Sony.net is now displaying the new Sony FE lens roadmap PDF file. A couple of thoughts I wanna share:
1) The “Large Aperture prime” is likely the rumored 85mm lens. Should be f/1.4. If it’s f/1.2 I will jump for joy and then cry because of the many $$$ Sony will charge on it 🙂
2) I expect the Large Aperture prime lens to be announced early 2015. But all other Six lenses (see grey lines) are likely to be available between end of 2015 and early 2016
3) Finally a Zeiss f/1.4 lens to come. This will quite down those people who were worried that FE lenses would always be 1 stop slower than their A-mount counter part
4) Among the six 2015 lenses there will be certainly tele primes and tele zooms.
5) Note that Zeiss will announce more Loxia manual FE lenses during 2015. These are not(!) included in the roadmap! And I heard of at least three more Loxias to come in 2015!
The lens I like most is the 35mm Zeiss f/1.4 But also the 24-240mm could be a n interesting lens for everyday use or travel (although quite big).
Preorders, price and specs (Click on store name):
Zeiss 16-35mm FE at Amazon, Adorama, BHphoto, Sony Store US.
Zeiss 16-35mm FE in Europe at Sony DE, UK, ES, IT, FR, CH, AT, NL, BE, FI, SE, NO, PT.
28-135mm powerzoom in Europe at Sony DE, UK, ES, IT, FR, CH, AT, NL, BE, FI, SE, NO, PT.
Sony FS7 4K camcorder at Adorama.
HVL-F32M Flash at Adorama, BHphoto.
HVL-F32M Flash in Europe at Sony DE, IT,
Sony RMT-VP1K Wireless Remote Commander & Receiver Kit at Adorama, BHphoto.
Sony XLR-K2M XLR Adaptor Kit (with microphone) at Adorama.
Sony LCS-PSC7 System Bag (Black) at BHphoto.
Loxia at BHphoto:
Zeiss Loxia 35mm f/2 Biogon T* Lens for Sony E Mount (Click here).
Zeiss Loxia 50mm f/2 Planar T* Lens for Sony E Mount (Click here)
0 Responses
@Admin
Will we hear real rumors/news to A-Mount this week?
I hope to get some info at Photokina…
@SAR_Admin:disqus Basicly you dont know what is going to happen to A-Mount.
Fading away or Big Bang in January?!
Or?
@Admin Is the 1.4 for the 85mm something coming from a trusted source? Sounds way too good. I am afraid of 2.8 like A-Mount.
I heard 85mm lens is coming. But I have no certain info on aperture yet.
People said the same thing about 35mm
@SAR_Admin:disqus Is there a chance for Zeiss Loxia 35 1.4 considering that Zeiss just released the 35 1.4 Distagon in the M-mount? Thanks 🙂
I hope so!!!
I doubt so, cause if they do, they’ll likely use a different product name for it and will be more expensive then the current Loxia.
One of the interesting points that I wonder is how is Zeiss going to keep the same filter size across all lenses in the Loxia lineup, in particular UWA lenses
to make the count of 35mm=4 while the count of 85mm=0
yes, we all want that 😀
No real wide angle lens ‘under construction’ 18/19mm or 20/21mm!?
The 28mm consumer lens with converter to reach 21mm is ridiculous.
There’s a zoom for now which covers that distance and most likely one of the 3 unannounced Zeiss Loxia will be a UWA.
Why is the 28mm consumer lens with converter rediculous? If the IQ is good (not Zeiss stellar) it is a very welcome lens for many of us and it would fit very nice on a rumored Nex 5 look alike poormans FF camera.
I approve of this roadmap.
The other thing to note is that while they placed all the original lenses as “2013”, the 24-70 and 70-200 didn’t ship until February or March of 2014. Same with several of these “2014” lenses. So the only thing you can say about the timeline for sure is we are expected to know what the focal lengths and apertures (and maybe even the designs) look like by 2015. But several may only ship in 2016.
“The lens I like most is the 35mm Zeiss f/1.4 But also the 24-240mm could be a n interesting lens for everyday use or travel (although quite big).”
How ironic. You do know the 35/1.4 is as big as the 24-240, right? That’s how ginormous that behemoth is.
What is needed now is a fixed wide angle lens greater than the just announced 28mm like the classic 21mm f2.8 ZM Zeiss and perhaps a 15mm or 18mm. I know there are a couple of convertors for the 28mm but I have my doubts about the IQ when they are used.
Same here. I hoped for a 24 or 21 prime. F1.4, 1.8 at least.I don’t mind the size much. Now that they have those, probably inexpensive and small-ish ones, I hope they’re going for a Zeiss branded fast WA prime. Milky-way shooters might appreciate it.
OK Sony, enough with lenses for now. Looking forward for that 24-240 zoom reviews. But can we have our new firmware upgrades on A7 now? Gimme that better video codec that you have been bragging about 🙂
So many things that need addressing in the FW!!!
The more things they have to adres, the more time it costs…
That assumes they care and are actually working on it. I’m not sure either of those are true 🙁
New Sony-Zeiss 35/1.4 is a monster for mirrorless FF Sony, if 85mm is also going to be f/1.4 ( probably doubled size), I think I am losing interest to move from Fuji to FF Sony. It seems Sony resigned from continuing Zeiss FF of f/1.8 lenses. Not good for me and mirrorless benefits.
yes, if you happy with crop go with fuji
I think the FE 35 F1.4 will be a statement by Zeiss against the Sigma Art 35 F1.4 lens. The sigma doesn’t make much sense in the A7 as it needs an adapter.
But it’s an important lens as a statement for the FE system. I guess it will better than the sigma or at least in the same league. They could have made it smaller, but the it would be an optical compromise. So it’s no Otus 35 but it will be damn close like the FE 55
I like the way you look at things. There are 3 Zeiss FE primes now: The 35mm F2.8, the 55mm F1.8 and the 35mm F1.4. and you imidiately conclude that Sony resigned forn continuing Zeiss FF of f1.8 lenses. I think it makes sense that Sony came with this monster lens, that will be very expensive. When you read the comments on the twop Zeiss primes in the past, people where complaining that there were no f1.4 lenses…
But when you like your Fuji better, stay with Fuji, it is a very good camera system too…
The lens options are very interesting and I can see there will be 3 official ranges (the entry level low-cost lenses, the G premium and Zeiss premium – also made by Sony -). The luxury lenses or the Roll-Royce (if I may say so) will be represented by the unofficial range made by Zeiss alone: Loxia.
It’s a sad thing that macro shooters won’t get the 90 f2.8 Macro G OSS untill the first quarter of 2015…
http://photobyandrei.wordpress.com/
This is better than nothing. I think everyone found something interesting among the lenses that are announced yesterday. The question now is, what will the lenses deliver.
My prediction:
Based on its sheer size, I think 35/1.4 will rival Sigma’s 35/1.4 which means it’ll be astonishing. It’ll also have a much pleasing rendering and many people will seek after this lens.
IMHO, 16-35/4 will perform much like the 24-70 ZA, which means tons of software correction. It won’t suck but neither it’ll be a stellar performer like Nikon’s 14-24. Still, this will sell.
I have no idea about how the 90/2.8 macro going to be. I’m not interested in such a lens at all but I don’t remember a “bad” macro lens within 90mm – 105mm range anyway so, how hard could it be? It depends mostly on ergonomics anyway and with A7 series’ live view, this will be among the best systems to shoot macro.
FE 28/2… I expect this lens to be a decent performer. Sony has a long tradition of and tendency to design wide angle and teleconverters for their lenses and they usually have no negative impact on the image quality. Sony knows how to do this. I won’t be surprised to see many people buying 28/2 and gluing that 21mm converter in front of it.
24-240mm might be what many people are looking for. If cheap, I’d buy it for quick&dirty product shoots too. Most lenses perform reasonably well at f/8 anyway and there are many occasions where the resolution from such a lens are sufficient anyway.
Have you seen the linear distortion of the Nikon 14-24 – it requires a lot of software correction. Here it is uncorrected, look at how askew it is in the corners:
http://www.the-digital-picture.com/Reviews/ISO-12233-Sample-Crops.aspx?Lens=615&Sample=0&FLI=0&API=0&LensComp=0&CameraComp=0&SampleComp=0&FLIComp=0&APIComp=0
I own the lens and while it is good for a zoom for sharpness, especially stopped down, it is far from flawless. In fact the Canon 16-35 f/4 is both sharper and has less distortion than the Nikon 14-24.
Yes, I’ve seen the results. The distortion is not as bad as most lenses but that new Canon 16-35/4 really is good. Still, there is a huge difference between 14mm and 16mm.
Btw, I just saw some A7R + 16-35 samples and they don’t look bad at all:
https://www.flickr.com/photos/markgaler/15244456212/in/photostream/
Yeah looks pretty solid!
Your predictions look realistic. Your take on the 35mm is best case, but Zeiss should produce a decent lens. I hope that you are right. I held off on the current 35mm and don’t mind the size of the lens, especially if a larger A9 is soon introduced. Right now, I’m thinking that the 28mm will probably have the right combination of size, performance and price. I would be able to retire my Canon FD. It certainly will equal, or surpass that lens. I will probably pass on the wide zoom, unless performance is really stellar for such a zoom.
Zeiss ZM Distagon 35/1.4.
http://www.zeiss.com/camera-lenses/en_de/camera_lenses/zeiss-ikon/distagont1435zm.html
Pricey and big but still more compact than the Sony 35/1.4 Distagon.
No AF, so it’s normal it’s more compact.
I think I will get this instead of waiting for the Sony/Zeiss monster. Some day, someone will come up with a AF lens that is compact. Good luck to Sony and the potential buyers in March 2015!
Yes, personnaly I’m looking to buy a 70/200 zoom, but I like to do candid shots, and the ugly big white monster by Sony seems nice, but damn this size… That’s why I’m looking for old zooms, without AF, without stabilization, so it will be more compact… Tradeoffs…
I have an old minolta MD 135 and I think its very good for candid shots. Its small and discrete, and MF is actually a plus for candid shots IMO. Too bad the IQ is decent at max, but good enough for my NEX6. Not very good for the A7.
I got an old tokina 70-210 f/3.5 from my father, it’s heavy, but it’s compact, problem is it’s very mushy inside, so pictures look good only if you don’t look too close. 😛
I was looking for the Canon FD 80-200 f4 L, it gives me the range I like, and seems sharp enough for my need. I’ll see, maybe I’ll give up and buy the Sony, AF and stabilization are nice, if only it was black…
After seeing the FE 35/1.4 I hope the 85mm is only f/1.8.
It could be 2.8 if they consider size. I would prefer 2.0/1.8/1.4.
loxia 85 f1.4 are welcome.
for those seeking af can go with 85 f1.8
Any hints on pricing? I’m particularly interested in the 90mm macro – looks like proper mf (which solves any focus by wire issues).
ZA and G lenses will be expensive as usual….the regular Sony ones will be more affordable like the 24-70 kit lens
minipixels.net | Automotive Photography
Do you mean the 28-70 kit?
As an Alpha 7s owner, I am quite pleased with these new lenses that are on the way for FE bodies. In my opinion, there is an excellent amount of diversity that has been added: a wide and a telephoto zoom lens; a video orientated lens; a macro lens; a Sony wide angle prime lens with converters to grant you more options; and last of all an F/1.4 35mm to complement the compact F/2.8.
This means there are Sony Zeiss, Sony G and Sony options to consider; yet despite all this I don’t understand why there is so much negativity. Naturally, there are ones that interest me, the G macro, and ones which do not seem to, the 24-240. However, when all has been said and done I like that there are more choices for consumers.
I don’t know if it’s a feature of Internet forums but for some reason Sony seems to be savagely criticised with whatever it does. A lens and camera are tools. They are a part of the equation when it comes to the photographic process. Considerations about composition, lighting, subject and creative expressions of these are the domain of the photographer, not the tool. Sony is providing the tools. If you do not like them due to cost, size, image quality or whatever it is, then vote with your wallet and shift to another manufacturer. That is the beauty of a free market. You are not being forced to buy anything. I use Sony now because I like the direction toward which it is moving, but that does not mean I have sworn undying allegiance to them unto the end of time.
I think the intent to offer 20 or more lenses into 2015/16 is exciting. I am hoping for an 85, 135 and another G series telephoto, perhaps a 300mm. I guess that there might even be F/2.8 zooms options to come. Now that there are seven more options to come and that “large aperture” could mean F/1.4 then I am quite intrigued what more is to come. Interestingly, this “large aperture” is not labelled as a Zeiss or G series. That might translate to a Sony with OSS, meaning “lower” cost options. However, keeping the fine print in mind that this is subject to change, this might be a way of hiding whether or not it is Sony Zeiss, G series or Sony.
I look forward to trying these at the Sony shops when they hit the market and having a look at the Zeiss Loxia series. My wallet is the only thing that is complaining about all this news.
Take a deep breath and concentrate on the process rather than the tools of photography.
I think that what people want is a more straightforward lineup. I too like what they’ve released and announced, but the part that’s been frustrating is that sometimes the only version of a particular focal length is a premium lens. here’s an idea:
Begin to replace the APS-C specific lenses with updated versions that cover the full frame. There really isn’t that much of a difference. A set of autofocus non G, non Zeiss FE lenses in the $300-800 range. How about a 20 f/2.8, a 28 f/2.8 pancake a 35mm f/1.8, a 50 f/1.8 and a 85 f/1.8 maybe a macro. They’ve already got a 28-70, so how about a 70-200. They don’t need to be huge, just make them larger diameter. Most people would probably be okay with that. It’s the length of lenses that seem to bother people.
Then replicate these basic focal lengths with a Zeiss set. Perhaps with some steps up to f/1.4. They’ve already got the zooms either available or under way, and some primes have been announced as well so that’s good, but they really need to put out an 85, and a wide prime like an 18 or a 20
It seems that most people want to buy 1 or two (or three) really premium lenses, but then fill out less used areas with good, medium price, but reasonable equality lenses.
Its a different strategy for sure, but why not just be cool to customers and ave all lenses cover both sensors?
Pretty much anything that is announced garners a lot of negativity on SAR.
What about some new affordable E mount lenses for the majority of people with a crop sensor camera.. I love my A6000 but the lens selection is very limited and it doesn’t seem to get better in the future with only big and pricey FE lenses to be released.
what are you talking about? There are lots of E mount APS-C lenses out already…
minipixels.net | Automotive Photography
AF tele primes (70, 85, 105mm)? Nope. Macro lenses? One 30mm macro. Zooms faster than f/4.0? Nope. Yes, there are lots of APS-C E-mount lenses, but most are in the same range and have the same function. Still a lot of gaps to fill in the APS-C lens lineup.
If they had a zoom faster than f/4 for APS-C E-mount, I can already see the hundreds of posts on how the lens is too big for the camera…
I was really hoping that 28mm/c was going to be a crop pancake.
I read this is an FE + A mount roadmap. Thus, no A mount’s next year either!
And that’s why it says E-Mount Fill Frame lens expansion right at the top?
Obviously, you lack insight. It was a joke… but likely one with a lot of truth in it.
Admin, how about E-mount lenses?
i would love to see 16-50 f2.8 and 50-135 f2.8 and fully compatible with blazing af A6000
although this are great lens but Im not using this big lens on my small system, still im waiting for the price though, i wish i can use with my A-mount
I think we are going to see Hybrid mount of A99II
or else simply add more flange and reproduce this wonderfull lens line up on Amount, but Hybrid A/E mount are much more clever solution
Sony does not keep up the pace in lens releases as promised.
Good to see they have an ambition to offer lenses at different price levels.
It is a pity Sony is not as open as Fujifilm on what’s in the future.
To my A7r I today use 35/2.8, 55/1.8, Nikon 24/2.8 and Leica Elmar 90/4. The Leica goes extremely well with the A7r sensor – recommended!
I need AF 24/21 and short tele though and til now I see the 90/2.8 Macro. Would have liked to see a AF 85/1.8 and or 135/2. Depending on reviews of the 90macro I must wait another year to see tele options – dont like that.
What’s in Fuji X mount’s future is defeat in the hands of Sony unless they also go FF.
Even with their APS-C sensor and lens selection they can keep up with or beat Sony A7 series in most field conditions.
Also, I’d like them to skip small 35mm “Full Frame” format and go medium format directly.
Agreed. Fuji is not hurting and is developing a very loyal following. Along those lines, so are the M43 camera makers. Sony should be taking note and being more strategic with their lens releases. Who doesn’t think that the A7 series bodies aren’t awesome? But who doesn’t wish for a more consistent lens lineup. If Sony were to do this, it would be awesome.
That said, I just sold my Fuji X100s and bought my first FE camera, an A7. I prefer the look of full frame and will put up with Sony’s weird lens strategy to get it.
Which lens did you pick Dan?
I bought it with the kit 28-70, but don’t use it much. Instead I’ve been using the 24mm 1.8 Zeiss that I used to use with my NEX 7. It still produces beautiful images and is even somewhat useful in non- crop mode (you have to do the cropping yourself in post). I actually posted about it on my site.-http://danhawk.com/danhawk/removing-the-baffle-from-the-sony-zeiss-24mm-f18
I also use a few Olympus OM lenses. the 24mm f/2.8 and the 50mm f/1.8 and a 55mm f/1.2 I’m borrowing from a friend.
I’m likely going to pick up a true 35 fairly soon though as I’d like the shallower depth of field and the higher resolution. I’m not totally sure the 35 f/2.8 is the right way to go, but it would be pretty similar to the 24 in crop mode. Maybe Loxia?
Really appreciate the reply! I’m debating on a RX1 or A7 with the 35 2.8.. If the RX1 had a tilt screen or viewfinder it would be a no brainer for me.
I’m so right there with you. I went to the store and spent a good half hour handling the RX1, A7 and my NEX 7 side by side. I really want that Sonnar f/2 on the RX1, but just couldn’t get past the lack of built in EVF, tilt screen or grip. I’m so used to the NEX 7, and the A7, feels just right.
I so wish the Loxia 35 was AF. They are coming out with a Sony Zeiss 35mm f/1.4 in the spring, but it looks too large for an everyday carry. I’ll probably end up with the 35 2.8 soon. It’s just so convenient, and I still have a couple faster lenses at different lengths for lower light.
What field conditions? Looking retro? lol
Physics win… not brands.
Field conditions such as walking around with an ultrawideangle lens (Sony has none, Fuji has 14/2.8), shooting portraits (Sony has none, Fuji has 56/1.2), shooting landscape (Sony has a sensor and a recently released 16-35 which 5 people used yet)… Shall I go on?
Yes, you can adapt lenses. So, good luck finding a good 85mm lens (and the adapter for that), a UWA which works on your sensor (and the adapter for that)… Again, shall I go on?
Yes, A7 cameras are really good and useful and handsome but in field conditions it is probably THE weakest system in the market. Deal with it (using various adapters and roadmap pdfs).
Reality is Fuji X cameras and lenses are toys that look serious. Anyone serious about what they’re doing want results that show in the picture. .. not when the camera is around the neck.
Drooling Sony fan boy alert!
Umm I have real Fujis. Look things up…
Drooling EarlFargis alert would be more appropriate 😉
As a photojournalist/videographer, I’m excited about the 24-240 as do-it-all lens. Any idea on when that’s going to ship, admin?
yes, this 24-240 interested me most.
Admin why we doesnt have a pool as usual?
admin is still frustrated due to the lack of A-mount lenses
I am still impressed how much people shape Sony’s future with the FE lenses according to their needs.
look at the new canon 24/2.8 Full Frame pancake,
id love to see this on A7 rather than 28/2 + converters
this little one will cost less for sure
Its APS-C.
ohhh then its B&H fault
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=GZ_JwHj1xg4
not everyone including me need a luxury glass,
how about non G/ non zeiss FE lens?
im still using my sel16 on A7 for its compact reason
we need this 24/2.8 pancake ASAP… please SONY
Lovely lens! Both the 24 and 40 are superb designs! 🙂
It is an EF-S lens which is Canon’s designation for lenses made for their 1.6x crop sensors. It won’t even mount on a Canon full frame body as Canon uses a dual mount on their APS-C cameras which will accept the EF-S lenses while the standard EF mount on full frame bodies lock out the EF-S cameras. Take a look at the mount on a full frame Canon body, it has a top-center red mounting alignment dot while the APS-C cameras have that plus a white mounting dot for EF-S lenses that is angled.
seriosly…
people asking 85 f1.4 and 135 f2… came on, just put the A mount version + adapter (that A mount versions are legendary, 135 f1.8 A zeiss still today is the fastest out there)
a wide lense/20-24 prime… rigth, because they just announced a 16-35, dohh!!
when the NEX came alive (it had past so many years, already) the fast prime + wide & fish converter where very popular, the 24-240 its targeted at the same pop market, im glad sony will push a7 FF line to mass market next year and still giving new pro lenses like the 28-135 (even if they are targeted to video) and 35 f 1.4 and 90 macro to old pros
really… whats not to like about the roadmap, sony give something to everybody, that in a roadmap you only want some lenses, ITS GOOD, if in a roadmap lense you want all, then the roadmap was bad designed to just fill one particular segment needs.
PD
please dont forget you can mount any A mount lense into E bodies (A mount had some pretty good ones) hope sony dont overlap desgins too much (as in redesign all A mount lenses to native E mounts) but bring NEW lense desgins like half of the new lenses announced
GOOD ROADMAP just make it 2X speed 😉
And the 135ZA is also one of the best lenses ever. 🙂
Once the announced lenses are available, and the additional Loxia too, we will have quite consistent assortment to serve the needs of the wide market.
I could assume that the signal to the market is clear – meaning that FE will become main stream AND upper class. I’d wonder if Sigma or Tamron won’t try to cut a piece of the cake.
I have A7R and 135 ZA with LA4 adapter;
Its amazing, but I preffer native lens, with AF all over the sensor. Its hard to photo with A7R and 135 without SSM, OSS and shutter shock. a native lens can solve this, and can be smaller. even 135 2.8 is good enough.
LA-EA4 with sucks AF ! and Mirror (SLT)
Well, road map look almost as the old “fake” one.
http://www.sonyalpharumors.com/almost-certainly-fake-but-i-love-it-the-super-sony-fe-lens-roadmap/
Some minor changes, so we might guess that in the end of 2015, we will have most of the original “fake” roadmap, with some minor changes (28 vs 24 f2 etc)
pouting for fun… yer wallets safe, the 85 will be an f4.0 lens 😉 heeheh
I just sent this email to two of Sony’s upper level support and customer service emails.
support@info.sel.sony.com , sonylistens@am.sony.com ,
I encourage more people do follow through as well.
——————————————————————————————————-
Hello,
There are tens of thousands of very upset people regarding the lack of information about the future of Sony A-mount cameras and lenses. We expected *some* support in the form of updated lenses at Photokina, but we’ve had absolutely nothing. The only A-mount product released in the last few years is the A77II. We’ve had no new lenses (only “upgraded” existing lenses) and we’ve had no new bodies. Sony has announced they’re going to continue supporting A-mount, and they have positioned the system in the Pro range. However, only having one Full Frame A-mount camera, and two APS-C cameras is not showing us that commitment.
We have heard NOTHING from Sony about the future of this line. We NEED some communication. We need some sort of signal. If A-mount is going to be put on the back burner, or discontinued entirely, we deserve to know about it so we can make plans to move to Canon or Nikon. Mark my words, and I speak for tens of thousands of other users – if you kill off A-mount with the plans of transitioning us to E-mount, it wont happen. The vast majority of us will be moving on to a company that didn’t screw us over and has a stable and supported lens system, like Canon or Nikon.
You are about to lose a vast number of your existing customers unless you make a public announcement as to the future of Sony A-mount. I’ve been a loyal A-mount customer since 1988 with Minolta was running the show – and this is the worst I’ve ever seen when it comes to pissed off customers!
Please forward this to upper management at Sony.
Don’t think it’s as big of an issue as I’m making it out to be?
Read the comments at just some of these sites:
http://www.sonyalpharumors.com/the-a-mount-frustration-post-what-should-sony-do
http://www.sonyalpharumors.com/sony-announces-the-new-fe-lenses/
http://www.dyxum.com/dforum/sony-photokina-no-love-for-amount_topic109020.html
http://www.dyxum.com/dforum/has-sony-forgotten-about-alpha-camera-lens-users_topic108789.html
http://www.dpreview.com/forums/post/54367837
http://www.dpreview.com/forums/post/54388876
http://www.dpreview.com/forums/post/54393464
Jacob Hewins
You speak for tens of thousands of users? ahahaha
Calm down. Maybe have a stiff drink? You’re getting very worked up about a camera system.
You should get some perspective.
Dear Dr. Phil,
Please know that many of us here on SAR are very loyal Sony brand photographers. It’s not unreasonable for folks to be upset and concerned. Perhaps you’re not vested with thousands of dollars into the A-Mount or you’re so well off that it doesn’t matter.
Regards,
Dan
You can be upset or concerned. It doesn’t change the fact Sony will do what they think is right for their shareholders. If that means ditching A-mount ultimately, that’s what they’ll do (for the record, I’m not saying they will or won’t). It’s normal for a manufacturer to keep quite about future products. Do you think Sony should be different? If Sony where to announce they were going to drop A-mount tomorrow (for example), would that make you feel any better? Would the kit you currently have stop taking pictures suddenly?
Any camera system is a gamble now, be it F, EF or A-mount. It’s clear the future is mirrorless.
Actually, regarding your question “If Sony where to announce they were going to drop A-mount tomorrow (for example), would that make you feel any better?”, my answer is yes!
This would allow me to make better decisions, starting with refusing delivery or otherwise return the ZA24 that I ordered last week and not buy anything more for a discontinued platform.
Example: If I were on a car lot and wanted a particular car, and the sales guy told me it will be the last year of production, I would choose something else.
Next, I would start planning a transition to a system that has legs. That isn’t to say that I would let go of my current A-Mount kit because like you said, it still works. Sometimes, even bad news is better than no news.
So, it doesn’t really matter what Sony decides, just so long as they’re honest and allow customers to make informed decisions. I think even a board member would do that.
I suppose my point is, if you are unhappy because Sony is not giving any clear indication of the future of A-mount, perhaps you should consider your loyalty. Obviously, if you have a large investment it’s not something to consider lightly, but I doubt the letter I originally commented on would serve much purpose.
I would say the future of any system with a mirror box is shaky at best. I think most people understand the mirror will disappear, a relic from the days of film as it is. I’d also point out the announcement of large, fast primes for FE-mount doesn’t bode well for A-mount. Make of that what you will.
Finally, I think we reached common ground so I stopped working on the Voodoo Doll with your name on it.
(SLT) has long had to die…. future for FE and it is very good!
We also thousands who want to see the future for FE!
Now, I’m confused as to what you’re talking about. I’m well aware of the FE and its future. I’m still an A-Mount shooter until I switch to Nikon, Canon or Pentax.
The latest lens for A mount was released 10 months ago. The letter seems to border on psychotic. A77 ii came about just 3 months ago.
Actually the latest E mount crop lens was release 12 months ago. should E mount users commit suicide?
He needs to chill out… relax a bit.
You dont get it …E mounters will share the fate of A mounters.
But a mount lenses are partly funtional with adapters…E mount lenses have the shortest flange distance of any lens therefore cannot be adapted to any other mount…
The new curved sensor will be made into an interchangeable lens camera of superb quality..and all new lenses with curved focal plane will be desighned as well as a new mount to fit.
A mount lenses will be usable with a new adaper that will curve the focal plane to match.
Unfortunately E mount lenses have the shortest flange distance of any lens therefore cannot be adapted to any other mount.
Due to the extrmely high quality of this new system both A moun and E mount will be phased out and be replaced with this amazing new curved sensor mount system.
A-mount is a dead man walking. To pretend otherwise is to bury ones head into the sand. What you ignore is one reason for a delay in lenses is Sony engineers have been busy churning out e-mount bodies. Sony’s 36mp best of breed processor has gone through 2 generations but only Nikon has seen them in their D8xx series and of course e-mount fans with the a7R. The rumors but much delayed a99II might get it just in time to play 2nd fiddle to Sony’s grand January announcement.
Sony showcased e-mount at both CES and now Photokina. A-mount? We have a repeat performance of a Sony VP refusing to address the a-mount’s future when directly asked.
The a77II is the only sign of life but who would invest a lot of cash in such a dormant product line clearly being treated as a redheaded stepchild or worse?
2015 before we see many of these lenses. Sony lens launches are ‘painfully’ slow
Andrea,
Those Loxia lenses are Mf and this is sub-optimal today.
For example manual focus on A7 in less than decent light is on the difficult side as refresh rate drops quite a bit.
Sub optimal for who? Ask an A7s video user if they would like a MF lens with de-clickable aperture ring.
Also, refresh rate is fine on the A7s in low light.
Who cares? Fly-by-wire focus has ruined the entire system. It’s flawed from the ground up. And if that don’t get ya, the shutter shock and body flex will.
Shutter shock? From a A7s?
I’ll tell you want I really want. I want an Alpha 200mm 2.8. That’s what I want. I want Sony to unleash a very fast 200mm 2.8. You know what might even be better than that? Maybe a 200mm 1.8 cuase like it’s never been done before.
WHERE IS THE A-MOUNT LENS ROADMAP? GOODBYE SONY.