Sony announces new A9 in New York....

Specifically for the discussion of the A-mount DSLR range
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peterottaway
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Re: Sony announces new A9 in New York....

Unread post by peterottaway »

The A99 II being a single A mount FF camera is exposed to being considered not really a long term proposition however good it may be. However much it would eat into other sales, Sony probably need to support it with a second FF camera at least. In the short term a cheaper A99 with a 24 sensor would do and some months down the track an A mount with the internals of the A9.

Does it really matter to Sony which sells better ? The body exists and now they have the A9 in production pretty much all the development costs have been incurred.
CHOLLY
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Re: Sony announces new A9 in New York....

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There were rumors of an A88 a couple years back.... but that has yet to be fleshed out in fact.

It would be nice... but the A99II in fact offers specs WAY above it's asking price. You truly are getting tremendous "bang for the buck."

Same with the A9.

At this price point, a true photojournalist would HAVE to take a serious look at the A9 before buying a new 1DXII or D5... shot; even a 5DIV!
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bfitzgerald
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Re: Sony announces new A9 in New York....

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It would make sense to have an 8 series FF body cut out the fluffy stuff (for want of a better word) and make it much more affordable. A99II looks great but it's pricey beyond the reach of many.
I assume Sony still have an interest in A mount otherwise they would not have released a new body. That being the case the mount needs more work the occasional lens release would be nice too. This year will be important if they update the A77II as it's due one might have been an idea to have a body between the A77II and A68. Too much emphasis on E mount some of us are not really very interested in E mount it's just not on the radar at all bar a second body at a blow out price at best.

Don't get too worked up with the A9 on paper it looks nice E mount doesn't have the fast tele lenses to attract buyers in fact they don't have any fast tele lenses on E mount they do on A Mount (300mm F2.8/500mm F4)
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Re: Sony announces new A9 in New York....

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I wonder if they have plans at the bottom of the range with the A-58 Entry level cameras
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Re: Sony announces new A9 in New York....

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Barry, the 7 series A mounts are updated 4 years apart just like the 9 series is. That means we are due for an A77III in 2019...
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bfitzgerald
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Re: Sony announces new A9 in New York....

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A77 was 2011 A77II was 2014 the A99 to A99II was longer but the A58-A68 was also 3 years. I can't see the A77II lasting until 2019
So on that it's due an update maybe end of year. I doubt they will put another entry body out for a few more years unless they do a minor update ie Wi-Fi or something added into the A68 as it came out in 2016 about a year ago
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the_hefay
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Re: Sony announces new A9 in New York....

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bfitzgerald wrote:might have been an idea to have a body between the A77II and A68.
I'm not sure what you could put in between those two models; below the A68 sure, but between the A68 and A77m2? That was the problem in 2008, 2009, and 2010. In those three years they released 17 separate a-mount models. Anyone remember those chaotic days? Most people, including myself, had no idea what purpose the majority of those models served. I'd hate to see Sony's camera line-up go bonkers again.

Perhaps an A88 or something for those FF a-mount users is in order as far as a new model goes.

At any rate, I'm glad to see both the A9 and the A99m2. They are both out of my price range and they are both FF so I won't be buying either one but it's still nice to see models coming off of the assembly line and both were needed models. The A9 fills a hole and the A99m2 is a timely update.
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bfitzgerald
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Re: Sony announces new A9 in New York....

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I'm thinking ahead if there is an A77III it's very likely going to be more expensive ie £1200 or around there. If there is one that is.
Situation for crop shooters on A Mount is a bit mixed you have only 2 bodies the A68 which is a bit of a Frankenstein camera borrowing bits off the A77II in a cheaper body fair enough though it's price needs to fall to make it appealing. The A77II is just to old next month it's 3 years old ie at the end of it's cycle. Hard to find splashing out £1000 on such a camera if it were £700 odd which is about as much as it's worth it might be worth a look.

Sony's main problem is pricing when the A68 came out the shelf price wasn't that must less than the A77II street price thus it really wasn't worth considering. Now the A77II is as expensive as it was at first release which makes 0 sense at all. Situation could be resolved fairly easily by a hefty price cut on both models
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Re: Sony announces new A9 in New York....

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I think gaudy specs and high profile performance can't but help Sony increase the number of people interested in it's products.

The A9 certainly fits that bill... in toto.

That is CRITICALLY important in a shrinking market....
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bfitzgerald
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Re: Sony announces new A9 in New York....

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You can't just target high end buyers because it's not enough to sustain a business long term. The camera industry has to bear some of the blame for the decline they are experiencing. There is little innovation..sensor tech has improved quite slowly nothing ground breaking for some time. What happened to those exciting organic sensors that would blow our minds? Instead we get hefty price increases.

There are other ways they make money, lenses, flashes and accessories. It's important to cover the low-mid-high end. Otherwise you end up with buyers like myself just pressing the ignore button on purchases. Just jacking up prices means no sale not paying for older tech at release prices sorry not going to happen. If Sony had made a decent updated UWA I would have bought it they didn't so Tokina got my money. Simple as that really if you don't make it and price it appropriately people won't buy it. Expect further sales declines for more years. A9 won't change that it's a specialist camera which isn't going to sell in big numbers.
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the_hefay
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Re: Sony announces new A9 in New York....

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bfitzgerald wrote:There is little innovation..
:?: :?: :?:
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CHOLLY
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Re: Sony announces new A9 in New York....

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:?:

Barry I've sussed it out; You just like to be contrary. :lol:

This camera is a prime EXAMPLE of a technology demonstrator... technology I might add, that both matriculated UP from lower end camera models AND was the result of camera specific innovation.

Sony has released the A68 and both the A6300 and A6500 within the last 15 months. They have also released the A99II and the A9. 5 cameras, one low end, two mid range, and two high end. A pretty even spread.

And as we have discussed before, you are putting the cart before the horse with your reason for declining camera sales. The decline in camera sales has CAUSED the increase in camera list prices... and that decline began LONG before Sony started riding their prices up. Was it you who posted an article about declining camera sales due to the increase in smart phones?
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bfitzgerald
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Re: Sony announces new A9 in New York....

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I'm not seeing anything big it might be to some folks but my boat isn't rocking at all. I posted an article about declining sales it can't all be blamed on smart phones for some buyers maybe. Others are enthusiasts and a phone camera won't cut it however good (I've a pretty good lumia 950 myself camera is decent but it has limitations). Sony still sell the old E mount bodies why? A7, A7II, A7R, A7RII, A7S, A7SII and the A9. Bit overkill by anyone's thinking. By your thinking prices will have to go up continuously in fact it's a self defeating strategy there is something called ebay Sony don't make a lot off of second hand purchases. As I explained with lenses if you don't make it someone else will.

Sony are sleeping on the flashes too other makers are stepping in and gobbling up the market where the OEM's have been blowing big margins on flashguns people have wised up to it. So what's the plan in 10 years time you can't buy a camera for less than £1000? Todays budget buyer is tomorrows higher end body, but there are limits if people think they're getting a bad deal they don't buy. If you knew the production cost of the A9 you'd probably be amazed at the mark up
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bfitzgerald
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Re: Sony announces new A9 in New York....

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There is a newer report from CIPA showing an expected 10%+ decline for 2017 in shipments (sales will be interesting)
https://photorumors.com/2017/02/10/cipa ... 7-outlook/

Pie continues to get smaller prices have reached saturation point (ie the market won't be able to sustain it)
Bets are on for who bails first. Olympus posted big losses so did Panasonic. Fuji are not in a great position and Pentax are also in trouble with Ricoh having significant financial troubles. We can rule out Nikon and Canon folding the brands are too big Sony are probably safe enough but people are just not buying like they used to. Bit of a problem for any business

This is even more interesting in 2016 they actually shipped more interchangeable lens cameras in the late 80's and into the 90's firmly film era:
http://www.cipa.jp/stats/documents/common/cr200.pdf
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Re: Sony announces new A9 in New York....

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