As you know Sony did not announce the long-waited A7S III full frame MILC or a new APS-C mirrorless camera before, during or after the Photokina show.
In a recent interview by DPReview with Mr. Kenji Tanaka – VP and Senior General Manager of Sony’s Business Unit, it is almost confirmed that a new APS-C mirrorless camera will be announced by the CP+ 2019 show that will take place at the end of February (February 28th – March 3th).
Interview also includes talks about the competition in the full-frame mirrorless market, the value of APS-C, and future plans for the a7S III. Mr. Kenji Tanaka confirmed that the Sony a7S III is coming but it will take time, and Sony will release new APS-C mirrorless cameras and lenses.
Here is a quick recap:
1. Sony a7S III is coming but it will take a lot of work and time.
Q: 4K is becoming a standard across all categories now, and the a7S II is getting rather old. Are you still interested in this market segment?
A: Of course, yes. Our a7S II customers want to create many things, and to meet their demands we are thinking about creating a successor model. But the next model should of course be more than they expect. So we’re planning a future S model right now, but it will take time.
Q: What do your existing a7S II customers want to see improved?
A: They want 4K/60p, 4:2:2 10-bit, and of course more battery power, increased AF accuracy – many things!
2. Sony will release new APS-C mirrorless lenses.
Q: Do you have any plans to release new APS-C lenses?
A: Yes, APS-C is a big market for us. Recently most of our new lenses have been full frame, but APS-C remains a key target.
3. Sony confirmed that they will release new APS-C mirrorless cameras.
Q: What is your long-term strategy for APS-C and will we ever see another NEX-7 equivalent camera with dual dials ?
A: We have to get customer feedback. The dual dial on the NEX-7, some customers appreciated it, but some customers didn’t. The APS-C market is very important for us, so we will create new models in the APS-C market, but we need to ask customers what kind of models they want.
4. Sony has no plans for medium format at the moment.
Q: Do you see any customer demand for sensors larger than full frame?
A: Right now there are a lot of things still to do with full-frame sensors, so at the moment I don’t have any ideas about starting work on new larger imaging sensors.
5. Sony doesn’t care about the competitors, but they care about the customers.
Q: Is there anything that surprised you about the announcements from your competitors?
A: No, not really. I already predicted that Canon and Nikon would join the market, and even Panasonic. It wasn’t a surprise to me. But thinking about innovation in cameras, every company should join the mirrorless market, as this is where there is the most opportunity to innovate.
Hot Sony Mirrorless Camera Deals:
$200 off on Sony a7R II: $1,798 at Amazon, B&H, Adorama.
$200 off on Sony a7S II: $2,198 at Amazon, B&H, Adorama.
$500 off on Sony a9: $3,998 at Amazon, B&H, Adorama.
In addition, the Sony a7 III mirrorless camera is now in stock at major US stores:
Sony a7 III body: $1,998 at Amazon, B&H, Adorama.
$200 off on Sony a7R III: $2,998 at Amazon, B&H, Adorama.
Read more Sony Mirrorless news and Sony Rumors here.
