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sonystyle hong kong confirmed a850 has ceased production

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Rodkar

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before i decided to buy the 70300g this afternoon, i went to sonystyle to borrow a copy to test on my camera. actually it wasn't serious, i just wanna see how it feels on the camera. anyway, as i plan to sell my canon 7d and all canon stuff very soon so that i can get either an a850 or a900 as replacement, i also tried out the two cameras. basically i wanna see how the difference in fps and viewfinder feel in real. to my surprise, the fps feel almost the same to me. which is not what i expected. so i asked the staff there for assistance. just in case i didn't select the right drive mode. the one i asked obviously wasn't very familiar with the cameras as he had no clues either. the high speed drive mode on a900 felt noticeably slower than my a55v's normal 6fps. as for the viewfinder, again i couldn't tell the difference. but the same staff said the difference can only be felt with wide angle lenses. the a850 i tested had a cz85 mounted while the a900 had the cz135.

i just wonder if my experience was unusual. because i didn't feel any difference at all between the two cameras. but then they are demonstration units that have been abused heavily. the a900 might just have been faulty.

so i told what i am planning to do with the same staff. and he told me if i am serious about getting the a850, he would have to check for me if they still have any stock as production of it had already ceased. no new units will be coming in. at least for the hong kong market.

--
Roderick Kar
http://www.rodkar.com
Hong Kong SAR, Hong Kong
Bought first DSLR, Canon 20D, on 22nd February, 2005.
 
chopsteeks said:
where is your link ?

temporary due to disaster in Japan ?
Click to expand...
@chopsteeks, what link? i didn't put up any links in the thread ... it has nothing to do with the current situation in japan. apparently, the guy told me they were told of the discontinuation months ago .... they are just waiting for the current stock to run out. i did a search on flickr and found the same situation had been reported from australia 5 months ago. at this link http://www.flickr.com/groups/sony_alpha/discuss/72157625090478935/
--
Roderick Kar
http://www.rodkar.com
Hong Kong SAR, Hong Kong
Bought first DSLR, Canon 20D, on 22nd February, 2005.
 
Rodkar said:
chopsteeks said:
where is your link ?

temporary due to disaster in Japan ?
Click to expand...
@chopsteeks, what link? i didn't put up any links in the thread ... it has nothing to do with the current situation in japan. apparently, the guy told me they were told of the discontinuation months ago .... they are just waiting for the current stock to run out. i did a search on flickr and found the same situation had been reported from australia 5 months ago. at this link http://www.flickr.com/groups/sony_alpha/discuss/72157625090478935/
--
Roderick Kar
http://www.rodkar.com
Hong Kong SAR, Hong Kong
Bought first DSLR, Canon 20D, on 22nd February, 2005.
Click to expand...
So what do you think this means? Strange that Sony did not stop production of the a900 first, since it is the older camera.

--
Best regards,
Jon
 
Rumors and more rumors.

Sony is still producing both the A850/A900.

If the A850 production is stopped than the A900 would also be stopped as it is the same basic camera.

Any disruption in production may only be in Japan facilities due to the earth quake. There are several production and assembly facilities outsided of Japan and are in full production.
 
There have been lots of rumors about the A850 being discontinued and many just repeat those rumors. So until Sony Japan announces that the camera is discontinued, I would not worry about it.

And even if the camera has been discontinued, it will not suddenly stop taking pictures.

Now if you want to wait and see what the replacement(s) have to offer, those same rumors say we will see a replacement in the fall. But those are just rumors :-)

Unless you absolutely need the 5fps on a constant and ongoing basis, I would not use this criteria to decide which body to get. That you cannot 'feel' the difference between the two does not really surprise me.

As for the viewfinders, the A900 is 100% coverage, while the A850 is (I think) 98% coverage. You will not notice that difference unless you very carefully set up and align both cameras (using the same lens) on a target.

--

The greatest of mankind's criminals are those who delude themselves into thinking they have done 'the right thing.'
  • Rayna Butler
 
I was also at Sony store(Mississauga, Canada) today and was told same thing. 850 discontinued but 900 will continue and they are expecting sale price like recent 700 sale. Also at this moment 16 units of 850 are availble in Sony canada warehouse.

Sohail
 
Richard Cooper said:
With due respect, ......
Click to expand...
given walt's long history of posting unsubstantiated nonsense - coupled with a refusal to back it up with meaningful argument - and his arrogant and condescending treatment of other photographers, he no longer deserves any respect

(neither do i - but that's another matter)

--
i know what i know, which is a fraction of what i don't
 
Sony needs to discontinue the cameras with a smaller market some time before a new model is announced. This allows stock to be cleared without too heavy discounting. If the 850 is discontinued, but not the the 900, this may give an indication of the direction in which Sony is going. [Now comes the wild speculation] .

I suspect that the 850 will be replaced by a FF SLT model (A88?). Sony is probably still uncertain about the FF market and needs to test the popularity of FF in a (relatively) inexpensive model (hence the 850 not the 900). If it does prove popular we will see more cameras at the 800 level, if not, that's the end of the line.

The future of the top ("pro") model, the A9xx series, is different. Sony has several possibilities to consider, including:-
  • Discontinue making models at this level. Doubt it. Prestige plays a roll. Prestige is important for Japanese companies and has a rub-off effect on marketing.
  • Bring out an SLT model. This could happen - if the A88 receives a high acceptance by leading professionals. But I doubt it.
  • Upgrade it with a better sensor, faster processor and LV. Not enough competition for Canikon.
  • Up the resolution and switch the format to MF (smallish - the A mount wouldn't be able to take more than 40mm). Would appeal to the landscape/product/fashion photographers. The popularity of the Pentax 645D could influence this decision. However, market size is uncertain.
  • Produce it as a top mirrorless model. Ultimately this is the way cameras will go, but for the moment on-sensor focusing and EVF are not good enough for many people.
So my prediction: an A88 FF SLT near the end of this year or early next year and the A9xx series will sit in limbo for a while longer.
 
Sony Switzerland has confirmed that the A850 will be discontinued in April 2011. The A900 will be available "at least until end of 2011".

I hope that statement is clear.
 
Why this attack on Walt's statement? What he said has been the subject of this entire thread. He was simply repeating what several before him had said came from Sony Style representatives.
--
Dave
 
stevemark said:
Sony Switzerland has confirmed that the A850 will be discontinued in April 2011. The A900 will be available "at least until end of 2011".

I hope that statement is clear.
Click to expand...
Make sense. They will keep producing the a900 since it is the flagship model.
They need to have a flagship available until a new one will shows up.

The a850 will be discontinued early, so they can unload the remaining stock, not mentioning what is floating the Ebay.

This way it will keep used value of the a850 a little higher, has it has been the case for the a700.
 
I was told the same thing at Bangkok and Singapore Sony.

They said the A850 is about to be discontinued soon.

But no new Sony FF is coming any time so soon.

As for the VF , I have both the A850 and A900 and I see clear difference , the A900 has brighter and wider finder.

And the A900 focuses a bit faster and it can shoot 5f/s.

But in my very honest opinion, the a850 has a bit better noise control and the A900 has a bit better tonal range and DR.

The A900 is louder and I hate its shutter sound , too loud.

But if I have to keep only one then I 'd keep the A900.

When I bought my A850, it was extremely cheap , I was in Japan at the time I bought it and ordered it from BH photo , I just used strong yen against USD at the time.

But if I have to pay full price for the A850 (I mean its Singapore or BKK price) , I 'd rather get the A900 from Japan or US.

Japanese A900 price is the same as current A850 price in BKK, Singapore , KL ,etc, so there is no room for the A850 in Japanese market.

Any way, I was told that the A900 successor is not coming in this year and it will be announced in 2012 , I am hoping it to get pro video qaulity EVF(not the crappy cheap EVF in the A55).

I think the Zeiss 85f1.4ZA is not worth the high premium over the Sigma but the 135f1.8ZA is worth every penny and it is the best Sony lens to date.

I think the Sony 70-400G and 135ZA are really outstanding.
Rodkar said:
before i decided to buy the 70300g this afternoon, i went to sonystyle to borrow a copy to test on my camera. actually it wasn't serious, i just wanna see how it feels on the camera. anyway, as i plan to sell my canon 7d and all canon stuff very soon so that i can get either an a850 or a900 as replacement, i also tried out the two cameras. basically i wanna see how the difference in fps and viewfinder feel in real. to my surprise, the fps feel almost the same to me. which is not what i expected. so i asked the staff there for assistance. just in case i didn't select the right drive mode. the one i asked obviously wasn't very familiar with the cameras as he had no clues either. the high speed drive mode on a900 felt noticeably slower than my a55v's normal 6fps. as for the viewfinder, again i couldn't tell the difference. but the same staff said the difference can only be felt with wide angle lenses. the a850 i tested had a cz85 mounted while the a900 had the cz135.

i just wonder if my experience was unusual. because i didn't feel any difference at all between the two cameras. but then they are demonstration units that have been abused heavily. the a900 might just have been faulty.

so i told what i am planning to do with the same staff. and he told me if i am serious about getting the a850, he would have to check for me if they still have any stock as production of it had already ceased. no new units will be coming in. at least for the hong kong market.

--
Roderick Kar
http://www.rodkar.com
Hong Kong SAR, Hong Kong
Bought first DSLR, Canon 20D, on 22nd February, 2005.
Click to expand...
 
According to my local photography store in The Netherlands de A580 is no longer available, because sony will no longer produce any of the SLR models and continue solely with the SLT line.

However, I can't find any other sources than the one below. Anyone else who has heard similar messages? If this is true I'll sell all my gear and switch to either Nikon or Canon.

http://www.johanfoto.com/en/2011/02/sony-stops-producing-dslr-cameras/
 
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