A900 vs. DX3, Canon FF, Red, Panasonic, etc.
Posted: Sun Dec 07, 2008 12:00 pm
CMOS DESIGN
Sony is the world's foremost imaging sensor maker. It has several times higher CCD output than the next manufacturer - Matsushita. It was making super high quality camcorder CMOS long before Canon was capable to do it. Practically all studion digital film production is made with Sony cameras - F900, F950, F23, F35 - from Star Wars to Spy Kids 3D to Spiderman. Canon does not make pro, only prosumer video cameras. Matsushita can't compete with Sony in the pro market at all. Go to any TV studio and you will see one brand that dominates - Sony. Sony knows a lot about cameras, CCD's, CMOS, etc. Their new less expensive pro cameras EX1, EX3, as weel as the higher-end XDCAM 700 are breaking all sales records.
Sony Power and their Different Games
Sony for decades did not even look at what their electronic competitors are doing. They created better products, opened new markets. Then their founder suffered a heard attack and things changed. There was no longer any bold leadership with vision. While Matsushita and Canon unfairly influenced many Internet forums, Sony personnel was not allowed to get on these forums. When Canon was unfair, they just refused to provide them with their parts, and swithched to Fuji for their pro lenses. Canon quickly learned where their place is. Same with Matsushita. They tried to trumph Sony with some TV network equipment purchasing. Sony just made better new products and the studio switched back to Sony. Check on the Panasonic M2 format fiasco.
How Sony Acquired the K-M Division
Sony cooperated closely with Minolta, but were going to acquire the Contax brand from Kyocera, as they needed to get into the DSLR business. Konica realized that they would lose their chance to get rid of their money-losing division, so they rushed to transfer it to Sony, practically for nothing. Sony however refused to pay for acquiring all their antishake patents, for the Dynax-Maxum brand names. KM was free then to license or to continue licensing their antishake to other companies, including Pentax.
RED
Red has been making a lot of noise and has one video camera product so far, with CMOS coming from who knows where. Funny thing is that Sony EX1 with 1/2" CMOS has better low light sensitivity that Red 35 mm CMOS, even when all is converted to 1080 resolution. Check cinematography.com Red forum, where cinematography pros keep on making fun of the inferior Red product. Red has no chance to compete in the still camera market. The products are plagued with problems; they take Sigma lenses and with mainly cosmetic changes turn them to "superior" Red lenses, etc.
Compact Cameras with Video
Sony model 500 is the only one that zooms without microphone picking motor noise, or which auto-focuses well enough in the video mode
Canon FF Cameras
The black spots on right side of highlight transition demonstrate how Canon CMOS and related stuff is inferior compared to Sony.
Sony vs. DX3
DX3 costs $5000 more than F900; Nikon does not have wide enough range of lenses with sufficient image quality, Sony now has a wider range, plus all Sony lenses are stabilized, so it makes a lot of sense for Nikon and Canon users to switch systems and save not $5000, but a lot more, plus in Canon's sake have a system with much higher image quality. Sony FF CMOS is manufactured with IQ of being the most important, Canon'd CMOS is more commercial, less pro.
DX3 sensor
It is all Sony design. Sony already indicated that their A900 could have live view, but that the sensor development would hold the camera shipment by 6 months. They are selling this improved A900 sensor to Nikon. Nikon is incapable to design sensors of Sony quality, and when it did design couple in the past, it was always with Sony's help.
Sony 6-month delay policy
For a number of years Sony had a policy not to sell their solid state products for 6 months since they launch products with these devices. That is why there was a delay of about 6 months between A700, A900 and similar Nikon products. Some of their ClerVid and Exmor devices - e.g. their advanced video CMOS sensors - they refuse to sell to competition for up to years.
Sony vs. Matsushita
JVC was up to recently owned by Matsushita, an electrival primarily, not electronic company, which makes stugff like GE, makeslight bulbs, even toilets, etc., etc. At various industry shows JVC bragged that their most expensive video cameras use not Matsushita - Panasonic CCD's, but ones made by Sony.
Panasonic could never compete with Sony in pro video camera equipment, because Sony reliability was much higher, and their sensors were much better, including less noisy. Once a network, I believe ABC, bought Panasonic digital equipment for all its studios and stations. It was soon discarded and replaced with Sony better equipment and the ones who made the wrong purchasing decision were fired. Since then the word in the industry is that you can't get fired for buying Sony. Panasonic still sells some, by giving it to the stations at extremely low cost. It helps their image, nothing else. They and Thomson were able to supply this way equipment for the last Olympics.
Sony and formats
Except for VHS and DVD, all video formats were created by Sony, including the pro field - C, U-Matic, U-Matic SP, Batacam, Batacam SP, Digital Beta, DV, DVCAM, XDCAM, EX XDCAM, 8 mm, Hi8, HDCAM, HDCAM SR, etc., etc. VHS was Matsushita - JVC development, after Sony showed Matsushita their Beta prototype and wanted them to use it, which they refused, because of only 1 hour recording time. At that time a Sony employee went back to the car and brought in longer playing - 2-hour - Beta. Panasonic copied what they could to improve their VHS, which they were developing, then teamed up with RCA and the inferior format won. DVD is Toshiba format; Sony lost on that one. Video formats that Matsushita is using in pro video gear are derivatives of Sony developed formats.
CD was a joint Philip - Sony development; 3-1/2" disketts were Sony developed, so was Mini Disc, Blu-Ray, etc.
Sony New Video Cameras
F35 is now being tested in Japan with 4k resolution = 8 MP.
Panavision Genesis is also Sony developed camera and Sony wanted to make it 4K from the start - it uses 12 MP 35 mm chip, byt Panavision talked them out of it, since theater projection quality is under 2K (2x1K=2K). Some new theteras are now using Sony 4K projectors and 4K is one of the new digital cinema standards.
Cameron, Rodrigues, all the known directors use modified Sony cameras for 3D film production
New system with 24 MP is now tested in Japan for broadcast as Ultra Definition. Japan has used HDTV broadcast for about two decades already and all the Cameras were again Sony
Future Still Cameras
will have quality video function. Everything will be different. They will be constantly on and when the shutter is pressed a burst of images will be recorded from before to after the shutter is pressed. Another mode will allow constant video recording at the same time. Sony will have the best cameras then, Nikon will move to #3 spot in the market share.
Sony have quickly trippled its market share - just look at the figures for the last year or two and check todays's figures
Sony's unfortunate past
Sony was mismanaged after its founder suffered a stroke. At one time it could become the foremost DSLR maker; it did not. The new CEO is rejuvenating the Sony spirit.
Sony is working on the following products. The code names are different, but I am told that the following will likely be the actual model numbers. Don't ask me for any details.
- A50 APS camera without viewfinder
- A500 APS camera with live view and video function
- A800 FF Camera
- A1000 FF camera
- new lenses - high resolution telephoto, etc.
- 2 new camera systems - lenses, where the mirror stays locked up and the new lenses are closer to the CMOS. This will be used in high end FF cameras which will rival MF resolution and in smaller inexpensive system - these will use APS sized sensors - and will be without mirror boxes, and will compete with Panasonic G1; new lenses are being developed; the older ones will too be useable. The cameras will accomodate both type of lenses - the ones with short distance between the sensor and then lens, and the older lens design, however not all older lenses will be usable.
- back iluminated sensors
- video-still conbimation cameras, which will be superior to what the competition can do, just as their implementation of live view is superior.
They are planning to to become No.1 DSLR maker. When Sony started, after WW2, they were nothing more than garage-type operation that was started by couple of engineers. They made the first Japanese transistor radio. They made their own transistors. They and the Czechs that time developed the world's first transistor radios, but the Sony one was scrapped for inferior plastic parts and the Czech one because the Communists saw future in miniature electron tubes. The world's first transistor radio then became US made Regency - inferior and unreliable. Sony made their first one a year later in 1955. It was highly reliable. The Czechs did so in 1958 - the first one in the Soviet block. Breznev wanted the Russians to make theirs first in the Eastern block, but they were not able to. They could not make it working. Sony old transistor radios sell for up to thousands of dollars - among collectors, next ones in line are old Toshibas. Matsushita radios sell for some 10x less.
Sony had a bad decade, but things are turning around.
Sony is the world's foremost imaging sensor maker. It has several times higher CCD output than the next manufacturer - Matsushita. It was making super high quality camcorder CMOS long before Canon was capable to do it. Practically all studion digital film production is made with Sony cameras - F900, F950, F23, F35 - from Star Wars to Spy Kids 3D to Spiderman. Canon does not make pro, only prosumer video cameras. Matsushita can't compete with Sony in the pro market at all. Go to any TV studio and you will see one brand that dominates - Sony. Sony knows a lot about cameras, CCD's, CMOS, etc. Their new less expensive pro cameras EX1, EX3, as weel as the higher-end XDCAM 700 are breaking all sales records.
Sony Power and their Different Games
Sony for decades did not even look at what their electronic competitors are doing. They created better products, opened new markets. Then their founder suffered a heard attack and things changed. There was no longer any bold leadership with vision. While Matsushita and Canon unfairly influenced many Internet forums, Sony personnel was not allowed to get on these forums. When Canon was unfair, they just refused to provide them with their parts, and swithched to Fuji for their pro lenses. Canon quickly learned where their place is. Same with Matsushita. They tried to trumph Sony with some TV network equipment purchasing. Sony just made better new products and the studio switched back to Sony. Check on the Panasonic M2 format fiasco.
How Sony Acquired the K-M Division
Sony cooperated closely with Minolta, but were going to acquire the Contax brand from Kyocera, as they needed to get into the DSLR business. Konica realized that they would lose their chance to get rid of their money-losing division, so they rushed to transfer it to Sony, practically for nothing. Sony however refused to pay for acquiring all their antishake patents, for the Dynax-Maxum brand names. KM was free then to license or to continue licensing their antishake to other companies, including Pentax.
RED
Red has been making a lot of noise and has one video camera product so far, with CMOS coming from who knows where. Funny thing is that Sony EX1 with 1/2" CMOS has better low light sensitivity that Red 35 mm CMOS, even when all is converted to 1080 resolution. Check cinematography.com Red forum, where cinematography pros keep on making fun of the inferior Red product. Red has no chance to compete in the still camera market. The products are plagued with problems; they take Sigma lenses and with mainly cosmetic changes turn them to "superior" Red lenses, etc.
Compact Cameras with Video
Sony model 500 is the only one that zooms without microphone picking motor noise, or which auto-focuses well enough in the video mode
Canon FF Cameras
The black spots on right side of highlight transition demonstrate how Canon CMOS and related stuff is inferior compared to Sony.
Sony vs. DX3
DX3 costs $5000 more than F900; Nikon does not have wide enough range of lenses with sufficient image quality, Sony now has a wider range, plus all Sony lenses are stabilized, so it makes a lot of sense for Nikon and Canon users to switch systems and save not $5000, but a lot more, plus in Canon's sake have a system with much higher image quality. Sony FF CMOS is manufactured with IQ of being the most important, Canon'd CMOS is more commercial, less pro.
DX3 sensor
It is all Sony design. Sony already indicated that their A900 could have live view, but that the sensor development would hold the camera shipment by 6 months. They are selling this improved A900 sensor to Nikon. Nikon is incapable to design sensors of Sony quality, and when it did design couple in the past, it was always with Sony's help.
Sony 6-month delay policy
For a number of years Sony had a policy not to sell their solid state products for 6 months since they launch products with these devices. That is why there was a delay of about 6 months between A700, A900 and similar Nikon products. Some of their ClerVid and Exmor devices - e.g. their advanced video CMOS sensors - they refuse to sell to competition for up to years.
Sony vs. Matsushita
JVC was up to recently owned by Matsushita, an electrival primarily, not electronic company, which makes stugff like GE, makeslight bulbs, even toilets, etc., etc. At various industry shows JVC bragged that their most expensive video cameras use not Matsushita - Panasonic CCD's, but ones made by Sony.
Panasonic could never compete with Sony in pro video camera equipment, because Sony reliability was much higher, and their sensors were much better, including less noisy. Once a network, I believe ABC, bought Panasonic digital equipment for all its studios and stations. It was soon discarded and replaced with Sony better equipment and the ones who made the wrong purchasing decision were fired. Since then the word in the industry is that you can't get fired for buying Sony. Panasonic still sells some, by giving it to the stations at extremely low cost. It helps their image, nothing else. They and Thomson were able to supply this way equipment for the last Olympics.
Sony and formats
Except for VHS and DVD, all video formats were created by Sony, including the pro field - C, U-Matic, U-Matic SP, Batacam, Batacam SP, Digital Beta, DV, DVCAM, XDCAM, EX XDCAM, 8 mm, Hi8, HDCAM, HDCAM SR, etc., etc. VHS was Matsushita - JVC development, after Sony showed Matsushita their Beta prototype and wanted them to use it, which they refused, because of only 1 hour recording time. At that time a Sony employee went back to the car and brought in longer playing - 2-hour - Beta. Panasonic copied what they could to improve their VHS, which they were developing, then teamed up with RCA and the inferior format won. DVD is Toshiba format; Sony lost on that one. Video formats that Matsushita is using in pro video gear are derivatives of Sony developed formats.
CD was a joint Philip - Sony development; 3-1/2" disketts were Sony developed, so was Mini Disc, Blu-Ray, etc.
Sony New Video Cameras
F35 is now being tested in Japan with 4k resolution = 8 MP.
Panavision Genesis is also Sony developed camera and Sony wanted to make it 4K from the start - it uses 12 MP 35 mm chip, byt Panavision talked them out of it, since theater projection quality is under 2K (2x1K=2K). Some new theteras are now using Sony 4K projectors and 4K is one of the new digital cinema standards.
Cameron, Rodrigues, all the known directors use modified Sony cameras for 3D film production
New system with 24 MP is now tested in Japan for broadcast as Ultra Definition. Japan has used HDTV broadcast for about two decades already and all the Cameras were again Sony
Future Still Cameras
will have quality video function. Everything will be different. They will be constantly on and when the shutter is pressed a burst of images will be recorded from before to after the shutter is pressed. Another mode will allow constant video recording at the same time. Sony will have the best cameras then, Nikon will move to #3 spot in the market share.
Sony have quickly trippled its market share - just look at the figures for the last year or two and check todays's figures
Sony's unfortunate past
Sony was mismanaged after its founder suffered a stroke. At one time it could become the foremost DSLR maker; it did not. The new CEO is rejuvenating the Sony spirit.
Sony is working on the following products. The code names are different, but I am told that the following will likely be the actual model numbers. Don't ask me for any details.
- A50 APS camera without viewfinder
- A500 APS camera with live view and video function
- A800 FF Camera
- A1000 FF camera
- new lenses - high resolution telephoto, etc.
- 2 new camera systems - lenses, where the mirror stays locked up and the new lenses are closer to the CMOS. This will be used in high end FF cameras which will rival MF resolution and in smaller inexpensive system - these will use APS sized sensors - and will be without mirror boxes, and will compete with Panasonic G1; new lenses are being developed; the older ones will too be useable. The cameras will accomodate both type of lenses - the ones with short distance between the sensor and then lens, and the older lens design, however not all older lenses will be usable.
- back iluminated sensors
- video-still conbimation cameras, which will be superior to what the competition can do, just as their implementation of live view is superior.
They are planning to to become No.1 DSLR maker. When Sony started, after WW2, they were nothing more than garage-type operation that was started by couple of engineers. They made the first Japanese transistor radio. They made their own transistors. They and the Czechs that time developed the world's first transistor radios, but the Sony one was scrapped for inferior plastic parts and the Czech one because the Communists saw future in miniature electron tubes. The world's first transistor radio then became US made Regency - inferior and unreliable. Sony made their first one a year later in 1955. It was highly reliable. The Czechs did so in 1958 - the first one in the Soviet block. Breznev wanted the Russians to make theirs first in the Eastern block, but they were not able to. They could not make it working. Sony old transistor radios sell for up to thousands of dollars - among collectors, next ones in line are old Toshibas. Matsushita radios sell for some 10x less.
Sony had a bad decade, but things are turning around.
