primes the future of A-mount is looking grim.
I assume that adapters and AF for the FE mount will eventually advance to a level where these lenses will perform to their best.
When they make a mirrorless adapter for a-mount to e-mount which works properly with on sensor pdaf AND screw drive auto focus, I expect I will leap onto the e-mount and ditch all my a-mount cameras.
And even then, how exactly are you going to stabilize your 70-400mm, 500mm, 100mm macro or any other a-mount lens for that mater? Telephoto and macro work is non-existant unless you have good stabilization. e-mount cameras can not give you this.
I am not so sure that in camera image stabilization can’t be put into a FF mirrorless body. Even at worst if the body had to be a few mm thicker it would be well worth it. To me the A7r/A7 are just really first attempts with quite a few compromises in ergonomics/functionality and performance. Look how other mirrorless systems have moved forward generation by generation.
Yes! Exactly so.
The business term is called “kill your darlings.”
They have changed strategy and regardless of what they have recently developed is no reason to continue this same route.
The market strategy is to try to convince people that there is full compatibility between E-mount and A-mount by full functional adapters. Possibly there will be new larger cameras of traditional DSLR formfactor with E-mount and that comes with an adapter included. Then they will market this as Alpha mount. By doing this they can deny accusations that A-mount is dead, but in reality it is.
If anyone thinks Sony cares one bit of their existing userbase, this is wrong. They have done so before and will continue to do it. Strange thing is that the user base is so loyal despite this obvious facts.
They don´t care at all about existing customers, everything is focused forward and the “new alpha” is E-mount. And also stop dreaming of IBIS, it is a thing of the past for Sony.
Let’s hope for some brighter lenses, like F/2.8 zooms and F/1.4 primes with stabilisation and that does not have too much optical distorsion that they fix in post in the camera or raw-profile.
Strategies can change. If they gain enough momentum with A7 line and bring A9 with fast OSPDAF (perhaps with different resolutions like A7), which can beat A99 in AF speed, precision and tracking ability, only reason for them to continue A-mount would be existing A99 and A77 users. Which is probably not enough, given that some will convert using adapters.
According to reps I spoke to, and release dates so far, A99 is due to be updated around September this year. If it does not get updated, that is the end of native A-mount.
I am not eager for A-mount to die. I love it. I shoot A-mount FF, and I want them to continue the line. But most likely I will sell most of the A-mount glass, leaving just the essentials (Zeiss 24-70/2.8, Minolta 70-200/2.8SSM and Sony 50/1.4), to prepare if I am forced to leave Sony due to their strategy not fitting my needs.
This! A strategy would be greatly appreciated, even if it’s just something like ‘a-mount is our platform for large/fast lenses going forward and e-mount remains our compact platform’ . That doesn’t upset anybody – it’s not like people bought an e-mount body under the expectation of native f2.8 zooms and people who bought a-mount bodies will be less fussy about size.
The problem is it flies in the face of Sony’s conservative marketing strategy…
When I asked this very same question to sales reps in two local Sony Style stores, their reply was that Sony will only continue A99 and A77 lines of cameras, at least for 1 more generation. Anything below that is not going to be renewed.
It is unlikely that mere mortal sales reps in their stores have any clue about long term strategy of their camera division, however this does make sense. Drop anything consumer in A-mount right away, renew high-end A-mount bodies for couple more iterations and focus on E-mount.
Once OSPAF can compete with dedicated phase detection and there are sufficient amount of lenses in E – drop A-mount completely.
Well given Sony’s half-ass a77II refresh and what undoubtedly will be the high price of any a99 replacement (do I assume another pathetic refresh there too?) I can but assume Sony has decided to give up the pro market if you’re correct. The crappy a77II refresh proves to me Sony isn’t serious about a pro line of cameras which is what that line was supposed to be.
It’s clear the e-mount APS-C line-up is purely a consumer-grade line topping off at the a6000. That leaves the a7x line for pros which is fine but I can’t see Sony building a complete lens line fisheye to very long telephoto and everything in between around a7xs even if they eventually refresh the line so they’re well-rounded for more use cases than they are now.
And:
There is no contradiction in saying that a-mount is for Pro’s, and giving up the Pro market.
A-Mount lens roadmap!
That would be enough and would calm down all the unrest immediately
I suspect that an honest A mount lens roadmap may be more likely to cause despair rather than calmness
“Sony has decided to do an Olympus, so all Sony users now have to go Nikon” would be really sad, but definite. Uncertainty is worse.
Their all shiny flagship cameras use a brand new FE mount.
If with that, A mount users didn’t get the message…
Sorry guys but the goose is cooked.
There’s no brand new FE-mount, only the several years old E-mount. There’s a new line of FE lenses, though, which goes with the same E-mount as the E lenses.
My bad, but you get the idea.
Maybe we have it in front of us …
Their plan is to bring us something completely new every six months. I don’t think they have the future planned out at all, they just go wherever their whims take them.
You have zero idea what you are talking about… It’s easy to copy this meme I suppose ‘Sony have more cameras than lenses, Sony don’t know what they are doing, throwing things at the wall and see what sticks’.
You asked for them to let their customers know where the voyage is going, how about this:
15 lenses in just over 2 years for FE
A-Mount isn’t going anywhere
What else do you want to know?
Oh no! they are going to release an updated camera?! The sky is falling, the sky is FALLING!!!
That is why their name is Sony, not Panasonic 🙂
I just hope the A77 II is quite a step in evolution with seriously impressive EVF and ISO 😉
I think we are going to be underwhelmed. They have a history a removing hardware and dumbing down features to cut costs.
I expect the camera to be excellent, however we seem to be at a plateau in sensor development with no real advance in any of the formats in the past couple of years. From a purely image quality basis I have found no reason to update my D800e,E-M5 or RX100. I only bought the A7r for a more compact option.
Small fractions of a stop changes in output typically down to different in camera processing are not really that big a deal. I think until the next gen of sensors comes out { 2015 ? } that I will just enjoy what I have , it has made my wife very happy lol
It isn’t the sensor I am talking about though, which will obviously be a better one. Sony gives with one hand and takes away with the other and I wonder what they are going to take away. 😉
To be honest, most of the manufacturers do that. If they add something, something else has to go to keep the cost at the desired level, or to lower the cost even further.
We will see a lot more cost cutting as the manufacturers try to keep their profit margins in a market that gets smaller and more competitive by the year.
Mirror, mirror?
…..
Any Idea when the new RX100 will start shipping? Love to have it for summer vacations…
That presentation is ancient, Sony could have changed their whole strategy since then, this is Sony we are talking about!
Give me a A99 mk II that uses FE lenses . Then i could use every lens on the market with a converter on a camera with built in Image stabilisation
I believe that Sony are quoted as saying that there isn’t enough room for IBIS on full frame E-mount.
Internet myth. Mark Weir only said that the form factor of current E-mount cameras (specifically body depth) leaves too little room as they were designed to be small(er). Which says nothing about the actual mount or future bodies.
Mark Weir was indeed talking about NEX and that isn’t it.
There was another source that was quoted as saying that FULL FRAME E-mount IBIS was not possible due to the larger sensor and the diameter of the E-mount throat.
No one has been able to provide this source (hence mythical) and it doesn’t make much sense either based on the actual size of the mount, which is 9.1mm larger in diameter than the smallest FF mount and the A900 used about 3mm linear amplituted for its sensor shift.
Mark Weir and Sony reps told me to my face (late Oct 2013) that IBIS is not possible due to the size of the FF sensor and the size of the e-mount opening. They said that the position of the sensor must be absolute and they cannot have it shaking around to get the image captured in the corners. Thus, according to their reasoning ( not mine), a larger camera cannot compensate for this.
If Sony moves ahead with a hybrid body, the question will be: can they have IBIS function in a- mount mode? I speculate this is possible only if the sensor shifts back in a-mount mode.
Sounds like marketing speak, see my comment about measurements above.
While I applaud your skepticism, the FE system has to deal with much steeper/oblique angles of incoming light in the corners. The micro lenses are carefully optimized. Moving them around would throw that off.
That is essentially what they told me.
It could theoretically limit the functionality for wide angles, not make it generally impossible which is the often repeated claim here. It didn’t stop Panasonic or Olympus either (sensor stabilization with extreme wide angles and only marginally larger flange distance). But it’s the first argument that holds some water, unlike the ones posted above (which focus on diameter rather than micro lenses).
That would not be the diameter being the issue as someone posted above and it could theoretically limit functionality for wider angles, not make it generally impossible. It didn’t stop Panasonic or Olympus from offering sensor stabilization with lenses wider than 8mm either (and their flange distance is just marginally larger).
I’m still not making myself clear.
Yes, it would be an issue primarily on wide angle lenses. You are right there but could/would Sony implement a complex feature like IBIS if it didn’t work with anything wider than 40-50mm?
Let me try to explan a bit more clearly. The mount diameter to sensor size matters because it means lens designer can make a lens cover a larger area. Then they “throw away” the edge of the light were the rays are traveling at less-than-ideal angles. I believe the new JVC cameras that use S35mm sensors in an m43 mount will work (somewhat) with a surprising number of existing m43 lenses—especially from Olympus because they’ve engineered for IBIS from early on—because the lenses project a wider image circle to account for IBIS. The JVC/S35mm sensor will NOT have IBIS (and I believe likely not ever have it) because that sensor takes up most of the area inside mount thereby already making the corners cope with less than ideal light ray angles. IBIS with such a design would cause even more problems with the corners.
Sony’s A99/A900 gets around this because the mirror box means that lenses—all lenses—are designed to be telecentric. In otherwords they have shift the light rays to be more parallel and to project past the mirror box.
So you’re right it isn’t that the diameter isn’t large enough OR that the flange distance isn’t great enough. It is the COMBINATION of the two. If the diameter was someline like the Mamiya 7 and the lenses were about that size then, yes, IBIS would be much more likely on a FF sensor in that mount.
Personally I think the A7R’s sensor is not flexible enough as-is and will hamper FE lens designs for years. Forcing the wide angles to be more telecentric and losing the advantages of symmetrical design inherent in a short flange distance. I’d much rather address that than IBIS.
@Zohee35 (for some reason I can’t reply to you directly) I believe they are the same argument. Let me explain. Look at Oly, Panasonic which have stabilization and are mirrorless. The sensor size is very small compared to the mount and this is by design so that the sensor is only gathering the most perpendicular light rays. M43 sensors do not NEED offset micro lenses therefore and there even enough room in the “sweet spot” to shift the sensor without significant off angle light becoming noticeable.
Presumable Pentax and Sony get away with it because a mirror box necessitates a very telecentric lens design with very parallel incoming light rays. Hence the sensor can still shift even though that moves the sensor outside the natural center sweet spot of parallel light rays. Sony’s system really is remarkable.
I don’t believe it is totally impossible but I think given today’s technology it would involve too many compromises. The A7 already struggles with corners even with native lenses. The A7R’s offset lenses aren’t even enough to really cope and so already we’re unlikely to see the really compact, symmetric wide angle primes which really set rangefinders apart from SLRs.
I was addressing more your comment that such information is an internet myth. Sony people stated it plainly to me that’s it’s not happening due to technical reasons. Whether you agree with the technical reasons is up to you of course, but it’s not a myth that the origination of no ibis for e-mount is from Sony from the top brass to the engineers and reps.
I find it odd that they never openly stated such a thing, other than on events according to you. Relying on people I don’t know (anyone else referring to you is basing it on hearsay) and sources that cannot be verified remains internet myth IMHO. For you that’s obviously not the case.
After the release of NEX, I recall reading an interview with one of the top sony guys online and he stated that it wasn’t possible at the time for (aps-c) e-mount. If I can ever find the article I’ll send you the link.
I am pretty sure that I’ve seen a Sony source saying that IBIS can not be achieved with E-mount full frame.
Sound smore like marketing, even if it was stated somewhere. I have read all the interviews and it certainly wasn’t stated in any of them.
With respect, I have a very good marketing BS filter, this was NOT marketing speak. I am certain that I have read that full frame E-mount IBIS can’t be done.
I’m certain it was not openly written anywhere sofar that it’s not possible.
It doesn’t really matter because Sony’s marketing strategy clearly is OSS for e-mounts. It’s obviously a lens selling strategy. I can’t see Sony changing.
Yes, a-mount will be discontinued sooner or later. Sony will keep making more e-mount lenses. Sony wants you to buy the better oss emount lenses instead.
Not sure why I’m talking to a sock puppet but your comment is so silly I can’t resist. Every product eventually will run its course. You think e-mounts are immune? Really? I see e-mounts as weaker than a-mounts ;^)
Heck, when I watch Sony’s idiotic marketing strategy with DSLRs and ILCEs which is pretty much incomprehensible I wonder if they’ll survive. If Canikon ever takes mirrorless seriously they’ll wipe the floor with Sony.
Take the Nikon 1 system. On paper it’s obvious Nikon understands photographers (unlike electronic gadget conglomerate Sony) and knows how to put together a coherent system of bodies and lenses. What kills the Nikon 1 is their fear of cannibalizing DSLRs so they keep the IQ uncompetitive. When (if?) Nikon gets past that huge hurdle Sony is toast. Also, Nikon appears to have the same problem Sony has in that the ergonomics of compact mirrorless cameras completely suck and they’re struggling to get the Nikon 1 pro series bodies right.
I’m sorry to say, but you appear to have a bad case of fanboyism.
Nothing wrong with what AnimalsBarriers said, and I don’t know how one could honestly pretend that Nikon came up with something coherent with the 1 system.
Because the Nikon 1 system has a comprehensive set of bodies for a number of use-cases and it came out with a coherent roadmap of lenses then stuck with it. Am I a Nikon fanboy? Hardly, I’ve said numerous times the Nikon 1 IQ sucks and Nikon has a serious case of paranoia it will undermine DSRL sales so that’s on purpose. Nikon 1 also shares the same problem with Sony they can’t figure out how to design compact bodies which don’t suck raw eggs ergonomically. The Nikon 1 Vx pro line is choking badly on coming up with ergonomics that work.
If you want to go snorkeling with a camera. Nikon 1 has the AW1. Sony? Nada. You want to shoot birds. Nikon 1 fulfilled their promise of a telephoto zoom that’s the equivalent of 810mm on the long end. Sony? Nothing of the sort in an e-mount. You want fast shooting for sports? Certainly, Sony has come out with a6000 but there isn’t a decent native lens for the purpose.
Worse, I don’t think Sony will develop e-mount solutions for many use-cases. Is Sony coming out with some cool tech? Certainly. Folks here gush over the upcoming a7S. But typical of much of the cool stuff Sony comes out with it isn’t very well-rounded or even well thought out. So it will do very incredible 4k but only if you buy a ton of accessories which, ironically, trash the entire ‘small and light’ philosophy behind compacts. Plus, they have like 1 cinema lens to support that use case and it isn’t even out that I’m aware.
I don’t hate Sony. I just hope if I whine and cry enough pointing out how incompetent their marketing strategy is they might actually wake up and clean up their act. I really don’t want to dump my investment in Alpha but it’s like Sony is shoving me and many customers out of the door.
The interchangeable camera business is somewhat unique in that it’s a system that’s being sold that must cater to a diverse range of photographers. Canikon gets it. Sony is clueless.
So, Sony marketing is incompetent because they’ve decided to stop developing the A-mount in favour of the E-mount? Sounds like an intelligent move to me. Doesn’t take a genius to see where Sony’s better market share is.
Friendly advice: dump your Alpha equipment now before it loses too much value. Though you could actually keep using it on an E-mount body.
As to citing Canikon as a good example. They’re not. They just live on a legacy of lenses they began to build decades ago. If you think they understand their customers and have a clue in marketing, you’re being seriously mistaken. Canon’s EOS-M, Nikon’s Df and flooded lineup, etc. are just recent examples.
That being rectified, I won’t argue against the fact that Sony hasn’t taken the time, or dedicated enough resources, to build a truly comprehensive lens line up.
Also waiting for that kind of camera.
rx100mk3 please sony 12mp 4k XAVC-S… Same AX100 video specs.. please sony. Is a must!
New zoom, EVF, some also want 4K… you know adding up all these features has a cost, right? I wonder just how many people making wishful thinking will be ready to actually shell out the big bucks.
Add a 4k and AX100 feature is a firmware work 0 costs 🙂
Seems like Sony has its information leaks under control. More or less nothing is known about the new model until now…
Indeed, shame sonyalphanews.com isn’t available lol
I’m super bored with this upcoming Sony event. Any new alpha lenses?
Are you collecting all zeiss ?
Braaaaaahahahahahahahahaha!
The only a-mount announcement is a77 gets a new body mold and feature refresh so subtle Sony promises you won’t even notice they’re there. ;^)
I want a Playstation that is backwards-compatible with PS1, PS2 and PS3. A nice camera would be great too!
Time to make an external flash cable that doesn’t need an adapter to use.
Hope they’ll have better video features… and use the XAVC-S codec from now on instead of AVCHD
I can not justify spending so much money on nor do I need all this high end stuff. I expect most will ridicule this but I wish someone would make a consumer grade compact(ish) camera with a 1″ sensor and an OK viewfinder. We keep hearing how smartphones are killing compact camera sales, well this is how the camera companies could fight back. Offer three things in an affordable package that a smartphone can not. A largish sensor, a zoom lens (doesn’t have to be a long or a fast lens) and a viewfinder.
Check out Sony A3000
APS-C size sensor, EVF and kit 18-55mm lens for under $300,00
right, a smartphone with a good camera is available for 250$. Now a good camera that can not make phone calls with a good sensor and IQ should be available for 250$ too, not 650$.
But those smartphones are generally subsidized by your phone bill. They aren’t really $250, nor do any of them have a large sensor. It’s an entirely different business model.
The only two Smartphones on the market with a good camera, that ever existed thus far, are Nokia Pureview 808 and Samsung Galaxy Zoom. Neither of these are exactly thin as most smartphones…. The rest are utter trash. All of them. And i’ve seen plenty. Own HTC One myself. GF has S4. No optical zoom, no physical arpeture, horrendous in low light. More or less OK in good light. Most without OSS. Poor AF accuracy. Poor sharpness. Lens flare. etc etc…
So the RX100, that can’t make phone calls, beats all of them put together, by a hefty margin.
If Sony is able to sell a NEX3N, with a lens, with an outstanding sensor for 395$, why can’t they sell us a RX100/3 with a less good sensor and no ILS for that price, why 650$ and higher?
The RX100’s sensor is smaller but that doesn’t mean it’s less good.
But I get your point. Up to now Sony was alone in the 1″ compact market, that’s why.
Perhaps because NEX3n has many competitors while RX100 not. So they can price it higher. There are no other compact cameras at that level.
I’d say that the Canon G1 X Mark II is at the same level, although it’s not as pocketable, and so perhaps not a direct competitor. Canon didn’t price it like they had any competitors either, though.
Its not easy to squeeze all this stuff into such a small package, thats why the price is rather deserving
I bought my nex3n new with lenscardcamera bag for 299$ ^_^
The a7s is pretty revolutionary and I would definitely be buying it if it could record 4k in camera. Its low light capabilities are astounding. I hope they will show off another camera (amount) with the same 12mp 4k sensor and IBIS that can record to sd and then that would be everything I need. Or even a new vg900 with the a7s sensor and IBIS would be great.
If Sony is going to continue with the vg900, the a7s sensor would be ideal. There is certainly space to deal with the heat in the body for 4k recording and for a physically larger / faster recording medium if SD cards cannot write fast enough.
Unfortunately Sony might save it for a higher end option to prevent cannibalization of a7s, or fs100/700 sales.
4K to SD cards is possible, Sony just wants to protect their two pseudo proprietary formats: SxS & XQD. While the small size and varying degrees of build quality are potential downsides of SD cards (I can see why you’d hesitate using them on an F55 for example) UHS-II cards are as fast and much more market friendly. Heck even a U3 UHS-I SDXC card can handle XAVC-S is most of its flavors.
Hello Admin, I remember you mentioned an upcoming lens announcement from Samyang which was due on April 28th!! Any update on that?
Yes. it has been announced. Will report it later after the next rumors 🙂
here you go – http://photorumors.com/2014/04/28/samyang-announces-five-new-lenses/#more-57360
No matter what’s announced Wednesday it won’t be good enough and I will still complain, if not about what’s announce then whatever else I can think of.
I already have a list of complaints lined up.
1. The weather.
2. Young people theses days
3. Why can’t we go back to the good old days…..
It’s all because of the Illuminati.
Ooh, me too:
1. Not enough resolution.
2. Too much resolution.
3. ISO noise at 1000000 is too high.
4. Why no 1mm-1000mm zoom with OSS and 1.4 aperture throughout for less than $200??? Also, if that lens has any distortion at any focal length I won’t buy it.
5. We need more pancake lenses in all focal lengths. What’s the use of a mirrorless system if the lenses aren’t small enough for the whole thing to fit in the watch pocket of my jeans?
6. Kill off the E mount, they’re too small.
7. A mount is too big.
8. More lenses for A mount. No more FE lenses.
9. Not enough FE lenses.
10. What, no IBIS???
11. Why won’t Sony focus and give us REAL photographers what we want???
…and then proclaim the death of a-mount while in the same breath imploring Sony not to release anything else except FE lenses.
… but as was discovered in a previous post discussing discounting e-mount lenses Sony is killing off the e-mount too! They’re getting out completely the interchangeable body business! ;^)
You’re right. We’re down to the typical 2 days before the announcement where incompetent Sony marketing finally gets around to leaking all the pre-announcement specs to SAR. What do we know about a77II upgrade? Well, we know it’ll get the same pathetic 24mp sensor refresh the a6000 got which is a complete waste of time and it will have about the same FPS as the cut-rate a6000. You’re right. Nothing to complain about. All of this is well worth $1,000+! ;^)
A truly competent marketing department wouldn’t leak anything. What’s the point of having journalists and reviewers sign NDAs, while at the same time give information to rumor sites? The information is supposed to go public at the official announcement, not before, so any marketing employee who leaks information is not doing his job.
Like Apple who typically plans leaks like getting iPhones into the hands of reporters by ‘accident’ before announcements?
You’re right that a competent marketing department normally wouldn’t need the crutch of leaks if they had a remote clue on providing customers with information. I’m just starting to research a possible jump from Sony to Nikon and it’s becoming obvious to me – even without an announcement – you can look at a new system like the Nikon 1 and see a coherent system strategy covering a diverse range of photographers. Also, they’re far better with a Nikon 1 lens roadmap. They announced prototypes and they fulfilled that promise with actual releases. Sony? We have no clue so there’s always a lot of hair in the air at SAR moaning and groaning for this lens or that lens.
Sony needs to be added to the classic Harvard MBA textbook for a case study in marketing incompetence.
incompetent sony marketing because they don´t leak information, you are a funny dude, if you have so many reasons to dislike sony gtfo to canikon.
any new fast prime lens announcements for E mount full frame?
Abandoning A- and/or E-mount -one day- makes perfect sense.
Who knows what will be important from technological and/consumer viewpoint years from now ?
Tech and science are going forward at breack-neck speed.
I rather have a new mount/lenses and innovation than the way traditional companies dot it.
This is the iphone/digital age.
Something like the Sony RX100M3 (if it materializes as predicted) and A6000 makes sense to me. Canikon DSLR IMHO much less.
You obviously don’t spend thousands on lenses then, no, it doesn’t make perfect sense.
It makes perfect sense for the company, not for legacy users.
In all fairness, there was never a guarantee that came with those lenses saying that Sony would continue the lens system or even that Sony would continue to support it. All you did is buy a lens with a one year warranty against factory defects.
In the same token, nowhere does it say that Canon or Nikon will continue their system for perpetuity.
Would it be an absolute disaster if any of them dropped production on their respective mounts? Absolutely. But stranger things have happened…
Well Nikon F mount has been going for 55yrs
A-mount has been around for 29 years.
Photography has been around for 188 years.
What’s your point? As if 55 years means anything? It doesn’t.
@Illogical fails to grasp the current semi-pro/professional interchangeable lens camera market.
It makes much more sense to avoid mirror-less altogether. Which is what the largest two camera manufacturers are doing.
Canon, and Nikon haven’t invested seriously in mirror-less because they are low margin, and are of limited appeal to the semi-pro to professional market. Canon, Nikon, Sony earn more from each DSLR body, lens sale or accessory.
Sony’s mirror-less cameras will eventually end up in landfills like the rest of their great ideas (mini-disc, SACD, Betamax, etc).
Canon is actually investing in semi-translucent mirror technology, because professionals are simply not interested in mirror-less technology. Nikon is likely to follow suit.
So If you really like mirror-less, you in the minority.
I respect your opinion. It is mostly logical. I do grasp the market conditions as seen by professionals, I just disagree. To risk sounding arrogant, most pros don’t really understand what’s happening to the industry.
There’s no doubt that Canon will follow Sony’s lead with some likely dabbling in SLT, then jump straight to mirrorless full force. They will retain their EF mount, however (avoiding the Sony A/E drama). EF-M was an unfortunate trial. You can bet the farm that Canon engineers got their hands on the A6000 as soon as it was released to investigate how Sony was doing it exactly. Mirrorless will soon (by 2020) be the majority once Sony proves it can be an equal to SLR autofocus capability; the only thing holding it back. Two problems; fast, accurate tracking AF and finding a way to drive legacy lenses with the new technology. They are very, very close to that right now (one to two more development cycles to reach on-sensor PDAF maturity). Sony is proactive, Canon is reactive. Unfortunately for Sony, reactive means stability to customers, whereas Sony’s approach leads to some fantastic successes among a field of shattered failures (and pissed off customers). But you must admit that without Sony’s innovative work, many technologies would not exist today.
Who knows what Nikon will do. I dont have good feelings about Nikon…they seem the most confused and apathetic among the big three.
Actually, for the volume sellers, margins are higher on Sony’s mirrorless cameras than its mirrored counterparts. And that will continue as prices for electronics drop further vs relatively fixed cost for mechanical (and optical) precision parts.
I call BS. Actually that isn’t even close to being true.
I know how many points (%) of margin each model earns. Most of the low end Sony mirror-less cameras earn less than 5%, whereas a low end Alpha (A58 or A65) earns between 15 to 20%.
A-Mount users also tend to buy more expensive lenses. They’re generally members of society with greater earning potential (deeper pockets) than the average E-mount user.
E-Mount users are more price sensitive.
Alpha (A-Mount) users also spend more for their cameras. An E-Mount user spends between $300 to $500, while a A-Mount gladly spends twice to three times the amount. An average A-Mount sale is over $2000.00 (body, lens, grip, flash). The average E-mount sale is less than $500.00.
The same holds true for each of the lens sold. Sony earns 50% more, for every A-Mount lens sold.
Economic 101: The Law of Supply and Demand
Their is virtually no demand for mirror-less cameras in North America, so they have to sell them for less.
I imagine the same sort of arguments were made about digital when it was released as opposed to film. The fact is though, that as technology progresses the performance gap between DSLR and Mirrorless will shrink to the point where it’s practically (if not technically) negligible. At that point DSLR’s will be seen as outdated (just as film cameras are now) and pros will adopt mirrorless as the preferred format due to size and adaptability. Sony already came close to this paradigm shift with the A7 series.
Speculate the A7s prices $2699, ship on Jun’14 🙂
maybe the “new” A77 II is a hybrid between A77 and A99 (because it´s placed between both).
i´m looking forward to it! hopefully it has a FF-Sensor :p and only the speed of APS-C 😉
Pretty sure you’re describing the A99II.
i´m just wondering why the “new” one is between A77 and A99… but yes the thing i´m dreaming from is maybe the A99 II. Hope it´ll come soon, A99 is nice but not perfect… and i don´t want to buy D800E… i want an Alpha (a-mount!!!)
Actually its the SLT-A88.
Its great to see something for A-Mounts to celebrate over. One last sleep and the the A-Mount is going to launch a new generation of Sony’s vision of what a DSLR should be.
The SLT-A88 when it launches will expand the A-Mount line-up, and hopefully more ” Real Alpha” users can upgrade to the new camera body.