Is the A9 still to be released?

I expect to be quite happy for at least a couple of years with my A7RII when it arrives. Anyway, I'll keep my A7R as well to be used on tripod with Leica lenses.

Somewhere I read about a speculation that a curved sensor might end up in a Sony fixed lens camera. That certainly would be interesting.

Lately Sony seems to have taken a page out of Steve Jobs playbook and decided to more tightly control information. I think that a good strategy.

Astrophotographer 10 said:

Sony rumours had an A8 or A9 camera with 50+ MP to be released this year. Do you think A7rii is all Sony intends to release now? Or is there still an A9 coming? Also if there is we don't know if its an A7 style body or an A99 style DSLR type body.

I imagine the A7000 is the next release. But I wonder if an A9 is still coming or not?

Click to expand...

Of course an A9 is coming... but the A7RII is obviously what the major buzz was about.

Sony has adopted many things from Minolta, the least of which is a product numbering scheme for SLR-like cameras. Basically, it's all about the first digit. Here's my understanding of it:

1: First camera in a new set. The A100 is a Sony example; SR1 and SRT101 are much older Minolta examples.

2, 3: Entry-level cameras. Often, a 3 indicates a step up from a 1 predecessor and 2 means a stripped-down version of a 3. The NEX-3, A350, A230, are Sony examples; SR3, SRT200, and Maxxum 3000i are older Minolta examples.

4, 5, 6: Generally a mid-range camera, usually led with a 5 model. The NEX-5 and A55 are modern examples; Maxxum 5000, 400si, etc. are older Minoltas.

7: A "prosumer" model. Often, the technology leading model is a 7. Sony examples are the NEX-7 and A7 family; Minolta examples include Maxxum 7000 (first AF SLR), 7 (arguably the most advanced 135-format film camera ever made), and 7D (first digital SLR with single sensor).

8: A stripped-down version of a 9 or more robust version of a 7. For example, the Minolta Maxxum 8000i was an enhanced 7000i. Sony has generally used 8 to mean less-rugged 9, such as the A850 vs. the A900. Before the A7 series it seemed that Sony considered a full frame digital to be inherently an 8 or 9, but the A7 innovation of full frame probably changed that forever....

9: A rugged full pro model. The Minolta Maxxum 9000 and 9 are great examples, as are the Sony A900 and A99. These are intended to be workhorses a pro could use for years without upgrade; they tend to mark stable plateaus in technology.

The "mark II" thing is a little different from Minolta, but not really. Minolta tended to stick short letter suffixes on groups of models, such as i, xi, and si... so maybe "mark II" is really just ii? ;-)

Anyway, I'm pretty sure that is Sony stays in the camera business long enough, there will be a 9 from Sony using E mount. I don't know when; Minolta wasn't particularly fast to release 9 models either. The A7RII is rightly a 7 in that it most certainly is a prosumer technology leader. Is there a stable tech plateau for an A9 now? Maybe not...? I didn't expect the A7RII to be such a big tech leap....

Astrophotographer 10 said:

Sony rumours had an A8 or A9 camera with 50+ MP to be released this year. Do you think A7rii is all Sony intends to release now? Or is there still an A9 coming? Also if there is we don't know if its an A7 style body or an A99 style DSLR type body.

I imagine the A7000 is the next release. But I wonder if an A9 is still coming or not?

Greg.

Click to expand...

The A7RII is the reported A9. The 42mp sensor was necessary to allow silent shutter with the new improved transfer rate of 3.5 times the old standard. 3.5 X 12 is 42.

Astrophotographer 10 said:

Would you sign an agreement that that will be the case? LOL. But I do get what you mean the feature set of the A7Rii would on paper seem to take care of our photographic needs for some time. Or at least until the next model with a global shutter and a new type of pixel shift sensor that is 3X more sensitive!

Greg.

Click to expand...

I wouldn't sign an agreement but I really do mean it (for me anyway).

Since I started on my upgrade path over 2 years ago to upgrade to a new and better system for my needs (I kept my previous setup unchanged for 7 years), I abandoned Canon and took a different approach, I bought and upgraded to the systems I have now over the first 18 months and now have stopped - almost everything I own has a purpose and fulfils a need that I have no desire to GAS shop any longer... almost.

The one where I have always been vocal is the eventual replacement of my current A7R. The only good thing going for it are the E-mount Zeiss lenses and the sensor, everything else is a bit of a compromise to be able to use the aforementioned two. With the coming A7RM2, it appears there exists finally something should meet expectations and has updated feature sets that go a bit further, in my opinion, almost everyone's expectations bar the most arduous needs professional photographers.

I honestly can't see the need for any specs greater than what the A7RM2 needs to offer any photographer here on DPReview forums (bar going MF!).

42MP - i'm pretty sure that's 'enough' and to top it all off a new BSI sensor

5-axis IBIS - how many more axis's can you go?

5fps continuous AF - okay, may not be up to the 10fps of Nikon's greatest and latest but who here really needs 5fps at 42MP each?

4K internal recording - I'm no videographer but this one is a biggie

Electronic shutter - finally!

What would a A9 need?

50/60/70+ MP sensor - really is there a need for us folks here - new sensor to photograph in pitch black and darkness! High DR, shadows and darkness will forever be banished in all photographs!

7-axis IBIS - not even sure what that means... :/ It can cross dimensions?

10/15/100fps continuous AF so we can all catch our kids at sports days with 1,000's of 50/60/70MP files over each and every minute action

Magic shutter - it just happens by magic, transfers from reality to digital card instantaneously!

I know I'm being facetious at this point but at this point in camera development, I'm failing to see the need for much more, obviously camera makers need to continuously sell us more to survive and we will continue to up what they sell but there comes a point where technological change of all cameras will become so good that each increment after that results in diminishing returns.

Winder said:

Astrophotographer 10 said:

Sony rumours had an A8 or A9 camera with 50+ MP to be released this year. Do you think A7rii is all Sony intends to release now? Or is there still an A9 coming? Also if there is we don't know if its an A7 style body or an A99 style DSLR type body.

Click to expand...

I would bet a larger bodied A9 is in the plans.

Larger battery

More powerful processor

Faster AF in low-light

More rugged construction

Better balance with bigger F/2.8 zooms

2 SDXC UHS-2 card slots

Sony doesn't have the FE lens lineup to support the A9 at this time.

Click to expand...

I hope you are correct. I would prefer a little larger body as well as your other points, even with the new 42MP sensor. But I would yield a little less sensitivity & frame rate for 50MP. A slightly larger body would work better for me than the A7R line. Yes that does go against conventional wisdom here, but there should be room at the table for all. Also I would think it easier to poach Canon shooters. Like the cell phone business, it is becoming all about taking clients from the competition, cause the market is not expanding enough for everyone to play.

i hope there is an a9

and i hope its between the a7rii and a99 bodies

big enuf for better ergonomics and more buttons, but not so huge that you think "ugh... i have to take the a9 out"

MrGubrz said:

i hope there is an a9

and i hope its between the a7rii and a99 bodies

big enuf for better ergonomics and more buttons, but not so huge that you think "ugh... i have to take the a9 out"

Click to expand...

There will be new model of course. I would like to see a FF e-mount the size of a aps-c dslr with the ergonomics of the Pentax K5II or K3II. It would have decent sizes battery and maybe a fully articulated LCD.

Quit worrying about what is coming and enjoy now. Of course something is always coming but you will be waiting forever, because something new is coming.

For what it's worth, Sony still does not have a high-fps FF body with a6000 like AF. Maybe the a7s could also become a "sports" camera that rivals Nikon D4s and Canon 1DX.

I didn't think there'd be an A7rII and the specs that came out on it are almost exactly what I thought would be the A9. They could add another memory card slot or some other tidbits, but there isn't going to be enough separation to justify another body above the A7rII, imho. Who knows down the road, but the A9 is more than a year or more away, I'd guess . . . if at all in the foreseeable future.

I am sure you wouldn't say that if you had've just bought a Nex 6 and Sony released the A6000 the next week.

Of course it matters to a well thought out gear acquisition decision. If there is no way of getting accurate predictions then I agree don't worry about it.

Greg.

Thanks for your post. I agree its unlikely Sony would release another small A7 style higher MP camera this year. Not impossible though as A7S was not really predicted either.

I suspect if they do release another camera it may well be a 50+ MP larger DSLR styled body to replace A99 which I get the idea didn't do so well.

But an A9 with the 42.4mp and backside illuminated sensor, IBIS, 4K video, and even faster AF may compete well with Nikon D4 and Canon IDX. Canon is rumoured to release a 5D4 soon ( not sure how real that is). Sony may want to position themselves up with those types of cameras which are a different market to A7Rii buyers.

Greg.

Good points.

I see the next big leap in cameras as global shutters. It will get rid of rolling shutter in video and probably sharper action photos.

I got the idea Sony was close to having one developed (not sure).

Greg.

Astrophotographer 10 said:

Sony rumours had an A8 or A9 camera with 50+ MP to be released this year. Do you think A7rii is all Sony intends to release now? Or is there still an A9 coming? Also if there is we don't know if its an A7 style body or an A99 style DSLR type body.

I imagine the A7000 is the next release. But I wonder if an A9 is still coming or not?

Greg.

Click to expand...

I hope so. It would be great if the a9 was in a bigger DSLR style body with a professional rugged build, real weather sealing, fully articulated screen, dual card slots and triple battery life. I can see Sony taking up a huge market share from Canon and Nikon DSLR owners, especially with the fast AF now. It would only do good things for Sony.

I wrote a post for fun 7 months ago and pretty much nailed the specs on the A7RII... except I labled it the A9

www.dpreview.com/forums/post/54992712

Bruce

Bruce Oudekerk said:

I wrote a post for fun 7 months ago and pretty much nailed the specs on the A7RII... except I labled it the A9

www.dpreview.com/forums/post/54992712

Bruce

http://www.pbase.com/misterpixel

Click to expand...

Sounds like you are boasting.

miro3 said:

Bruce Oudekerk said:

I wrote a post for fun 7 months ago and pretty much nailed the specs on the A7RII... except I labled it the A9

www.dpreview.com/forums/post/54992712

Bruce

http://www.pbase.com/misterpixel

Click to expand...

Sounds like you are boasting.

Click to expand...

Nope... I thought anything with these A7RII specs would have to be the ultimate flagship. Think what the A9 will have to be. It boggles my mind.

Bruce

Putting the churlish response to one side, you did very well as it turned out.

Only really missed out on 4K video.

Sony's master stroke was the balancing of enough resolution, 4K internal, more high ISO and sufficient speed, all with new sensor/EVF tech. Throw in IBIS and a silent shutter and once again they are showing the way in providing versatility in their top line camera, and it builds on the weaknesses of the competitors by offering very acceptable AF from their own lenses - how impudent!

We hear grumbles about the $3200 a7rII price from some quarters.

It was a surprise to see the price of the new Canon 5Ds cameras - the 950 gram behemoth costs the faithful all of $3900 - wow, they really know how to soak their users, offering that good but hardly innovative body for almost four large.

$700 buys a large part of a nice FE lens. You see the FE55 for $750-800, and Canon simply has nothing to compete with that lens.

Sony will know that few users will be hankering for even more after this one. It's good the shutter is a 500,000 actuation unit, as shooting will become rather addictive, and that is a very confident prediction on my part. cheers. ;-)

One flaw in your very entertaining analysis is that you overlook the fact that, while Canon is highly profitable, Sony has been losing massive amounts of money:

http://www.wsj.com/articles/sony-posts-hefty-loss-for-july-september-1414736535

I will eagerly watch for pros shooting with Sony still cameras at future weddings I attend. I have never seen one yet.

Their A series never caught on, and features such as light weight and compactness that attract some amateurs such as myself to mirrorless don't attract pros. They want blazingly fast autofocus, a large lens selection, good battery life, and great flash capability. The A7RII is not likely to suit them.

Bruce Oudekerk said:

I wrote a post for fun 7 months ago and pretty much nailed the specs on the A7RII... except I labled it the A9

www.dpreview.com/forums/post/54992712

Bruce

http://www.pbase.com/misterpixel

Click to expand...

It is hardly "pretty much nailed the specs" when you stated that the future A9 would get 46Mp based on the premise of the pixel desity being the same as the 20Mp APS-C sensor. You may have been close with the Pixel count (42 vs 46) but the prediction was based on the wrong assumption

Anyway, a 46Mp rumor was floating around at that time (http://www.sonyalpharumors.com/sr4-...era-is-coming-for-real-in-first-quarter-2015/ ) I guess you werent the one behind this, or?

I feel that there is room for a high FPS flagship. A 10fps 20-ish Mp low light Af'ing monster could be the answer for birders, sports photographers and event shooters. Positioning it around the A7R-ii and A7S is the tricky part however. Maybe Sony will need the feedback on the A7R-ii to pull the trigger on such a flagship model.