While E-mount news and rumors are pretty reliable and stable the A-mount future is quite more…unpredictable. The last couple of weeks I got in contact with as many as source as possible to try to gather some reliable info. And this is what I got:
1) A-mount is certain to continue.
2) Sony E-mount success caught Sony a bit “unprepared”. Therefore many A-mount product released have been “delayed” to focus resources and production on E-mount. This because that system needs to be broadened as soon as possible before the competition catches up. Editor’s note: This could be a reason why some of the rumored A-mount lenses planed for 2014 haven’t been released yet
3) Release cycle of A-mount products is getting longer.
4) New A-mount cameras will focus on a more high end market (likely no cheap entry level A-mount camera to come anymore?).
LIke I told you before the next VERY BIG(!) Sony announcement is scheduled for January-February 2015. But none of the sources could yet confirm this is for A-mount. I hope to get mroe about it soon. If you have some “rumor” to share just send me an anonymous messages here:
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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!
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First Blood!
I am invested in A-Mount (A850 plus CZ lenses) and I really hope for a greatly improved A-Mount FF next year. Sony, please give us a new high res sensor!
Played Dota too much?
Seems like a lot of guessing is happening.
Yes.
to me that all makes perfect sense. I expected nothing else actually. Existing A-mount users should be happy now and don’t worry about the entry level cameras
Well, there’s good and there’s bad. I’m glad to hear about the “Pro” course but, at the same time, I think at least an entry level body is necessary. As the name suggests, it represents the first step to a class of products and, in this case, a brand. So if someone is approaching photography, he will not chose Sony, or will chose an E-Mount camera and, if and when the time comes to get a DSLR, the E-Mount lenses will not constitute a reason to prefer Sony rather than Canon or Nikon, since he will have to change them anyway.
I can imagine just one entry level body. A couple of years ago we had A37, A57, A65, A77, A99. I would be reasonably happy if next summer we see A58, A77 II, A99 II.
The problem being that I don’t think we will be seeing the A58II and that would be a mistake.
According to the Sony store website, the a7 series are dslrs. Sony is promoting the a7 as a mirrorless dslr — the next generation of dslr they are calling it.
Many analysts see Canon/Nikon eventually going mirrorless and dropping the OVF except as a niche product. If this does happen, Sony is trying to make sure they have a big head start. If CaNikon went Mirrorless tomorrow WITH their existing mounts, Sony would be dead. (Mirrorless CaNikon with 100s of lenses or FE mount with unmm 5 lenses?)
So Sony is putting all resources into making the a7 a viable mirrorless dslr system before CaNikon become mirrorless systems.
a canikon mirrorless with the old lenses makes absolutely no sense
Not long ago, there were rumors in this very site that a-mount would go mirrorless and people were excited.
Mirrorless CaNikon would give them the advantages of EVF and live view, while maintaining their massive customer bases. A fully complete lens lineup.
The downside is that bodies wouldn’t be as compact as e-mount. But they wouldn’t have to be that much bigger — think a55/sl1.
So a camera slightly bigger than the a7, with all the advantages of mirrorless, and a 100+ lens lineup. Including long telephotos and fast zooms.
I agree to some extent. CaNikon have a large user base and a lot of lenses available, and that would definitely give them an easier start into mirrorless than Sony.
But, and there are a couple of big buts. Considering the negative attitude on adapters a lot of A-mount people show over here, a similar amount of reluctance to adapters is to be expected from the CaNikon crowd. Mirrorless for me equals short flange focal distance. I would be surprised to see CaNikon make the same mistake as Pentax did with their K01.
“the time comes to get a DSLR”… or the time comes to get a FF sensor and there is FF e-mount line. I do agree though that a cheaper SLT body would make a lot of sense.
Yes I know, now Sony offering pro-level mirrorless gives the chance to go full frame without changing system… yet on my defense, I wrote “IF and when” 😀
I think it’s clear what I was meaning anyway 🙂
no cheap A-mount makes no sense, how do you introduce new people to the system? through the E-mount, thats ridiculous. You need a consistent release cycle to draw in new users.
Makes sense if the strategy is to out all growth into e-mout, while just using a-mount to make money off existing high end users. Also means no marketing and promotion — existing high end users will find out about the new a77ii even if Sony doesn’t promote it at all.
“how do you introduce new people to the system?”
Well, why do you assume that Sony has the intent to introduce new people to the A-mount system?
Why not? It’s a great mature system with a clear differentiation from the competition. With the new pro support program and proper marketing, the advantages of the SLT will be enough to win people over.
Case in point: http://www.dyxum.com/dforum/just-jumped-ship-5diii-a99_topic108479.html
I first thought you got it, now you’re loosing it again…
E-mount is as mature as A-mount already for 90% of the users. If one really needs that big and huge fast telephoto lens or F2.8 zooms he/she/it is free to buy an A99 (or higher) class body to go with it. Those entry level APS-C A-mount lenses are all available in E-mount now. I don’t expect Sony to introduce more of them for A-mount, just the higher end FF ones
“I first thought you got it, now you’re loosing it again…”
I agree with everything you wrote after that. Don’t see how your reply is related to Allan’s question or my reply though… well, anyway.
It didn’t work much when a-mount was the only kid on the roaster, so now e-mount gets the preference.. It is already hard enough to prevent someone buying their first system camera from going to Canon or Nikon. Why distort the message with an entry level a-mount. And BTW, no one was buying entry level a-mounts lately anyway..
I hope however Sony will bring out the a99ii with an 36mp sensor soon. That would give both aps-c and ff a-mount users viable cameras for the next 2 years..
An alternative to buying their 1st camera from Canon or Nikon would be buying an A-Mount camera.
An entry-level E-Mount is an alternative to a buying a 1st camera from Fuji / Olympus / Samsung.
Why is introducing new users to e mount ridiculous? Please explain, as i cant think of *ANY* reason.
Because when you want to upgrade from your E5100 to A77II, you have to change all your lenses
why would anyone want to do that? It makes more sense to upgrade to an a6000 or A7 for e-mount users. I tell you what, E-mount users aren’t interested in A-mount and don’t see it as an “upgrade” at all.
Read the original question by Joe. He asked why it may not work to introduce new A-Mount customers to the Alpha system through an entry-level E-Mount camera.
Because Sony doesn’t WANT to, simply as that. A-Mount is for existing users and more “Pro” oriented. E-mount will be everything from entry level to “Pro” just like it is now.
You missed the point once again. The question Joe asked is based on the assumption that Sony does want new customers for A-Mount.
If someone wants to upgrade to a large camera, I guess going full frame is also an option, since FF gets cheaper and cheaper. Then you will most likely not use most of your A mount DT lenses anyway, because beginners mostly will only buy DT lenses.
I guess more people will later upgrade to the higher mirrorless bodies instead of adding a lot more unnecessary bulk.
Agreed. That idea of initial investment in lenses is a rather weak one.
I never fell into hysteria over the A-mount future, and I wish for more pro-oriented cameras. I don’t believe in “no entry level camera” either – I interpret the predictions above as there won’t be tens of entry level camera models like there used to be but only one.
Completely off topic: I just bought Sony/Zeiss Planar 50/1.5 ZA SSM lens and I can’t believe how good this is. It seems that lots of complaints related to AF implementation in Sony cameras may have source in screwdrive AF motor, as with SSM the AF is much more responsive and precise (what I always suspected). That’s why I’ll gladly upgrade my other 85/1.4 and 135/1.8 ZA lenses as soon as SSM-driven, weatherproofed versions appear. I wish this 50/1.4 was finally dxomarked as I’m very courious how well it fares in comparison to Canikon counterparts.
I got mine directly after the release and I love it, too.
Although 50mm is not my favorite focal length I am using it quite a lot, and can also not wait until Sony will update my 85ZA with SSM.
It’s not my favorite focal length either, but this lens is just such a pleasure to use. I wish they made 35mm ZA, this would be a killer compared to present 35G. Now, I’m gathering the money for Distagon 24/2 😀
If it wasn’t for the A200 being cheaper than the Canon 1000D/Nikon D40 I wouldn’t be a Sony user. Even as a Minolta SLR user I certainly would not have bought the A700/A900 as my first dSLR.
It is insane that Sony may not have a “cheap” A-mount camera, this is why I keep asking about the A58II. Sony need to be better and cheaper than Canon/Nikon, cost is a major influence in a beginners buyers purchasing decision.
Why do you need a cheap a mount anyway? The e mount camera kick c/n cheap dslrs butt, so why not go for them?
Because people want dSLR sized bodies as can be seen by Canon and Nikon sales. If Sony don’t think they need a slice of that massive pie then they are idiots.
A3000 already sits in that market.
It does, but it compares very poorly with the competition.
Well it is also significantly cheaper.
There is very little between the A3000 and 1100D, except the 1100D has plenty of lenses and accessories!
I’d like to see the person who is going to buy the 17mm TS or the 500mm for their 1100D. For these entry-level cameras, the lens lineup is mostly irrelevant, people will go with the kit ones and maybe some cheap prime on the advice of a friend.
they want DSLR site bodies because Canikon has nothing else with a proper sensor
I want DSLR size bodies and I want small bodies for leisure and traveling, too. What is wrong with DSLR-type bodies? Ever used large 2.8 FF-zooms on tiny bodies?
Most entry level camera buyers want a DSLR because they *THINK* that that is the only way to get a “good” camera. Their knowledge is outdated, thats all. Time will change that :)…
Exactly the same here. It had a better vf and ibis, so it was an easy decision. How many pros bought an a99 as their 1st body?
Admin : can you finally share what will happen in January? We have been hearing this for quite some time and we are curious.
+1
+1 🙂
I am close to SR5 rumors on that!!!
Hope Sony will blow all others out of the water with the new A-Mount…
Choosed to stay with A-Mount.
Preparing to sell my A99 and when i have confidence in the new ones, then…
How far are you with gathering informations about early 2015?
Choose between:
No clue at all!
Have some tidbits, but nothing that i could post.
Im ready, i will post it this week!
😉
Tell us in which time we can expect “results” on the A-Mount frontline.
Please.
Doing a good job for now, thanks anyway.
Can you just share what you know now and say it is an SR3 level rumor? It’s supposed to be a rumor, right?
Sounds like a-mount is “walking dead.”
It will officially “continue” but with limited resources, long product cycle, no entry level to bring in new users…
Just the very occasional expensive body to make money off existing a-mount enthusiasts.
all “DSLR” will do. A-mount users should be happy about that and expect some nice bodies to come. E-mount makes much more sense for sony (and users) to follow as entry level market.
More E-Mount sales means more money in their pocket and that leads to more personal to push both camera systems!
It makes total sense. The cheap aps-c A-mounts are pretty much duplicated by the NEX range now. The future is E-mount and E & EF glass. The benefits far outweigh the losses. Moving on is always a bummer, but has to be done to keep momentum.
I’m not so sure – the next logical upgrade for me would have been an entry level ff a-mount, but I’d never have been at this point if I hadn’t bought an a200 way back when… If a-mount goes pro only, it rules out a huge potential market.
That said, only FE has an entry level ff option, so odds of my next body being a-mount are slim.
Yeah but I think entry level DSLRs are a shrinking market in general. For DSLRs the only future is the high end, so I think Sony are bowing out early and have a decent mirrorless system in place.
I think you are correct about shrinking markets, however if there are no new A-mount users feeding into the system then what future is there for the A7x and A9x? I can’t imagine many new dSLR users would buy the A99 without having some history of owning Minolta mount lenses, they are far more likely to buy a cheap Canon/Nikon and grow with that system.
You’re totally right. I started with an A230 in 2009 (or 2010, not sure) and then upgraded to the A77 because i wanted more. Now it seems the system dies and with it the possibility to use the latest technology with my present equipment.
If you cared to read the article you would have noticed that it sais A mount will have longer release cycles, not dead!
This means you WILL get the latest technology, but will have to wait longer between updates, eg. instead of 6m to a year, a two-three year cycle.
Nobody likes waiting too long. I loved my A77, but during time and more experience in photography it just wasnt able to satisfy my demands, so i bought a DSLM to complete my equipment. Now the problem is that i use the DSLM in 95% of the situations and the A77 stays home. So i’m a lost customer – i don’t see any sense in investing money in the A-Mount system.
I had an A100! Going back some and even some Minolta FF compatible lenses. Technological progress is merciless. I just hope there is enough in the E-mount that allows for tech over the next 20 years. I dont think its the end of the world though for slower cycle times. I kept my Nikon glass for 15-20 yrs before moving everything over to the Sony A7S and E-mount!
A Sony product actually is successful – what a surprise! This must have caused lots of confusion at Sony.
The descending prices of 6D, D610 and even new D750 are waiting for a Sony option!
I am confident that at least one entry A-mount FF will come next year and if below €1000 this will be a huge success for Sony. A99 was just too expensive to beat Canikon.
Great, A-Mount will continue, when lots of people already changed their system, including myself. My A77 is laying in my shelf waiting for some seldom situations in which I still prefer it over my DSLM. By the way: I didnt go for E-Mount, but for the Fuji system and im satisfied with it.
Please, admin. While I don’t deny that you have been fed information from previously reliable sources, the real evidence and logic is clear. Sony will say anything to keep its current crop of users, but the future is the E mount. It is a sad story for legacy users, but that is what A mount adapters are for. For Sony to truly succeed, they need to focus their limited resources on a mount designed for the future, not something holding them back from real progression. The death of the A mount is only a matter of time.
E-Mount is not “the future”, it is a part of the future, along with the Sony DLSR.
And A-Mount isn’t for “legacy users”, it’s for the new customers too.
You still dont want to believe it, right? Someone’s going to be very disappointed. But no worries, you will still get your bodies and lenses so there actually is no problem for you. Don’t care about the entry level!
Believe in what? There’re a lot of people who don’t want mirrorless, and do want a DSLR / SLT, period. You can argue whether they’re right to do so, but these customers are out there with their wallets, and I don’t think Sony is going away from that.
SLT is basically mirrorless in all but implementation of AF. The translucent mirror exists purely to feed the PDAF module – that’s it. In most other respects it behaves like a mirrorless camera. That mirror won’t be there forever (either because of A-mount death or A-mount going fully mirrorless).
The SLT cameras have more in common with E-mount mirrorless cameras than any traditional DSLR.
Yes, they do, that’s what great about them. They’re real digital cameras, not “half-digital” as OVF DSLRs.
>That mirror won’t be there forever (either because of A-mount death or A-mount going fully mirrorless).
That is a possibility, not a fact.
People should stop whining about the death of the a mount. And I have no interest in Canikon fanboy crap either. Let’s all remember Canon did the same thing years ago when making the change to AF. Eventually they dumped the FD mount and everyone eventually got over it. If the current rumors are true about Canon producing a real mirrorless now and the posibility that it will have a new mount also. At that point we will hear the very same crap from the Canon camp about one mount being dead and the other being the future. They are creating a need for us to buy more lenses. Didn’t Sony make a claim late last year about boosting the daylights out of their lens sales? This is how it happens…make everyone eventually replace all their glass.
see? a-mount not dead… a-mount sleeping.
+1
In my opinion it was a perfect move from Sony to only show E-mount stuff at Photokina.
Dear Sony,
There shouldn’t be any lower level camera than A77II. The A-mount line up should start from A77II to A99II. Just keep these two models til everyone migrate to a better and flexible E-mount system.
The a6000 is your greatest camera so far. Please don’t cripple its video format by not having an XAVCS firmware update to it. Updating it will skyrocket its sales and you’ll end up having tremendous E-mount lens buyers!
The a7000 could be your professional APS-C. Basically it is an a6000 with the option of adding a vertical grip and complete weather sealing. If it’s possible to put SteadyShot on a7000 please do! It is highly recommended for us with A-mount lenses that we want to use for E-mount.
Give us an updated E-A Lens Adapter w/ the same AF coverage as the A77II to complement the a7000.
For professional videographers that are wanting the same feature of A99 but with the great benefit of E-mount system so they can use all the lenses in teh world… give them the A9!
The A9 series should be your professional full frame mirrorless camera with built-in on sensor steady and attachable vertical grip. Internal 4k recording, weathersealing and the most important of all, make it w/ the same grip as the a3500 with many customizable buttons.
A9 24mp fast autofocusing, wider AF
A9R 36mp with greater DR than D810
A9S 12mp same sensor as the A7S.
If you can make a special VG module for the A9S that can record to an SSD it would be great! It will be perfect for video recording and easy transferring for post production.
Update A7 and A7R w/ XAVCS codec please! We would like to use these cameras along with the A7S and work with the same video format.
The fly by wire lens system in the most stupid innovation you have so far. It is so bad for video use so please don’t make that kind of system for your lenses again.
We need Zeiss Loxia for video productions! Give us 14mm 24mm 85mm 135mm
No more f4 zoom lenses please! The 24-70mm f/4 FE is terrible. the contrast is bad and the shrpest isnt great as the Zeiss 24-70mm f2.8
What else can I say? oh the battery life! Can we have battery w/ double or triple the capacity of your current battery? Thank you!
this looks like a letter to santa claus. Do you even own any sony gear?
I’m heavily invested on A-mount lenses bro. em Zeiss lenses is what I got! I have more full frame cameras than you could ever think of and I have both A and E lol
We begged Sony for a full frame e-mount years ago and they answered back with the A7 series cameras and I love my new A7S so much! It’s like Christmas all summer long for me. I know Sony listen because they did released the things we asked them before in the past.
Now, many of us are begging Sony to redirect all its resources to e-mount because e-mount is superior in video than the a-mount w/ its capability of mounting different types of lenses. I’m an A-mount user myself with plenty of expensive zeiss lenses and I will be so happy if they release a professional e-mount camera with on sensor SteadyShot so just I can use my non-stabilized A-mount lenses properly.
Maybe you can enlighten me on the whole steady shot issue. I took a long break from photography. I went from 35mm, 645, 4×5 film to aps-c digital in one jump. I’ve never shot a stabilized anything until 2 years ago. In the old days you’d buy fast film and then resort to a tripod in order to get the shutter speed we wanted. I don’t see how steady shot does much unless you have a static subject in the first place because steady shot does nothing for motion blur. I can see boosting iso making more sense for moving subjects. Shouldn’t all good photographers have a tripod? What am I missing with steady shot…I just don’t get it. Is it a video thing?
for the record I’m shooting a NEX7 with a kit lens and all my old Contax/Zeiss legacy glass from 30 years ago.
There are situations where you can’t use a tripod. I shoot wedding with a99 and teh steadyshot feature is the greatest feature in that camera besides it being a full frame w/ EVF.
with SteadyShot it basically allows you to shoot w/o any tripod. It is perfect for run and gun situation where you have to constantly moving.
with steadyshot you don’t have to boost the ISO setting therfore you’ll get better image quality shooting at lower ISO
with steadyshot I can use 1/60 shutter just enough to freeze a human being in a longer focal lenght lenses beyond 50mm.
The on sensor steadyshot technology is one of teh greatest innovation of Sony and therfore it is a MUST HAVE for their next professional emount camera.
And I agree, good photographers should have a tripod. ..but smart and adaptive photographers will shoot Sony and take advantage of all the techonological advancement they provide and be ahead of the game than evryone else. The possibilities with what you can get form Sony technology are numerous!
How does the 1/60 steady shot compare to the same 1/60 done on a tripod? I’m a tripod junkie… If the subject isn’t moving, I’m using a tripod and I don’t feel it really slows me down.
The SteadyShot advantage has dissipated though, as there are now plenty of stabilized lenses for other mounts. And truthfully, the newer stabilized lenses work better than ibis. Even with ibis on the a99, on primes and shorter lenses, I get no more than 1 stop of stabilization. I’ve gotten 3-4 stops of benefit from trying newer stabilized CaNikon.
Enlighten me please:
How shall a-mount get new users without the entry level cameras?
new users should buy the a3500, a5100 or a6000. Sony marketing should focus on selling these cameras so Sony can get new e-mount lens buyers.
why would you buy the a58 or a3X if the e-mount counterpart is far more superior?
I think confidence in A-mount pretty much destroyed now.
I’m selling three A-mount lenses this week and will be adding the E 70-200mm f/4 to my collection. I’ll be down to just the A77 and 16-50 f/2.8 – no idea how long I will keep those.
I could be very wrong and A-mount may well last for years, but it doesn’t matter, E-mount is a way more flexible system for me personally, and I’m kind of sick of owning the two systems.
that sounds like a smart choice.
If the newest sensor does not see A mount first the future will go very badly for Sony
Nope.
I like your attempt at blackmail.
Give Big Bad Barry what he wants, or you will suffer Mr Sony.
On the contrary, why not test everything in E-Mount gadgets first, and then bring out a mature professional offering for the Alpha?
Because A mount users are not willing to settle for Sloppy Seconds…and when Canikon enters the mirrorless ring for real they will mop the floor with Sony.
Sony will need to make full high speed AF available to Canikon lenses on E mount or even Sloppy Seconds will be beyond thier reach.
At the moment I can’t see any reason why Canikon would mop the floor with Sony. Maybe because of their existing user base but not because of making better cameras. And with marketing fails like Canon did just some days ago they are at high risk of loosing their own user base as well…
Because Canikon has a real system…not just bits and pieces of stray technology that dont work with each other.
Sony has cutting edge technolgy and ABSOLUTELY NOTHING ELSE.
As for Canons latest marketing…it did exactly what they wanted and everyone is still talking about it….they never intended to link the promo with anything real…it was JUST PUBLICITY NOTHING MORE.
Sorry Barry, I think you need to see the doctor now. You can’t be drunk or have fever for months!
Sony will never fully support Canikon lenses. It is just another one of your fanciful ideas.
I really hope it satisfies you everytime you keep calling E-mount cameras “gadgets” and E-mount users “trolls”.
You are one of the biggest haters on this site. If you could activated your brain just a little bit, you would recognize, that those future A-mount bodies are only possible due to all those “trolls” with their “gadgets”.
Please hating Sony and a lot of their users for going with the time. The only one who trolls here since some
weeks is actually you…
Sad but true.
I’m all for the development and success of E-Mount.
I don’t hate on E-Mount users, only trolls.
Read what Sqweezy wrote below, that’s a good example of what I mean.
You can’t call somebody a troll just because you don’t agree with them.
He gave a perfectly legitimate opinion. You don’t have to like it, but that doesn’t make him a troll.
he, he, good old barry, even sony’s last year sensor is twice better than canon’s latest one
oh Barry, and why should the A-mount be first? To make you feel better?
Because otherwise Sony will lose all thier A mount customers now and all thier E mount customers when Canikon enters the competition.
Sony in general does not know how to compete.
Unless thier technology is so far beyond the competition that they have no competition they cant sell product.
Sony thinks they can monopolize the mirrorless market and so is not desighning full compatability into E mount.
The competition will make mirrorless compatable with thier current system…or they will wait until they can do so before introducing it.
Sony will be stuck with a partly thoght out system that isnot fully compatable with anything.
This new sensor is Sony’s last bridge to yhier A mount customers…if they choose to burn this bridge…
So you think if Canon would finally catch up with Sony in Sensor resolution next year, all A-mount users would switch to Canon? Barry you need more sleep.
He needs more than sleep.
No I think many A mount users preffer Sony sensors to Canon sensors and will therefore switch to Nikon instead.
Seeing as the D800 has been out for a while with (different variants of) the Sony 36MP sensor, I guess it’s too late already?
Many Sony users I have talked to have already switched to the D810.
Some have not decided if they will ever buy sony again..others have.
A-mount still hasn’t seen the 36mp sensor… I hope before the new one comes out, that’s at least what a-mount will see before.
Makes sense.
APS-C E-Mounts for entry-level, vacations and ladies.
FE for those high-end enthusiasts and pros who mostly do video and static object / posed photography.
A77-II for the photo enthusiasts.
New FF A-Mount for high-end enthusiasts and pros.
In this regard, longer development cycles make sense. FF A-Mount is not a gadget that you want to change often anyway. I could also live with the slower lens development, since there’re good options by Tamron and Sigma.
E-Mount trolls in the comments have to realize that DSLRs aren’t going anywhere. Yes, DSLR market will shrink, but it is a part of the future. For many people a small camera body is a disadvantage, and top-notch AF is essential – if you’re shooting events. No A9 with some kind of adapter will replace a proper A99-II.
You finally got it! 🙂
Now please stop calling E-mount users trolls and we can live together peacefully. Thanks!
I don’t call E-Mount users trolls.
I call trolls those people who claim that Sony should abandon the development of A-Mounts in favor of their system, just because they want more attention to themselves.
From reading the last of your 100 comments, you and Barry are actually the ones who want to have the most attention to themselves. It seems you both cant even imagine the E-mount is the future. Now just be happy that A-mount is going to continue and stop hating “E-mount trolls”
Thank you
No, we don’t accept the assertion that E-Mount is THE future.
It is A PART of the future, but not ALL of it.
well that’s what you got now, right? So stop hating!
http://cs308523.userapi.com/v308523736/c43/mYKH8xBg_6o.jpg
fair enough… I will try to ignore all you posts then. Happy life!
LMAO…….
So what you’re saying is that if a mirrorless with an SLR like form factor has better AF than DSLRs…it would still replace DSLRs.
Sure. Provided there’re also the lenses, like f/2.8 zooms and such, yes, DSLR would be dead.
Hmmm… Fair enough.
What?
Do I need to get myself a pair of knockers to use a NEX-7??
Then it’s cheaper to go FF…
This lady called Trey Ratcliff makes some pretty nice money with her snapshots caught by APS-C E-mount camera. I’m really surprised that her entry level photography skills and entry level camera can earn her for the living….
There’re many variations and use cases, of course.
And yet you seem thoroughly unable to give the impression you understand that.
Should I put “in general…” before every sentence?
No, because you generalise way too much already.
Like Sony products in general, the entry models will just show up with no hoopla, most of the time Admin does not hear anything until a couple days before release.
Nice, still hoping for an a8/9 in January/February. I’m one of those who really have no use at all for large camera bodies regardless of the size of the lens to go with it.
If the release of the a77-2 is any indication, the camera body release schedule for a-mount bodies may be shorter not longer. The time between a700 and a77 was three years, whereas the time between the a77 and the mark II was 2.5 years. If the a99-2 is released in the first half of next year, it will also be ahead of the 9 series 3 year schedule at 2.25 to 2.5 years.
Personally, I think there should be 4 a-mount bodies – a budget friendly aps-c ($499), a77-2, a88 (basically a99 with wifi and better AF/video – under $1500) and a high res a99-2 (with full frame AF coverage – $2500 to 3k). I prefer the a99-2 be more expensive if Sony doesn’t cheap out on the bells & whistles (buffer, processing, AF, GPS, video codec/better readout, 14 bit raw all modes, built-in wireless flash triggering, etc).
If Sony shares the bodies of the two aps-c and two FF (like a7/r/s) that would bring manufacturing costs down. If Sony doesn want to lengthen the a-mount releases this is fine too – but a commitment to a-mount improvements via firmware would go along way. Camera firmware in general should become more like a phone OS with a major release each year.
The reason for the big gap of 3 years between the A700/A77 and A900/A99 was because of the transition to SLT. I don’t think you can look at that particular release schedule as being indicative of anything.
Sure it has had to do with the SLT development.
However you can be sure that big part of the reason was economical decision.
It was an economical decision to take the A700 off the market before the replacement was ready?
You’ll have to try a bit harder to convince me on that one.
The gap between Minolta 7D and A700 also was 3 years. So it is absolutely normal in this price range, not a big gap at all. Canon is even slower for example with their 7D with now has a ridiculous 7D mark II.
Three years is a pretty standard time for development between models on the upper half of camera lines (Canon 5D series, etc.). For Sony specifically, the only data one has to go one is the time between gen 1 and gen 2. Nonetheless, given the maturity of dSLR/SLT cameras an 2.5 to 3 year release cycle is fine.
I agree with everything except the a88 stuff.
How could you justify a price tag of 1500USD for a ”a88” if it will have better AF speed and continuous shooting performance than a7? Even the a99 doesn’t sell that cheap! I would say, the current a99 is fine if they only update the AF module and use the latest 24Mpx sensor, fw and codecs and charge 2000USD for it. Then offer a true a99 with the 36Mpx sensor from the a7R at 3000USD. And then, there is space for a true high end camera. Something capable of shooting continuously with AF tracking and AE at 12-14fps, using a 12 or 16Mpx sensor with max. ISO 409600 and ”unlimited buffer”, Great AF coverage of the frame (at least 60 to 80% of coverage), Built-in vertical grip with a 4500-5000USD price tag (along other pro features found on cameras like the 1DX or D4S).
Lenses like the SAL70200G2, SAL300F28G2, SAL70400G2 or SAL500F40G deserves a true high end camera to match their performance for Sports and Event coverages.
So we agree that an a88 should exist with more or less the same features, you simply think it should cost 33% more. I think it would be wise for there to be a camera at the Canon 6d, Nikon d610 price point. Re-using the a99 body and possibly well-sold a99/a7 sensor would mean fairly inexpensive component costs.
For the a99-2, I personally hope it features the high res, possibly stacked sensor and skip the 36mp sensor. For the 1D-x, high speed body – I don’t think it makes sense. Sony cannot compete in the small pro action/sports segment as of now. As a 1d-x shooter and someone who frequently deals with press photographers, I can tell you that first Sony needs to work on Pro services, software/firmware and networking (for rapid image dissemination) before throwing out such body.
The current wi-fi implementation is basically for selfies & Facebook/twitter – it is not robust enough for serious work. I can FTP a 100 photos and have them out there (from 1d-x) before getting out a handful via a7 wifi networking. The software needs serious improvement.
The admin is making this rubbish up but you mugs have sucked it up and responded, driving traffic to this website.
When admin has no “rumours” to report (copy and paste from other rumour websites) he makes stuff up or creates a sensationalist fanboy posts like this.
The fact is…he has no idea what is happening about the A mount. And neither do his “sources” unless they work for Sony imaging department…which i very much doubt
He can only guess…which is as good as my guess.
And my guess is…they have moved resources that were working on A-mount…and put them into E-mount. Sony daren’t say that they have finished with A-mount because of the max exodus of customers from Sony to other brands that will likely happen. Instead, they will encourage customers to join the E-mount system…and gradually forget about A-mount.
Sony has no clear direction for anything it is doing at the moment.
It seems to be testing the water in every branch of imaging it can find…medium format…gadgets…mirrorless…
No real and serious photography would commit to a company with no clear direction and track record of not backing up it’s products with depth of accessories etc…
Have you an idea how much cost a complete R&D department is costing?
Sony can’t keep two complete R&D teams in parallel, because if they would, the cameras and lenses would be double the price…
Time to market. Market demands E-mount – so they do. For many of us the so caused delay on A-mount releases sucks, but that’s real life and has nothing to do with the “A-mount is dying” topic….
I agree that we see a lot of Admin guess here, but that’s fair enough as he puts a lot of effort in any case to this site. And as long as you don’t have to pay for the site you either accept it or you stay away.
It is fact that we have few rumors at the time her, but it apparently meets a lot of people here.
A&E mount share the same R&D budget and they share vast majority of technologies.
The only area where it’s “this or that” are lenses. Sony if it’d want can relatively cheaply release near-identical spec-wise bodies for both: A and E-mounts.
partly BS
First sentence – agreed.
The can spec wise release a lot of things in parallel, but if ressources are missing you have an issue.
(SR5) A-mount is dead. Sony is doing what Olympic had done to the Four Thirds users after the flagship E5 released, saying that yeah Four Thirds will continue… focusing on high end… blah blah blah…
(SR5)”el_cabron” is living in his limited own world
If Sony (AGAIN) thinks they can be Leica – then they’re (AGAIN) gravely mistaken.
No mount will survive with only high-end bodies. Vast majority of people shooting high-end bodies first used low-end and there needs to be a clear upgrade path (both: horizontal and vertical) for mount to live and gain new users.
1. Leica just intruded an APS-C mount
2. Sony has more than one mount
current A-mount users ARE at least low end and will (the rumors being true) get te option to upgrade to higher end.
The obvious thing is, Sony doesn’t want to support NEW entry level users as they shall go with E-mount.
It’s absolutely Sony’s choice, they know their market and sales mich better than we do.
A99 = Very good SLT (not flawless, but very good)
A77 = Very good SLT (not flawless, but very good)
ZA’s 1635, 24, 2470, 50, 85, 135 are minimum good to very good
G 70200,70300,70400,300,500 are minimum good to very good
Good to very good 3rd party lenses:
Tamron 2470
Tamron 100 Macro USD
Sigma 1835
Sigma 50 A
Sigma 150 Macro
Sigma 180 Macro
So, why the f..k are so many people talking this “A mount is dead” -trash?
Because A mount users are never happy. Even when the a99 came out…whining. E mount news? whining. RX news? whining. Zeiss lens news, even for A mount…? whining coming. G lens for A mount comin…? whining being brewed. You get the point. A mount users want A mount Sony to be like Canon EF or Nikon F….then they would (MAYBE) not whine so much.
I don’t know, all of the countless a-mount users over at Dyxum seem pretty content. I think the unhappy vocal minority of a-mount users like to have their group therapy sessions on this forum.
HAHA! Now that is class!
“SAR A Mount Group Therapy”
Sponsored by The Former Nikon and Canon Coalition of the Willing.
+1
There are a lot of strange people here (not all) among the A-mount users. Never satisfied with anything. Just whining.
They were always crying for a real Pro body, now rumor says there will be this Pro body and they are disappointed that there are no entry level bodies.
REDICULOUS
Does that mean they’ll back up what they’ve released with firmware updates?
Firmware updates for A-mount camera bodies? You mean actual ones not just lens profile updates? You’ll have to forgive me for laughing at the thought of Sony supporting their cameras!
Even Canon saw the impossible and released a few updates for their cameras in the past. Surely, Sony can do it do. Like the time they’ve done it with Nex 5.
YES ! That is the Correct Answer. Now there needs to be a WOW A-Mount PRO Sports. and Frankly a NEW PRO Radio Flash. (hopefully , with “Internal” Radio Flash Triggering). 🙂
No low or mid cost FF DSLR in A mount is a mistake. I waited and waited for years and finaly just bought a Nikon D600/610. Sony, there is much profit in A) selling something like a D610 and D750 and B) it does not have to have an electronic finder or, how about a model with either a penta prism OR electronic viewfinder?! Let the customer pick. Some might buy one of each!
Looks like that’s the wright strategy in the imaging business right now:
1)
Sooner or later mirror boxex have to be abandoned and all
mounts/systems transition to shorter flange distance, Sony is one of the
leading here being one of the first with its mirror-less E mount, and it lens line is getting populated;
2)
Maintain the existing A mount, but only at pro level, i.e. support
customers that have already invested in lenses and equipment, but no
entry level equipment because you don’t want new customers to enter this
mount;
3) Develop the new E mount into a mature system that will
have full pro capacity in the next 5-10 years. For now mainly needs good
entry level and enthusiast cameras and these customers will grow
withthe system!
In 10 years time people will be wondering why people
used these clunky mirro boxes in the past and keep whining that Canon
and Nikon are not populating their mirror-less lineups fast enough
Come on! You really believe there is a future for OVF at Sony? zero
I agree with the entry level full frame, but Sony Introduced the A7 at that time instead.
If OVF is a must have for you though, you made the only right choice and switched to Nikon. My personal believe is that the EVF is far superior though.
What OVF? o_0 All modern A-Mounts have EVF…
sorry this was actually a response to “point” below
I don’t think the OVF has any future, Sony or otherwise!
I have watched DPReview interview with one of the Sony’ top design heads Kento Hanjo. In his interview he clearly said that A-mount is not going anywhere at the moment and E-mount is definitely the focus at the time. As E-mount still lacks the power of A-mount in terms of auto focus, the two will exist in parallel till such time E-mount surpasses A-mount. So as i see it next 3-4 years we will still see some movement on A-mount and then it will die(may be). Obviously we will get adapters to use existing lenses, but the only missing element is IBIS in E-mount body which i pray comes through. Then i have no problems to move on
I’d think it’s hard to ignore this reality. A mount will eventually die. It’s going on 30 years already. I just want a better A7 to adapt with my lenses and I’ll be happy.
This is a big part of why Sony is doing much if what it is doing:
resized.com/digital-cameras-gone/?utm_content=bufferb64be&utm_medium=social&utm_source=twitter.com&utm_campaign=buffer
Okay, this sounds better. The e mount system fills the low thru high end range really well, and it follows market trends to have longer updates on pro systems. I think almost everyone peeved about a mounts treatment is a a99 or a77 user anyways, so if Sony wanted the a mount to reflect just these two systems, all they need to do to keep us happy is 2-5 good to amazing lenses a year, and a new body every other year alternating a77 and a99. No more low end lenses though.. Why would you if a mount no longer reflects low end cameras?
I think they should have four models A66, A77, A88, and A99. Launch a new model every six months (like clock work), so each model is refreshed every two years, in order to ensure the public knows that you’re still serious.
Plus it’d keep the naysayers at bay.
On other A-mount news Barry thinks that Sony have conspired to break his Sigma lens, it’s hilarious!
http://www.sonyalpharumors.com/sony-tidbits-134/#disqus_thread
LOL. He’s getting worse.
Maybe his head will explode soon. There’ll be shards of tinfoil everywhere.
I think it already has, although it likely imploded and all that’s coming out now is a few remaining neurons that are badly misfiring.
The guy is certifiably insane, belligerent, self-centered and just an all around A-hole of epic proportions that has very little knowledge about anything but thinks he is a digital imaging savant. Maybe if we all just ignore hime, then he and “duott” can have their own little threads of mutual insanity.
in tears….lmao
thank you
comment? I got nothing.
Sony said this same “E-mount’s success caught us by surprise” couple of years ago but to justify the lack of lens ecosystem for E-mount and now they use the same excuse for lack of A-mount support? LOL.
(FFS stupid moderation!)
They also said the same about the A55! Shame they didn’t release a bunch of lenses to capitalise on it.
Too little (or nothing at all) too late for me I’m afraid. I’ve invested a LOT of money into A mount over the years and have suffered through their half-assed “systems”, never being able to find parts / accessories for their cameras locally, never being able to find any rental equipment for events, and paying the European “Sony tax” which makes their products by far the most expensive in this market. Watching Sony destroy any potential they may have by simply throwing every idea they have onto the market to see what sticks, then quickly all but abandoning their current client base is painful to say the least.
Don’t get me wrong – Sony has some nice cameras out with very promising features…the problem is that they don’t spend enough time on a single platform to develop it to its full potential. Let’s release a lightning fast camera with a one second buffer. Let’s release a “professional” flash that melts down after a few minutes of normal usage. Let’s release a full frame camera with focus points only in the middle 1/3 of the frame. Let’s charge more for our products than our well-established competition. Let’s release a new body instead of fixing issues with older perfectly usable cameras via firmware releases. Let’s completely drop our largest user demographic to focus on yet another new platform (which we won’t fully build out). Let’s not share any information with our users because we have no clue what’s going to stick.
This is not about mount vs. mount – I have both A and E mount gear. I just have no confidence in Sony as a company to follow through with anything they do at this point. I’ve sold my a99, almost all of my G and Zeiss glass, will get rid of my a77 when it gets back from the shop, and my NEX-5 will likely remain my go-to travel camera.
As soon as the other manufacturers get on the EVF bandwagon I’m jumping ship completely and without regrets. It’s been an interesting ride Sony – you guys are just making yourselves more irrelevant with each passing day. I’m looking for a complete, working system that I can depend on with some semblance of industry / 3rd party support infrastructure – not a monthly body release that will completely rob your attention from the rest of your existing customers. Unfortunately Sony, you’re not worth my time and attention anymore.
I moved away from Canon to Sony thinking they would deliver on the NEX systems. Now I have the NEX-5R, NEX-7 and A7 and only one of their lens and I too have lost all confidence in Sony.
1 lens because you thought The camera is all that matters? LOL
Come up with some better stories next time, this is even too bad to be a troll
Wow! Such hostility. What? You can’t process any valid reason for why just one lens?
It’s only Monday but this comment has pole position for the most stupid post of the week. Going to be tough beating this one.
This still sounds like a phase out. High end products for those who already have lenses sitting around. If you dont pull in the lower to mid level you cant grow the user base.
To me it all revolves around glass. I don’t buy cameras as much as I do glass. A mount still has the better options, but not by that much. In fact, taking a brief look online FE mount I believe now has more Zeiss options than A mount- albeit some glaring gaps. We have a 85mm 1.4 coming out for E mount and my only- literally the only missing link- is a 135mm F2-F4. Who cares, I guess I can use an adaptor for that.
Then again, it doesn’t matter much these days. Some of the best lenses are now being made by third parties. FE for all intensive purposes give’s you access to them all. But then again, I’m a hobbyist with an occassional paid gig every once in awhile. If I did this professionally for a living I wouldn’t even be considering Sony- not A mount anyway.
I’ve invested a lot myself- thousands. I think I have a car sitting on my shelf worth of camera gear. It’s not all Sony anymore though. There’s no satisfaction of “completing” a system or building it up the way you want. That’s what many hobbyists and even pro’s want. Half screw drive this, gaps with higher end Zeiss glass- still waiting on the UWA (anytime there Sony). I don’t mind adaptors, it’s seriously not a big deal. But I didn’t pay all of this money to have to bridge my camera over to a freaking lens.
In 2006 Sony was the default choice for high end gear at bargain basement prices. In succession they released budget friendly cameras that cut the competition usually by hundreds of dollars. Many of us users now got hooked on the system because of this. That all changed with SLT- cost was no longer a major advantage. The A99 tipped the scales which is fine if it was more competitive. To me at this point it’s basic math, no more entry level A mount cameras means no more entry level consumers. You can’t have two systems competing for market share either. There is not enough product differentiation for Sony to make any bold claims of A mount being for higher end pro use. A mount will eventually be phased out- it’s just the way it is. At least we can all plan our exit accordingly and are afforded at minimum I think 5 years before the writing on the wall is perfectly clear.
so basically there is nothing new to post. another topic that invites people to fill this mesage board with random whine. oh boy the next months are getting really ‘interesting’…
I agree. It’s the same thing over and over but just looked at from different positions.
Medium format
Exactly! Minor differences now across brands in terms of IQ and lenses. The FF market is over saturated and APSC offers similar if not completely indistinguishable results now. Time to jump the gap and bring Medium Format to the masses!
I still believe apsc and 135 format will take the majority of the market, yes sony is making the worlds smallest full frame, and yes they may even be able to put a 645 format sensor into a body around the bronica RF645 or fuji 645 rangefinders size, but what they can’t do, and this is what everybody can’t do so far, is to reduce the lens size when you go larger format,
this is what happened in film age, 6×7 was meant to be the best format, it has a perfect ratio, the format is the largest handheld possible size before your hand shake involves too much to the sharpness, and it uses roll film, but when it comes to reasonable lens dimensions, not very many people like it except the professionals.
Mirrorless medium format on E-mount with changable backs and wifi. +Video
If A-mount still аlive, where Otus for it?
Thats a 3rd party lens with AF for an astronomical cost. The market for such a lens is minuscule for Sony users.
If E-mount still аlive, where Otus for it?
Sonly and CZ have an agreement for Zeiss to design exclusive designs for A-mount. Where else can you get AF Zeiss lenses?
*******A-mount is dead***** Data rate is slow. Aperture control is slow. Autofocus will shift. IBIS is bad, easily overheat for video, not effective for tele-lense. Lens design and coating are outdated.
E-mount is the future. Data rate is high, so AF can be theoretically much faster than A-mount. Face detection, Eye-focus, complex real tine image analysis… Artificial Intelligent auto focus is the future. OSS is much better then IBIS as it is len specific. Both apsc and ff lenses are much more elegantly designed then the A-mount lense. FF lenses are all weather shielded. Faster and longer lenses are coming.
+1
This because that system needs to be broadened as soon as possible before the competition catches up
WTF? At least in lens term, the “competition” is a already far, far ahead of the e-mount.
lolwut? the competitor’s lens is also e-mount lens LOL. with e-mount u can use any lens you want
maybe if you only use MF..
have you heard of metabones AF lens adapter for Canon lenses? I use one and I LOVE IT! the L lenses really shines on Sony A7R and I sold my 5DIII because it sucked compare to the quality you get from the A7R.
Slow autofocus only…not fully comapatable…and Nikon wont autofocus at all.
You are confusing a lens you can stick on a body with one that actually works as it is intended to work.
Metabone adapter sucks because it takes forever to get a focused shot & it drains the battery in no time. I can’t even get 100 shots with a fully charged battery with a canon L lens adapted with AF & IS enabled. It’s a joke.
The falsehood of your statement is the most major obstacle to future E mount success.
E mount is FULLY compatable with nothing except native E mount lenases…either slow autofocus, no autofocus, no image stabilization or fully manual settings …..or some combination of more than one of these limitations…occur in every lens other than native E mount .
A full high speed AF solution for Canon and Nikon lenses is Sony’s only chance of competing when Canon and Nikon enter the mirrorless arena.
I do actually wish your statement were true because the new lens I want to get will not be made for Sony..and although I would like to be able to buy the next Sony camera It is increasingly looking like that may not be an option
Show me all those great Canon lenses we should adapt to our A7 before buying the native lens!
If you look at Canon, many buy Sigma, Tamron or other third party lenses that are better and cheaper than their own lens. Yea, they have a lot of lenses and few good ones under them. They are all very expensive though and I wouldn’t call them “compatible” with small mirrorless cameras.
Canon’s lens lineup is big but still a bit overrated imho. And if Canon comes up with a new mount for mirrorless they will phase the exact same problems as Sony does, just around 5 years later…
If I were to agree with you that Sigma and Tamron lenses are more popular then Canikon compatability is just as important becaise Sigma will not build its most expensive lenses for Sony…and all of tjem will build them first in canon mount.
Furthermore far more people already oun Canikon lenses hence a much much larger potential customer base.
Yep, people like you are a reason why people constantly complain about E-mount. Adapters in no way replace native lenses. Never have, never will.
I know adapters are a new fancy thing for kids born in ’90s, but some of us already went through an age of adapters back in a film age and they don’t really work in a long term.
The question being, what happens when they do catch up?
You’ll then have a stagnated A-mount that could have been more profitable had you not lost the old Minolta user-base and an E-mount under attack from the competition who have leapfrogged you by playing the waiting game.
At some point you have got to worry less about the competition and worry more about your existing users, those who are the very people that could help you fend off competition in the first place if you actually cared about them.
Please list all Full Frame MLC alternatives.
And mark those that are far ahead in lens lineup!
Why the obsession with the full frame? Sure, you can adapt lenses but if you compare the native lenses which Sony cares about, then Fuji X system has,
-Much better ultrawide lenses (Both an excellent prime and a zoom)
-Short portrait lens which Sony doesn’t even have
-A tele zoom with comparable quality altough slower but much cheaper
-Much better kit lens and standard zoom with reasonable prices
-Faster normal lenses
If you look at it this way, Full Frame loses any advantage it has.
Chief Marketing Officers were asked to name their top marketing objectives and this is how Sony appears to think too:
59% said acquiring new customers.
30% said retaining customers.
26% said lifetime value and customer satisfaction.
* Forrester Research 2011 (the figures aren’t meant to add up to 100, so don’t bother saying it).
What marketing officer isn’t going to say acquiring new customers is top priority. That’s the whole point of marketing. I’m sure it is the same for Canikon.
You are missing the point of the survey that marketing should be about retaining customers and existing customer satisfaction, yet most CMOs are not doing it or even thinking about doing it.
It is five times harder to get new customers than retain existing ones that may be swapping to competitors because you are ignoring them (Sony!).
Concentrate on what you have is basically the message from that survey and you have just fallen in the same marketing trap that these CMOs have assuming that marketing is about getting new customers at the expense of losing your existing customers!
All EVF cameras (a99, a77, a7, NEX7, etc) have LOST pro functionality from the previous generation OVF cameras. These are things that reviewers don’t talk about.
On EVF cams, AE Lock toggle is cleared every time playback is used. Try it… OVF cameras retain the meter setting even after playback. EVF is a hassle having to reset every time. What purpose is AE Toggle Lock if it doesn’t lock after reviewing image?
On EVF cams, magnified payback focus always goes to center point. OVF cams magnify at the selected AF point. Ver convenient and fast for field editing.
Can’t fire a single shot when using a99 multi shot. a99 has a hair trigger. a900 has great tactile feel.
a7X has no tactile feedback on two stage shutter release. Mushiest button ever. Hard to predict action with that.
Sorry, but EVF is NOT a replacement for a900 Intelligent Preview. Especially for flash, it’s much easier to adjust Intelligent Preview as a test shot, rather than having to adjust EVF with MULTIPLE menu dives while holding camera steady to view subject.
EVF cams have various major flash sync problems, with both smart and dumb flashes. EVF a7 cams don’t allow flash sync with non-chipped lenses. All frames black. EVF a7 fires adapted smart flash ALWAYS at full power, regardless of settings, when using Phottix Odin radio slave combined with Maxxum lens adapted with smart LAEA lens adapters. What a kludged hassle to deal with on a job. Just awful. Flash delay with a99 is ridiculous. OVF a900/700 work perfectly fine in all situations.
Lens adapters of all kinds make the lenses wobble when focusing/zooming. Who wants that?
The Sony MIS to iISO flash adapter smashes crease across the bridge of my nose when used in vertical shooting. It’s the most uncomfortable and PAINFUL combo. WORST ever, and I’ll give ten bucks to anyone who can tell me where I lost those extra flash shoe caps.
NO NATIVE OFF CAMERA FLASH CABLES…. STILL? How many freaking adapters does Sony want me to use?
EVF cams blank out from time to time. Just go blank, black for twenty seconds without warning. Then come back to life without reason. Very unsettling.
EVF cams destroy batteries fast. What use is a compact camera that needs a pocket full of batteries? I consider 30% to be end of battery life, because the camera can die without warning at any time after that.
EVF Alphas should allow for both wide open shooting, and closed aperture shooting as option. They each have advantages and disadvantages. But we only get one or the other depending if using E-Mount or A-Mount.
There’s a lot more… Sony should pay attention to the Mind of Minolta. Gamers don’t know much about shooting in the field.
So what’s your suggestion. Are you even shooting Sony now?
Yes still suffering Sony because of my lens/flash/body investment. I suggest Sony return pro level features.
Optical viewfinders suck in comparison to electronic viewfinders. You’re totally full of $hit.
Way to avoid the subject. I didn’t say anything about EVF being worse. Are you still stuck on that? Why would I own so many EVF cameras if I didn’t see certain advantages? Now would you like to address the actual comments? Or are you the one who’s full of $hit, because you eat the $hit $ony feeds you without question?
lol. What a troll. Pathetic.
You’re spot on about the AE Lock issue, that’s just stupid.
Also, I can use the Spot AE Lock with any button I want and the metering scale inside the EVF will tell me the exposure difference between the locked metering and the current metering. It’s bloody useful for judging exposure. However, there’s no way having that on the rear LCD, unless you use the For Viewfinder mode, which has no live view at all.
Are interns coding the software for these cameras?
I love my a850. I have used the a99 several times and while the camera is great for low light compared to my a850, there are still things to be improved like the slideshow thing (that has been reduced but somehow is still present). And I adore the Intelligent Preview. I know Sony implemented this since they were not able to put LiveView on the a900/a850 (don’t know why) but somehow, even after using cameras with LiveView, I have come to the conclusion that this feature is so useful to use because you can mess with the settings without having to stick the camera to your face while you change the settings or even worse, use it at arms lenght.
BUT, I can tell you, you can shoot wide open with EVF cameras. Just look for the Live View Display Settings and turn it off. It’s the best thing they have done with EVF cameras since the fiasco of the a33/a55 (anyone here remember those times trying to take pictures with external flash units and not being able to see a single thing?).
I see some future for EVF cameras,and I love cameras like the a7S or a6000, but somehow I keep returning to the a850.
EDIT: If only Sony could release a single well done model of OVF cameras with their current techonlogy. Something to compete against the D4S or 1DX. I would gladly pay 6500USD for it.
Sony focusing on E mount is a no brainer.
Mirrorless is the industry future…period.
A mount is a photo-only system and has no use in pro video. Every E mount lens Sony makes helps it photo division AND its Pro video division.
A mount has some life today and in the near future but it will eventually be replaced by mirrorless and E mount.
Canikon are both right behind Sony on this. So no…running over to those guys wont help you in the long run.
Mirrors are dinosaurs. When Sony releases a Pro full sized “A9x” body…thats truly the end of A mount.
+1
Studio strobe job today… I’ll be taking the a900’s, leaving the EVF “pro” cams at home.
Thanks for repeating the same old line. Next time consider some of the real issues that pros need, as this thread suggests.
The issues with EVF will be worked out. Those are minor obstacles your citing.
I didn’t cite minor obstacles. I cited the camera I’ll be using TODAY instead of Sony’s newest. The a900 presents no obstacles. My client will be pleased without watching me fiddle flashworks on EVF camera.
Besides, I’m not convinced Sony believes there are any “issues” with EVF. They have nothing to “work out”. Easier to just kill the flash system altogether, or make it such a hassle that no one wants to use it.
‘Studio strobe job today…’
‘watching me fiddle flashworks on EVF camera…’
you put a flash on your camera for a studio photo shooting? wow you are so pro…
…NOT
NO! NO! You are hypnotized is correct, shooting in studio with strobes on an EVF is really tricky and not fun at all (viewfinder brightness pumping). The viewfinder is searching for the right exposure but it doesn’t know that you are using strobes, so it’s going by the modeling lights.
It needs an EVF lock system to lock off the “exposure” of the EVF.
How hard can that be? I can see how this would suck as it now stands- but fixable right?
Yes quite fixable, but I really don’t see many people complaining about it and I’m wondering why? Are there really that few pro sony studio shooters? Anyway all it would take is a dedicated manual control for viewfinder exposure/brightness/gain.
Its in the menu that looks like the cog/gear, look for Live View Display Setting and turn the Setting to effect off. It will then essentially mimic a OVF.
Yep I know, thats basic, and it would be extremely dark with setting effect on. With setting effect on: It totally pumps and searches for the best viewfinder exposure making studio strobe shooting very difficult and annoying. (imagine brightly light white backdrop, or shooting against a black wall with strobe, against white the subject is too dark, against black the subject is too bright and no way to adjust or lock.)
He’s talking out of his A$$. The number one professional camera being sold is the D750 currently. It’s outselling the entire A7 series, and the D810 as well. The 7D MK II, also selling extraordinarily well.
The future remains SLR, and those who think other wise are in the minority. Nikon, and Canon have stated the mirror-less market is too small, and unprofitable to be taken serious.
Mirror-less types keep talking about the future of photography like their experts, while analysts (the actual experts) are predicting less than 25% penetration.
The future of professional photography remains in Canon’s or Nikon’s hands. Sure Sony has some neat toys to play with, but both Canon, and Nikon will likely integrate most of those “neato” features into their next generation of SLR cameras.
Ok….let’s see what Canon’s new “E mount” looks like. Even they see the future on the horizon. How much do you want to bet that Nikon is doing their own “E mount” R&D right now too.
20 years from now we will all look back at Sony and say they were the first to make the shift and everybody else followed.
Dont worry…we will still all be using our A mount glass 25 years from now. ..on E mount bodies.
Canon is actually readying a pellicle mirror camera. The patent was announced in Nov 13.
They are the actually masters of pellicle technology, and have been designing this tech since 1968.
So they’ll be either launching a mirror-less version of their current mount, a pellicle version or just not give a crap.
A patent means nothing. Less than nothing. Because if the patent has already been published but without a product, it suggests they aren’t developing it. A long time ago, Sony published a patent for a dSLT with a flip-up mirror. Where is it?
You are so full of $hit, do you actually think anyone believes your bull $hit. 98% of all your statements are false, if you’re trying to grind a ax for Canon or Nikon you’re doing a terrible job. Get a life idiot.
Canon IS rumored to be developing a pellicle miror rebel with a Sony sensor…optimized for slt…some time next year.
what is wrong with these kids these days. Have some manners, yes even on the internet.
There you go troll have a fuc*king cup of the truth moron. They (Canon) have a design, and it was patented in Oct 2013, and it’s a far more advanced version of the technology than Sony is using. Its mirror can go from 0% reflectance to 30%.
Link attached
http://www.canonrumors.com/2013/10/patent-a-pellicle-mirror-by-canon/
Wow! I’m wondering 2 things:
* When Canon will make a camera based on this tech
* If Sony can figure out something similar instead of dumb SLT
They have a mirror-that uses a 1/3 less light coming out soon, and their sensors are getting better weekly.
SLT parity with SLR is only around the corner, then size will be the next complaint (even thought its the lightest FF SLR camera), and something else that’s completely irrelevant the week after they fix that.
“The future remains SLR”.
For how long? A year, two years, ten years, fifty? I’m sure there are luddites out there who really believe they’ll still be using flappy mirror cameras in 2050, but luckily the technology manufacturers make a habit of employing more forward thinking people.
“Fifteen years at the most”
Canon will probably launch a mirror-less version of their current mount in order to retain their clients. Once the technology is ready, and it currently isn’t.
They’ll transition with over 60% of the entire market intact.
Most of the current mirror-less only manufacturers will be squashed.
A mirrorless version of the current EF mount means it will be a compromise. It will have a redundant mirror box – that is no good to anybody. It might please existing lens owners for a bit, but even they will eventually realise an EF mount mirrorless camera is compromised from the beginning.
It needs to be built from the ground up as a short registration distance, no mirror box design.
I’d say 15 years is highly optimistic… or pessimistic, depending on your viewpoint.
Professional camera? With a plastic body and POS shutter, surely you’re joking.
There buying them by the truck load, and does it matter what the build quality is like anymore. After two years its obsolete anyways. Plus you can buy two for the price of one D810.
Plus “it’s the dude that uses the gear that’s the professional, not the camera.”
“the future remains DSLR”
I stopped reading after this. Good luck!
Maybe it ends the E-Mount. If Sony is going to a full body camera that’s mirror-less it’d make more sense to design it for the A-Mount.
Sony’s professional lenses the 16-35mm f/2.8, 24-70 f/2.8, 70-200mm f/2.8, 70-300mm, 70-400mm, 24 f/2.0, 35 f/1.4, 50 f/1.4, 85 f/1.4, 135 f/1.8, and 135 STF, are all ready designed, and ready to go.
When the A-Mount drops the mirror it’ll actually drive A-Mount sales, and almost immediately eliminate the need for the metro sexual squeakier toys.
I wouldn’t buy an E-Mount if my life depended on it. A mirror-less A-Mount will likely blast it out of the water in the near future.
Mirrorless A-mount makes no sense. A-mount protocol is not up-to-date. It is a hardware limitation. E-mount is the future. All the “pro” A-mount lenses you mentioned are not weather shielded, while the many E-mount zeiss lenses are all weather shielded. E-mount lenses are always better than the old A-mount ones…
Er….. My 300mm f2.8 SSM ii, CZ 50/1.4 and 70-200/2.8 SSM ii are weather sealed
Like their award winning 24-70mm f/4. Oops that one is sh|t. And how about the 70-200mm, f/4, yup that isn’t making headlines either.
Oh well maybe the 16-35 is okay, but it’s still sh’t compared to the a-mount’s f/2.8 version.
I can’t think of any A7 series lens that is outstanding. Maybe it’s because of the Zeiss lenses for the A99 make them look like sh!t.
I guess there is the 55mm, but most people prefer 35mm and their f/2.8 is f/2.8 otherwise know sha-it.
But remember, E Mount lenses support BOTH sides of Sony’s business model at the same time. Photo division AND Pro video division. Making new A Mount lenses only benefits ONE SIDE of the company.
Sony Pro video is a BIG part of Sony as a whole.
Sony A7x sales have been strong as well as FS100, FS700. I’m sure the FS7 and other new E Mount cameras in 2015 will completely justify all of the attention that Sony is investing in E Mount.
E mount is going to be a SOLID money maker for Sony in 2015!!
Deal with it….
The E-Mount only enjoys its time in the sun until the 5D MK III is launched, and it will most likely drop like a rock.
Oops Nikon has already done that. Apparently the D750, is outselling the combined sales of the A7 series.
The future seems to be more D750-ish that A7-ish.
Carry on good chap your science fiction sounds entertaining. Maybe you should be a writer.
Again, I don’t think Sony is worried about Nikon. After all, that Nikon is driven by Sony image sensors anyway. Sony owns the Pro broadcast video market where many of these new E mount lenses will be sold and used for.
EVF is so good now that flippy/flappy mirrors are no longer needed. some here say a mirrorless A Mount? Why have a large light box with no mirror? What for? Many seem to want to hold on to a mirror that just is no longer needed these days.
As far as Nikon? If Sony ever pulled the plug on Nikon and stopped selling them sensors, where would Nikon be? They would be stuck buying garbage sensors from Aptina or CMOSIS…this of course would ruin all future Nikon camera performance..
Nikon is actually big “customer” of Sony. Canon is Sony’s only true “competitor”.
The majority of A-Mounts are professional level cameras, and their performance is all that matters to us.
The difference between the A, and E-Mounts flange distances is less than an inch. That’s all, and when you regularly using lenses that between 6″ and 24″ it really doesn’t matter. Especially with a big flash like the 58 or 60.
When you’re used to cameras that continually shoot 10 to 12 fps in poor lighting condition performance does matters.
When your use to shooting at f/1.4 on a regular basis performance does matters.
When you reach for a f/2.8 Zeiss 24-70 or 16-35 lens, and it’s not there then you really realize performance does matter.
It’s a nifty compact camera, but it doesn’t even remotely challenge, any SLT.
Personally I’d buy an A77II over any A7 Series.
It’s outselling it now because it’s new. i would expect this since it just hit the market literally.
And what will the new 5D IV over the III or the II for that matter? The last couple years of updates by Canon have been close to worthless. Canon and Nikon are no longer innovating. Canikon is surviving strictly on their lenses and the photography “tradition”…that old brand “halo” that protects them. They can both keep it if they begin driving the industry again.
As far as technology? Sony is by FAR leading the actual “electronics” and processing part of the industry. (With their sensors and BoinzX chips)
If this continues for years…Sony WILL erode Canikon’s long running marketing advantage. Public opinion WILL slowly sway in Sony’s favor.
A mount? Look,..hate it all you want but Sony thinks it’s on to something with E.
For me? I LOVE my A7s and I have sold 5 of my old A mount lenses in 4 months and picked up 3 new E mount lenses.
I cant see myself ever going back to A Mount again. Once you go E, you never go back.
Get over it.
A-Mount is their platform for dedicated/professional photographers. Just like Sony’s FZ, and PL mounts are dedicated for video cameras.
Sony’s used to maintaining multiple mounts and the E-Mount isn’t going to replace the FZ, PL or A Mounts. You’re not going to see one on a F55 any time soon, and it isn’t going to replace anything.
The E-Mount is their universal mount for non-specialists, designed for entry level products.
The industry standard is the Canon 5D MK III, and when the Canon 5D MK IV is released it will likely become the industry standard.
Only a tiny minority use mirror-less.
LOL you call the 5D mk III “the industry standard”? Give yourself a
rest. It’s maybe one of the most selling FF cameras because there are many Canon users out there. But if a DSLR with 5 year old sensor tech and 30 year old flippy mirror tech is still “industry standard” for you, than good night Canon. But I know, Canon is telling it’s users that DSLR is still the “standard” and most of them blindly follow, BECAUSE THEIR LOVED CANON HAS NOTHING ELSE TO OFFER IN 2014
Sounds good to me…
Good news that A-mount will remain.. honestly if I had to consider changing mounts I’d probably sell my A-mount equipment and move over to Canon. I’m not going to suffer Sony’s whims lightly.
I get it.. E-Mount is cool. E-Mount also has it’s own drawbacks (no body-level image stabilization, for example). But I’ve been a customer since the A-100.. Sony abandons my investment (and therefore me) as a customer, I’ll have to think very hard about continuing to work with their product.
Canon? Rumors say they will come up with something to compete with E-mount. Their DSLR system would be the last bandwagon I would jump in at the moment
They do its called speed. The SLT isn’t designed for the slow meandering crowd. The rumoured 36mp, 12fps A99II is what the entire community is looking forward to.
If I was a professional (wait I am) I’d be looking for something that is competitive with 5D MK III that I use already use.
Comparing the A7 to an A99 is a useless argument. Its like comparing Houses to Condos, Trucks to Cars or Helicopters to Airplanes.
A7 users should be looking at Fuji, as their competition, because it’s the better overall system, and its already used by more professionals.
Did Fuji release a full frame mirror-less? Used by more professionals? Put down the crack pipe.
They don’t need to, their XT-1 is a superior to all NEX, AXXX Series camera, and even the A7.
Plus they have an outstanding selection of lenses. Fuji unlike Sony actually listens to the needs of their customers, and is continually releasing firmware updates to assist them.
You must be afraid of Sony, otherwise why would you come all the way from Canonwatch so SAR? No real news over there since some years right?
I’m an A-Mount (alpha) user, I have an A900 with five Zeiss lenses, and three G-Series (hopefully four in the near future). Plus I use the A77II with the 70400G2.
I also use a Canon 5D MK III, with a 24-105mm, and 70-200mm for work, that was given to me for free, and you can’t beat free.
I don’t subscribe to the mirror-less future BS, or Sony magically subduing Canon now or even in 100 years.
STFU you a complete moron, and sound like another uneducated inbreed Hill-Billy from the US of A
Fuji used by more professional? Is that another thing made up in your little brain or can you show us some number?
Hardly. Even if Canon develops E-mount competitor – in no way it affects their DSLR buisness. Canon is a powerhouse in there, probably the last company on a market to dump DSLRs completely. That’s why they’re a safe, long-term bet if you like DSLRs – arguably even safer than Nikon which struggles financially (though still Nikon isn’t in nearly as bad shape as Sony is).
Yes, Sony will provide another toy Elpha camera pretending to be Pro level. Can’t wait to stuff my stocking with that… NOT.
What’s the big deal? The A99, and A77II are both competitively priced, and posses the best features of both mirror-less, and SLR.
I’ve been using both the A900 professionally for over six years, and see no reason to whimper yet. The 16-35 f/2.8, 24-70 f/2.8, 70-200 f/2.8, 35mm f/1.4, 85mm f/1.4, 16mm fish-eye, and 100 mm macro are all outstanding lenses, and serve me well daily.
Sony generates a significant amount of revenue from the A-Mount, and it’ll continue, because SLR remain the “dominate camera” technology in professional photography today, and that’s not changing anytime soon.
Look at the A77II to see where the technology is headed.
Because we’ve lost a lot of pro level functionality with the new Alpha’s. That’s a big deal to me. Those specific Minolta features are EXACTLY why I don’t use CaNikon. Sony is taking those reasons away.
See “Don’t Hate Truth – Just Fix It” post below.
everyone knows A-mount is not selling, not profiting. The younger generations are all buying E-mount now. The future is on E-mount. A-mount is going nowhere.
To me you don’t need numbers or a Sony statement to know this is true. Gut feelings tell me it just makes plain sense. I have a ton of family members and friends that have picked up a Sony E mount camera. They have no idea Sony even has another mount. That story will repeat itself over the next decade until the curtains shut. I’m ok with it though. My glass didn’t stop working on my A mount. You have to be comfortable knowing the market is in a transition and these companies are doing whatever they can to stay afloat. We have plenty of tools to suit any job, but if your always chasing the next thing then you have to be ready for a bumpy ride. It’s just the way it is.
Actually no one buys low end A-mount cameras which is why they dumped the A37. Sony’s A700, A77, A77II, and above are where Sony derives the majority of their A-Mount income.
Even in the Minolta era it was their 7 Series, and 9 Series cameras that were the big sellers.
What you’re seeing is people buying E-Mounts instead of cheap Canon Rebels, or Nikon D3XXX.
Sony is withdrawing the A-Mount to the price points where the A-Mount has traditionally sold well.
Complete crap. It’s the Imaging Division largest division. I’d stop spreading misinformation, or disparaging remarks on a consistent basis or you could end with a defamation suit, of course someone would have forward these comments to the right Sony department. Enjoy.
“Defamation—also calumny, vilification, and traducement—is the communication of a false statement that harms the reputation of an individual, business, product, group, government, religion, or nation”.
if you can find “the right sony department”, they may honestly tell you A-mount is dead and go buy E-mount instesd.
He’s probably looking for the professional imaging division. It’s the one place where they have no understanding what an E-Mount is, or even care.
The case to be made for Sony’s SLT users to switch hasn’t been made. A77, and A99 users have all of the best features of mirror-less technology, and the ability to use better lenses, without the use of adapters. I’m certainly not spending 10K for a system that doesn’t have a native 16-35 f/2.8, 28-70 f/2.8 or 70-200 f/2.8.
Plus cameras like the A77II are not only demonstrating the SLT is not only alive, and kicking, but is proving to be a serious competition to it’s only real competition, which is other SLR cameras.
Maybe you should be comparing Sony mirror-less to Fuji. You can’t. Fuji has a system that is already more established, and respected.
What exactly makes those F2.8 lenses better? They are from an age when on sensor stabilization was not invented and ISO was usable until 400-800. I’m glad I don’t have to walk around with those heavy lenses and I know many a-mount users in my local Sony community who prefer the F4 zooms over F2.8 zooms every day.
Fuji system more established and respected than Sony? They are famous for making great firmware updates, but what they actually do is lifting their cameras from a beta status with bad AF and features onto a level where Sony releases their cameras with 1.0. The lens lineup is great but still smaller than the e-mount. Most lenses are still on their roadmap.
For legacy FF lens owners it’s not the system to go, they A7 are MUCH more respected for that
Dude all Sony A-Mounts have internal stabilization, shouldn’t all cameras? A Sony 24-70mm f/2.8 mounted on any A-Mount is fully stabilized, just like the other 300+ Vintage Minolta Maxxum or Sony Alpha lenses.
But, You’re not getting it. Sony is launching a 12fps high mega pixel camera, (A-Mount of course), and it’s targeting those entering the field of Journalism, Sports, and Wild-life photographers.
They couldn’t care about the little mirror-less in the A-Mount division, they’re not interested in consumers who can barely afford a A6000.
Sony’s only interested in besting the D810, 5D MK III, 1DX, and D4S, all in a body that’s less than 816g.
As for loyalty, it doesn’t exist. If a A99II arrives with better specs than a 1DX or 4DS, plus EVF, internal stabilization for all lenses, focus peaking, Flexible Spot AF, for 1/3 the cost, people will switch.
New comers with little cash will buy Sony. If I could buy a 400mm f/4, and a A99II for the price of a single 1DX guess what I’d buy.
It makes sense. The E-Mount needs the resources in order to catch up to the A-Mount, however the lack of attention shouldn’t much of a problem for me. My A900, or A99 aren’t even close to being either worn out yet. I’ve been filling out my lens collection in the mean time.
The A-Mount’s advantage is absolute speed, and what most A-Mount users are looking forward a 36mp FF camera with the A77II’s speed, and accuracy.
IMO 36mp, 12fps is what tops the list for the new A-Mount. I hear a rumour about a 46mp, but I wouldn’t buy it, because it’d be slow as molasses, and better suited to the high megapixel slow camera crowd (A7).
Well, 46MP would be fine, as well as a 36MP and a very fast 24MP. If there can be a A7, A7r and A7s why there can’t be a A99r, A99s and so on?
For me this would make perfect sense.
One for landsace, one for fast speed and high ISO and one for “good for all”.
The one thing that the A7s lacks is speed. Imagine a A99s that is super fast, great AF, very high ISO and high fps due to low MP and on top of that IBIS with your fastest primes like the SAL50F14z, that would be phenomenal. Low Light King V2 🙂
IBIS FTW! Never will consider E-Mount as long as there is no IBIS!
I can see them launching a mirror-less A-Mount for the 46mp camera. It’s going to be slow no matter what you do, because of the processing power it’ll need to deal with those huge file sizes, so a dedicated PDAF is going to bring that much to the table.
It’ll be like the A7r with awesome IQ, and fall short every where else.
Nonsense, file size and focus speed have nothing to do with each other, unless you’re shooting in burst mode.
Focussing the A7 cameras with the LA-EA4 is much faster than without it, so dedicated PDAF does bring something to the table.
Actually they do. A cameras buffer has to be both fast enough, and large enough to cope with the data before its squeezed from the sensor data into either RAW, or JPEG. Then that data has to be transmitted to the memory card, and I’m pretty sure that even the fastest UH-1 memory cards would choke on 46mp.
Plus the CPU needs to be very fast to process all of that information.
It’ll be running a 16-core quad Xeon 4GHz. Should be fast enough to process gigapixels. You’ll just have to carry it in a dolly.
Compared to CaNikon, I think Sony has done a pretty good job managing a very *broad* line of products and customers bases:
1. FF A-mount
2. APC A-mount
3. FF E-mount
4. APS-C E-mount
5. Fixed-lens RX (Cybershot) series
There’s a lot to choose from there. Something for everyone. It can’t be easy to manage/juggle all those product lines, and to bring them together and offer a degree of compatibility… but kudos to Sony for doing a decent job of it, especially in the short time since f/e-mount has been around.
Be realistic, I don’t believe in this A-Mount “Pro” focus.
Fact ist, that the DSLR market is shrinking heavily! Why should Sony invest in this dying market?
Pro’s will never buy Sony SLT’s in the future, as they did not in the past; whatever MP they will announce …
So every $$$ from Sony into A-Mount lenses/bodies is dead money; and Sony is not stupid.
Maybe some minor Version-II updates for the small installed base but better focus on the future, which is E-mount, without doubt !
Because it’s shrinking, not dying. Mirrorless is going to take a big part of the DSLR pie, but that’s it.
And pros are buying SLTs, switching from Canikon. Another example right here: http://www.dyxum.com/dforum/just-jumped-ship-5diii-a99_topic108479.html
“And pros are buying SLTs, switching from Canikon. ” That’s a good one. I’m still belly laughing. One or two here and there but there is definitely not a switch going on in the pro market. There is a supplementary a7x pro market and a supplementary Fuji X-T1 pro market to add to what they already have but the number that are switching from a Canon or Nikon SLR to a Sony SLT is pretty darn close to zero. Sure you can find one or two here and there but there is now mass switch by any stretch of the imagination.
At media events I have been around I typically see press reporters shooting..
90% Canon
9% Nikon
1% Everything else…Sony is the biggest of the everything else.
The celebreties pose for and talk to the Canikon people but distinctly ignore the everything else people.
It’s the US and it’s a Canon strong hold. I use a 5D MK III at work because they paid for it, even though I freelance 90% of the time. I own a A99 for everything else.
I have no issues having people pose for me. It’s usually the big white lens that says pro to the masses.
A A7, and a 70-200mm f/4 does the same thing.
I carry lots of big lenses and all my stuff is covered in camo.
Strangers call me the Camera Guy and assume I am shooting Canon or Nikon.
I often have a hard time getting my subjects to speak to me but we do communicate pretty well.
Then stay away from the children’s playground weirdo.
Why would I want to be in a childrens playground?
Because you cover your stuff in camo and drive a van saying “Free cookies for kids under 12”.
The camo is for the animals and my van says no such thing.
Any fantasies you have are your own and I do not share them.
I also find making jokes about such a topic to be in totally poor taste.
Tell the strangers you are shooting an iPhone and carry the huge lenses just to look “pro”, they aren’t even real lenses, just some dummies stolen from BestBuy. I bet you’ll see a lot of confusion on people’s faces 🙂 Most likely they will stop calling you “the Camera guy” and will give some other nickname, something like “the crazy-a$$ iPhone guy”.
Celebs couldn’t care less what badge is on the camera, they haven’t a clue about them.
Sounds legit. Canon is most popular hands down. If a 3rd party manufacturer makes a lens, Canon is getting the lens first. I do like my A7r, but I’m dumping my A-mount primes right now and buying the Zeiss EF-mount equivalents to shoot via Metabones. Don’t care about the AF, since not using it anyway – the focus peaking is the best feature a mirrorless camera can offer 🙂
Here’s another breakdown of that list with the same numbers you mentioned, just recategorized:
90% Posers
9% Posers with a better sensor
1% Real photographers.
Celebrities pose for pictures with Canikon people because they are mostly posers themselves. Posers taking pictures of posers. That’s how I see it anyway:) Cheers.
I want and need only 5 lenses. 70-200mm 2.8, 24-70mm 2.8 zooms. 50mm 1.4, 85mm 1.4 and 135mm 1.8. Besides the two zooms, I’d like the primes to be all Otus and I want to use all of these on a native mount. After this I just need a 54MP sensor to back it all up. I think this should get rid of my gear lust. Yeah, that should work.
I was right up there with you to a point. Even so I’m quite content with what I have
although I would love to add the ZA85. My kit includes the ZA24, 50 and 135, so the 85 would fill the hole and my lust for that fabulous lens. Who knows, maybe Sony will give us an updated SSM version next year provided the naysayers are wrong.
In reality, I’m fine with my 135mm 1.8 and Zeiss 50mm 1.4. I’d like to eventually add the Otus 85mm 1.4 right in between to solidify my set up for this system. I’m going to wait for it to drop a bit- which it will. Even a savings of 300 is something at that price point, but it’s doable and compared to some Leica equivalents I think it’s a bargain.
I’m selling mine on ebay right now – mint condition, the starting price is $600.
http://www.ebay.com/itm/Sony-SAL85F14Z-85-mm-F-1-4-Lens-/261620390692?pt=Camera_Lenses&hash=item3ce9ca5b24
That’s an exceptionally great offer on your ZA85 but I just purchased a ZA24 factory refurb in mint condition at a great price, with several extras and a 2-year factory warranty. Believe me, I was reluctant given the nebulous state of the A-Mount. As it stands, I now have a good range of glass and a well-supported A900 kit.
My focus has to shift to a new Mac while I wait to see how things’ unfold in early 2015. The only other A-Mount gear I will buy between now and then will be another filter or two, and perhaps a specialty hood for the street.
Frankly, your lens will not collect much dust on the web at that price.
Interesting…just put on my watch list. I was going to pass it by because it is screw drive, but maybe I should reconsider. It’s the only alpha prime I have left on my list.
I vividly
remember my Leica days with my 28 Summicron, 50 Lux (chrome) 35 Summicron
(chrome) and 21-Elmar (chrome). To
this day I deeply regret selling those once in a lifetime purchases.
The Otis 85 reminds
me of when I would roll the dice and buy such a lens, but its now out of scale
for my current needs. Since I’m vested
with what I have I would prefer to stay put. However, I also want something
travel and the A7xx with Loxia 35 & 50 is more my speed these days.
I have a deep and somewhat irrational hatred of zooms. I’m old.
You have your 50, 85 and 135. All you need is a nice wide lens. I’m sure you can do better than that 24-70. Quite a few nice 200mm lenses out there that will smoke your 70-200. I fail to see the attraction.
I move till I’m happy. Works for me, but I’m usually several miles back into the bush before I light the camera up.
Zooms have their place. Try doing a wedding with nothing but primes? I have- twice. It’s punishing- and I need like 4 bodies on me. Need that sub par 70-200 although I could live without the 24-70. I’m a prime guy, but I’m realizing zooms have their place to. Many are even sharper than their prime counterparts at mid range. It’s all good.
By the way, there is a spot on my shelf for the minolta 200mm 2.8. It’s a dream lens I’ve wanted for awhile. Just got side tracked by all of this Zeiss glass.
I did a wedding … once. That was enough, I’m not enough of a social guy to do that. It actually worked out pretty well, but never again. 😉
Way back in the bush with the nearest person several miles away. That’s my world. I don’t hunt wildlife so everything is nice and slow. Light is all I hurry for and I did run a 1/4 mile once, doing that. It was worth it.
That’s inspiring. I do most of my photography outdoors as well. Social photography usually requires that I have a few beers in me. Good luck with the A7R, I’m sure it will produce some great results.
The Sony Zeiss 24-70 is a great lens not a great zoom. It is as good as many primes for standard range when you just want to use one lens.
A mount is still alive. His heart is beating! However, he lie on the bed and dose not move. He is unconscious with double incontinence. Trust me, he is still alive and will do something professional in the future, according to rumours.
E-mount is the future, A-mount is slowly being done away with because of cost.
It’s all about cutting costs and higher margins in the photo industry right now, including rehashing sensors (Canon), moving production out of Japan (most companies), closing service centers and cutting funding for warranty service (many), cutting corners on quality control and components (most, sadly), and keeping prices artificially high despite lower demand and a weakening yen, using unilateral pricing policies (all).
For Sony, E-mount makes sense because it uses fewer components and labor costs than A-mount. Simpler/cheaper is the future – Canon/Nikon will eventually have to go mirrorless as well for their lower end in order to maintain margins. Let’s face it, as much as we sentimentalize our cameras, they’re becoming commoditized just like TVs, PCs, and now smartphones/tablets.
That’s a complete lie. The A-Mount pulls in 32% of Sony’s camera revenue annually. So to hear a moron spit out crap this is pathetic.
I’ve heard this crap since the A100 was released. It’s utter nonsense, and only the ill educated/ill-informed seemed to spout this garbage.
If you actually had any education in the marketing, or business management you wouldn’t make idiotic statements such as this
Can you provide a reference for the above image. Where is this from?
Sony
Outdated… The a-mount may have pulled in 32% of imaging revenue in the past, but that simply can’t be true anymore. One need look no further than the sales rankings of the a-mount cameras. You can’t expect revenues to be the same as when they were actually releasing and somewhat promoting a-mount bodies.
We won’t really know until the same time next year. A7 will have had a full year to erode A mount market share. I guess we’ll see soon enough.
I guess we’ll have to take into account the A77II, and A99II launch numbers as well, plus lens sales, flash sales, Zeiss filters, bags, maybe even a stuffed A99 toy.
In the 2014 the numbers may dip but 2015 it most certainly jump, especially with 36mp, 12fps, and a 46mp cameras inbound.
Sales rankings are meaningless, only Sony know the figures that matter.
It’s a public company, you can review the quarterly results.
Yes, quarterly profit and loss. Not quarterl revenue for specific products. They don’t usyally share such specific data.
Are you dumb? Your picture says ‘target business segments’, which says nothing about revenue. Judging by Sony’s losses in their imaging division year over year, it only says that SLT has a bigger piece of Sony’s pie now because their compact market was decimated. Finally, whoever designed that chart must clearly be in marketing rather than anything math-related, seeing how 2013 goes over 100%.
Actually the new (green) bar indicated future sources of revenue that haven’t been tapped so far.
So they have feel they can increase sales 30%for all department with the new segments.
That Jack dude is a complete idiot.
dream on, A-mount users~
It at least shows the sales targets, and they seem to be favouring the A-Mount. Its kind of looks like it out doing the tiny feminine cameras, for the not so manly among us.
Hmm maybe it has something to do with the other 82% of photographers who don’t want squeakier toys.
Or maybe an impending launch of something Alpha, and something Gamma.
Wow I’m slow Alpha = A99II, and Gamma = G-Series 400mm f/4
Dude you’re a complete moron. Every one can see the green bar is possible future sources of revenue. Based on products that hadn’t been released at the time of the presentation.
Maybe you should go to fuc*ing school!!!
Delusional fanboy or paid marketing shill? I can’t decide. Your post just reinforces how useless the chart is for extrapolating any information about current revenues.
Don’t bother. That link has been posted multiple times on here. Each time somebody argues the numbers don’t really add up, the same group of people go nuts. Just ignore them and see if this years financial report paints a different story.
Just the green section of the leftmost bar is projected / estimated. According to the bar graph, SLT brings in more revenue than mirrorless but the mirrorless growth rate is higher.
He’s a liar.
He doesn’t have a source, the PPT is the most accurate source available (Sony Inc), and those ignoring the information provided by Sony only demonstrates their anti-ILCA bias.
Making statements based on personal opinion, and masquerading them as facts is called lying.
I do not honestly care if it is A or E-mount, I just want them to associate 1) modern updated sensor + 2) rugged weather sealed body with fully tiltable LCD.
Photographers still need phase detection AF. On-sensor solution is not good yet.
As per my resource that I really count on, the A99II or (A9) is gonna have a sum of 36mp 3 layers sensor with built-in and optional use of layers (12mp or 24 or 36)
This is gonna be a very evolutionary 3 cameras in one.
Quality with each layer is similar to the A7, A7r, A7s
4K recording video available with the use of the 12mp layer only.
Price will most likely exceed the $3200 in the US
I better start selling stuff around the house then.
Don’t forget your kidneys, you just need one for life. Assuming, the A99-2 is the last A-mount, you may safely get rid of one kidney and put the cash towards the valuable gear!
Each layer is 12mp
12 x 1 = 12 mp
12 x 2 = 24 mp
all together 12 x 3 = 36 mp
I don’t think you really understand the concept.
Clearly you have no understanding how a stacked sensor works…each layer is one color so you cannot choose 1,2,or 3 layers.
Furthermore 36mp..12x3layers is ridiculously little for a stacked sensor and would completely not be worth the development cost.
Therefore it is my conclusion that neither you or your source…if he actually exists …..have the slightest idea what you are talking about.
Indeed. Different wavelengths penetrate different distances into silicon. The multi-layer approach relies on this, detecting different wavelengths at different distances from the sensor surface…
However, I disagree on 36M not being enough. The existing 36M sensor in the A7R uses bayer, so throws away 2/3 of the light in all pixels. *If* this can be made to work, (They’d need to solve the high ISO noise issues due to channel cross-talk), this could in prinicople offer 3x the high ISO performance, with the same resolution. Sounds great to me. However, I’m dubious that they can really get this working well enough to get anywhere near this in reality.
A foveon eh’. I thought that was a Sigma thing. 😉
I am guessing you mean 36mp x 3 layers or 108 mp based on your statement..is that what you mean? If not please clarify…and how do you know this? How reliable do you think this info is?
Do you intend instead to claim 12mp x 3 layers or 36mp?
Current rumors are iether 46 or 54 mp …15.3 x3 or 18 x 3 and your comment differs substantially from the current rumors.
Your description is also not consistant with any type of 3 layer sensor I have ever heard of so perhaps you can explain how your layers would work.
This is most ridiculous idea ever. You should either RTFM or shoot yourself into the head.
E-mount and contrast-based-AF is simply not ready for pro shooting. I got A7s for 2 weeks. It was superb camera, but AF lags behind in different ways. I agree, that mirrorless (and SLT-less) is future, but only when on-sensor PDAF works as promised!
I guess you haven’t tried the a6000 or a7, both of which have very effective PDAF.
Effective to you doesn’t mean the same to me. 😉
The A6000 is quite effective indeed due to almost full sensor PDAF coverage. The A7 is not much. I haven’t use the A77-2 but I have the A7r and A99, I had the A7 for a few weeks and bought the A6000 “just for lulz” to carry around, and I must admin the A6000 is a crazy little wonder in terms of the AF speed.
In good light and with the few Sony only lenses that are supported. Not quite the same as SLT really at all.
The A77(2) will suffer from the bad light same as the A6000. The A7s will beat them all with ease.
Concerning the lenses – yes, but you can say the same about any camera 🙂
The A77 is limited to the A-mount, the A6000 is not limited to any mount, I have a few high-end Zeiss EF lenses (the 135 f2 APO and the Otus 85mm) and enjoying them on the E-mount bodies, it simply won’t be possible with the A-mount since Zeiss doesn’t give a crap about it. Also, the EA4 adapter will AF any A-mount glass reasonably fast, pretty much same speed as the A99.
The A6000 is not good in poor light. That utter non-sense. If it had I would have bought one.
The A77II is outstanding in low light, and comes with an outstanding 16-50 f/2.8. I tested one, and bought it immediately.
It may AF better in low light, but it looses 1/3 stop so it makes the A77 much worse choice if you really need to shoot in low light and assuming you have enough skills to MF. Take a look at DxO ISO performance of both, it’s not a rocket science to figure out.
Yeah but it comes with an f/2.8 lens. Is there a 16-50 f/2.8 for the A6000. Plus it has access to native f/1.4 primes.
That’s apples to oranges or Apples to Microsofts. I can stick the A6000 with the SEL35F28Z in my pocket, that was the purpose of buying it – an expendable camera. 11 fps and 0.006s focusing time, 94% PDAF coverage, no SLT mirror – what else would you wish?
The A77II doesn’t suffer the same as the A6000 does in low-light.
The A6000 is limited to SONY lenses if you want the fast AF. The A77II will give you fast AF with ALL A-mount lenses from ALL manufacturers.
You are clueless.
Dude, can you read? Or you can just write random crap without reading? Who cares about A-mount? There is no decent lens in the A-mount except of the 135 and 500mm. And those two are just decent, but not the best. I’m talking about ANY lens from ANY manufacturer.
Concerning the low light situation – I’d like you see a proof link, not just your opinion.
You seriously have the 135mm F2 APO and the Otus 85mm? For real? And so like, what’s your take on these lenses. Wait…have you used the 135mm 1.8? I’m curious if you have comments on it compared to the APO. And that 85mm Otus…well, that’s another story. Details please.
Almost for real 🙂 Read on.
I did have the 1.8 and loved it. Technically I still have it. It’s packed back into the original box now and prepared to be shipped to a lucky ebay buyer. Have quite a few pics taken with it. After getting the APO I realized I’ve spent money for nothing buying the ZA primes. Unfortunately ZA != Zeiss, sometimes very close, but not equals. The APO is a crazy mind blowing lens, I tend to agree with DxO that it resolves every single pixel on the noAA 36Mpx sensor. The contrast and colors are superior to the 1.8. The 1.8 is a great and almost a flawless lens, but after trying the APO you may end up selling the 1.8 most likely same as I did… Some folks may say the MF is no go, but those MF lenses are portrait gems, I would never use AF anyway.
The Otus is coming in the mail tomorrow – got $200 off from a nice ebay seller, they’ve matched a price of an Austrian store (look for “best offer” deals so you can negotiate). I can’t tell anything right now, but you can find plenty reviews all over the internet. Some folks shoot head shots with it and I don’t think it’s right – the perspective distortions are terrible, any 135 or 180 mm lens is a much better choice for that. I’m planning to use it for full body or half body at minimum, hopefully this weekend if no hot weather or rain here in Dallas.
IMO the Zeiss lenses should be banned – they cause addiction 🙂
Did you return the A7S.
If you guys think these rumors suck go check out Canon watch. Nothing but ad’s, a few interviews all about the 7D and some video shot with it. That sounds so exciting I’m going to go dig my eyes out with a spork.
11-14 f/4, 16-35 f/4, 70-400II, 7DII. Mature and well-supported system.
so those lenses and camera don’t exist in A-mount? Check again.
edit: can’t find a Canon 11-14
We were talking about the Canon rumors, which are about new lenses and cameras, not whether the mount will survive at all.
11-14 is here: http://www.canonrumors.com/forum/index.php?topic=23191.0
wow, this lens looks like straight from the beginning of the 90s. They want to release that in 2015?? When does Canon learn about design? I don’t wanna touch this plastic, rubber thingy for sure, no matter what optics are inside.
Canon’s aesthetics on the L lenses suck. For instance, what’s up with their olive/beige “white” lenses? Sony’s white lenses are, in fact, white.
However, the look & feel are secondary characteristics for any equipment that is meant to serve a practical purpose.
I agree. But Canon (and Nikon SLR gear even more) looks so outdated in this time. I know I know, It’s just “tools”. But tools for those few professionals maybe who don’t care about asthetics. I mean even Fujis retro design looks way more attractive to me. Sony just got it right with their latest cameras (since the NEX-7). The simple, clean, industrial design lenses and bodies simply makes me smile when I touch them.
And don’t forget. Many photographers are FEMALE, for them it’s even more important! My architect girlfriend said “she would NEVER touch one of those ugly DSLR!”
Sony has good tradition in leading industrial design in all their products. Canon seems to ignore the importance of design completely, a horror when you think about the younger, more design oriented generation
Matter of personal taste and therefore irrelevant. I know many (females and younger students) who think otherwise. But, if this helps in generating an impression of new-modern-whatever-design -> better, then I would do it to sell more. Personally, I don’t like the Sony design at all. But I wouldn’t care if it delivers what I want.
Uhg, hate the white or beige lenses – makes me stick out like a sore thumb when trying to be discreet.
It’s rumored to be announced soon at a rumored price of $3k.
70-400II? Are you sure? Maybe you’re thinking of the SONY 70-400II and dreaming it was a Canon?
FYI Cannon announced a 100-400II, which is clearly more limited than SONY’s outstanding 70-400II.
To clarify my previous comment:
As per my resource that I really count on, the A99II or (A9) is gonna have a sum of 36mp (12 mp/ 3 layers sensor) with built-in and optional use of (12mp or 24 or 36)
Each layer is 12mp
12 x 1 = 12 mp
12 x 2 = 24 mp
all together 12 x 3 = 36 mp
This is gonna be a very evolutionary 3 cameras in one.
Quality with combination of layers is similar to the A7, A7r, A7s
4K recording video available with the use of 12mp, one layer only.
Price will most likely exceed the $3200 in the US
A 3-layer, 12 MP each can’t give the final dimension of 24mp or 36 mp…. Unless you want to extrapolate data. What’s the point of 3 redundant layers when you can do pixel bombing? Or downsizing in post?
M. Friend
My wish list.. a basic $750-$1,000 full frame 24 MP SLT “A” mount camera minus a lot of the candy fluff bells and whistles. While we are at It, package this in a body the size of the Minolta 7000 or Minolta 7 (remember them). I bet a lot of people would snap these up to better utilize their Minolta lens that are a little too long to be practical when mounted on the more affordable cropped sensor cameras. Probably won’t happen as SONY is making too much money from the sale of (for the most part) sub-par “E” mount lens.
Sony a850, Sony a900
LOL
A77II just got a firmware update!!!
“ILCA-A77II Firmware v1.02
Improvements: Added support for Hindi. ”
LOL
I guess Sony can’t now be accused of not supporting it. Makes a change from lens profiles!
Update for a killer camera. Freaking love that thing.
Evolution. It’s a fact.
We made SLRs so we could see what was at the film plane instead of just guessing. Now we have mirror less cameras that show us exactly what the sensor sees instead of looking at the sensor plane and just guessing.
That is a little trite and somewhat inaccurate, but i hope it conveys the point.
SLT cameras show us what the sensor sees and provides CAF capable of keeping up with it in varying lighting conditions.
IPD kinda makes that obsolete eh’. I hate acronyms.
It doesn’t help me though…I usually shoot blindfolded.
Well, that was my opinion 20 days ago , You should mark my 6th sense as a (SR4) 😀
Aged to perfection. Brilliant comment, I agree 100%.
Not one Sony anything on DPR’s “most popular” camera listing right now. Top spot belongs to OVF Nikon. Fuji, Panny, and even some Canon OVF’s… Even the old original Nikon D800 on the list.
Oh boy Elpha’s aren’t even in the workshop. Bet an a99II would grab some headlines.
DPR … really? 😉
please don’t feed the troll
Sorry. It looked really hungry.
Actually quite full… of Sony’s ad hoc promises.
LMAO………..
Since when does speaking the truth qualify as troll.
Think about that please.
Easy enough to check for yourself.
If Elpha ain’t Alpha, sony simply have to change name of the e mount to alpha mount and call the current a-mount the old a-mount. It’s that simple.
7S and 7R in the top 10 for most popular ILC/SLR. RX10 and RX100m2 in the top 10 for most popular P&S…
Canon users seem highly depressed and frustrated in the last couple of weeks. There is nothing going on at Canon else then every 2-5 years an update of existing cameras with the same old sensors. So they send their people to sonyalpharumors now to catch at least those a-mount users whoom they are telling the 5DmkIII is the “industry standard” and the DSLR has a great future.
Oh and if mirrorless, then better wait for a Canon, because “they might come out with something soon” which will of course be “superior” to Sony and all the others. Meanwhile we shall all buy Fuji which is so much more mature and “respected by all Pro photographers”
Not sure if Canon pays for this or those people really believe what they are saying… Too many trolls around here for sure.
When all you guys dump your A mount stuff for E mount let me know. I’d be happy to pick it up for a major discount. I think one of the biggest fallacies is that all this glass is going to bottom out in value overnight. Crazy talk. DSLR’s no longer face a dead end with mirrorless and adaptor options. I’ll still be slugging it out with my 135mm 1.8 Zeiss until I’m in a wheelchair- which hopefully is a long way away. Although I do tend to not pay attention when I’m hiking and trying to take photo’s- cliffs suck. Anyway, the glass is what counts dudes.
Sony, make only 2 cameras for A-mount:
1. Fully-fledged DSLR (A99)
2. Compact DSLR (like a Nikon FM2)
Please…
I’m not sure why anyone thinks Sony reserving A-mount for just a couple top-tier cameras would be a good thing. To me that would be the surest sign of the coming death of the mount, because then they’re just trying to hold onto the existing A-mounters for a bit longer, but if they’re not bringing in new A-mounters on the lower end, then they’re not growing the user base, and it will die; because if people come into E-mount at the entry and mid levels and start amassing collections of lenses, they’re not likely going to start over with A-mount when they get to the “pro” level. They’ll just go with the top shelf E-mount stuff, which in short order will be performing just as good as the top A-mounts anyway. You can adapt A to E, but you can’t adapt E to A..
Looking forward to Sony A99 mark II
Any news on the status of Sony and GPS? Do you know if they plan to include it in the A99II or any future camera’s?
Is an E-mount adaptor for A-mount cameras even possible?
It would be the greatest nonsense ever. There are hundreds types of nice A-mount lenses to buy new or used, so who would bother it? Look for Minolta, Sigma, Tamron A-mount, if you don’t find Sony brand. All quality A-mount zooms are way better and lighter than what Sony can produce for FE mount.
I hope Sony starts taking A-mount seriously and begins to target pros like they sort of did with the A900. They seriously need to update the lens lineup. When was the last time they released a new A-mount Zeiss lens? They made the A77II for sports so where are the sports lenses? I hope Sony can get their act together so we’ll continue to see new lenses released in A-mount from 3rd parties like Sigma and Tamron.
Well, last year I invested in mint Alpha 900 and now gathering superb lenses for friction of the price I would have to pay for new FE mount dark zooms. New Tamron and Sigma lenses are highest quality gems on A900, so I don’t care if Sony will develop new A-mount lenses or not. It’s their problem they did one of the best DSLR ever made and can’t continue. A900 sensor delivers excellent image quality for a raw shooter, jpg quality is great too, images look like made on best professional film available, with great color quality, not like smeared by the baby. The only thing I miss in A900 is to have more cross AF points.
400
Notice how only A-Mount posts get so many comments.
401