A Mount is alive and well!

[Colorado]

What would Sony have to do to make you say or believe this? I don't want a discussion on whether A mount is dead or not, I know a large percentage of the Sony community believes it is dead despite what Sony says. And another large percentage thinks it's dead but hopes it is not. I'm just interested in what actions you think Sony would have to do to convince its users that A mount is alive and supported?

As for me it would have to be something on the order of: Sony just announced two new A mount pro models the A99s and a A99r. I also might be convinced if new G Master A mount lenses were produced. What do you think?

[Golem]

Ignoring certain luddite cultists, I think the convincer

would be to remove the SLT system from the current

A-mount line and substitute state of the art live-view

AF, such as developed by Canon. The "Convincer" is

an abstract idea. My outfit is quite complete. It's not

state-of-the-art, but it's complete. So you can't sell me

anything, even if you convince me that the A-mount

will be the Galactic Standard for 1000 earth years :-)

  

The above is dirt simple and obvious. Then we come

to the sticky part, where foolish emotions and doubts

enter in the picture. Some will insist that the A-mount

must be solidly integrated into the structure to create

a dedicated A-mount-only camera body. Thaz just a

"binky-blanket, thumb-sucking" emotional thing.  

 

It's normal on the cine scene to use interchangeable  

lens mounts on a single body. No particular mount is

the default mount. It's an open system. And this is the

future for the A-mount IF it is to have a future, if there

are any really good reasons for it to have a future. 

  

FWIW, I am an A-mount user, and am not in the least

bit worried about it. Whatever lies ahead will be OK.  

I've been using A-mount for over 25 yrs. Thaz a long

time. Nothing lasts forever. Again to your question of

what can Sony do to make me a believer: NOTHING

they could do will make me a believer. I'm a USER of

a large outfit, until it becomes unusable. Nothing Sony

can do, nothing anyone can imagine, would convince

me to expand ... NOR UPDATE ... the outfit. Thaz cuz

it always has been, and still is, very productive.

  

The only update that was NECESSARY was replacing  

the Minolta film bodies with Sony-alpha digital bodies,

which are fewer in number than the film bodies cuz a

"roll" of variable-ISO digital film holds 2500 frames, and

also I don't hafta load two different emulsions anymore.  

No big deal. Dollar-wise, it's like buying 2 year's worth

of film and processing but is much more versatile, and

much more convenient, and provides huuuuugely more

exposures than 2 years worth of film would've provided.

Basically, the replacement bodies came at zero cost.

 

If you add in the cost of all the 2CR5 batteries that are

needed to shoot 2 year's worth of film, then the alpha

bodies are even better than zero cost ... it's like they're

actually PRINTING CASH MONEY :-) 

[ShotGal]

It might take Miracle Max to say they're only MOSTLY dead - but despite how great the A Mount is - it hasn't moved forward with development nearly as quickly as E Mount.
The other thing that's telling - the number of other brand shooters that have moved to E Mount is huge - where there was no such sea change towards A Mount.
So - when hotcakes are selling out - do you make more hotcakes - or focus on making one Fabrege' Lobster Frittata?

 

E Mount wins - 35 to 12

 

2016

 

2 - A Mount lenses

6 - E Mount lenses

2 - E Mount converters

1 - E Mount cameras

 

2015

 

2 - A Mount lenses

4 - E Mount lenses

1 - A Mount cameras

2 - E Mount cameras

 

2014

 

1 - A Mount lenses

2 - E Mount lenses

1 - A Mount cameras

5 - E Mount cameras

 

2013

 

4 - A Mount lenses

8 - E Mount lenses

1 - A Mount cameras

5 - E Mount cameras

 

The convincing otherwise would be in fast, high end A Mount development and lots of new product for the platform.

[wedge]

The fact of the matter is that A-mount doesn't need such frequent new releases to be kept alive, compared to E-mount.  E-mount is still young, and still has tons of holes in the line-up, in spite of the number of new models coming out each year.  By comparison the A-mount system is completely saturated with more than enough devices.  There's just no reason to keep developing it so often.  I think it's smart of them to have fewer but bigger much more significant releases for A-mount.  Rather than the frequent, incremental releases that E-mount is getting.

 

Just look at A-mount bodies right now:  The A99, A77II, A68, and A58 are still "active" models.  The A99 is the oldest on the list, and it is due for a replacement.  But in spite of that, it is still a great camera that can easily go toe-to-toe with anything in the same price range.  The A77II, up until the release of the D500 was the undisputed king of sports/wildlife, and at an affordable price too.  And even with the D500 existing, the A77II is still the best value in that area.  The A68 and A58 fill in the lower end of the market, both offering great performance and features for their price tags.  With that small line-up of just 4 cameras, Sony pretty much has all the bases covered.

 

I'll repeat: I think it's smart to release fewer new cameras.  But when they do release something new, make it big and significant.  This is the same strategy CaNikon follow, it's just that their line-ups are so much bigger, that we perceive far more frequent new releases from them. 

 

Replacing all the E-mount bodies every year doesn't really benefit anybody, except Sony.  So it's not that A-mount is dead at all.  It's just that E-mount is such a cash cow for them, that A-mount feels dead by comparison.

[Guest Jaf-Photo]

It's easy. A fast A99II and GM lenses for A Mount. Then I'd know they're serious.