Is the Sony A mount being deleted by Sony

[havoc315]

You make a good argument for moving to Nikon as their lenses are also usable on the E mount cameras via adaptors yet the likelihood of Nikon keeping it's current mount far into the future is much stronger than Sony's.

Why?

Isn't the E mount simply a function of having a much shorter distance to the sensor as the mirror box isn't in the way?

Would not Nikon have exactly the same problem when or if they go mirror less?

The shorter distance will produce the same problems for Nikon or Canon, that Sony encountered with keeping a DSLR legacy mount.

Isn't it logical to suggest that a mirror less Nikon or Canon will have to use a new mount?

No definite answers as to what the future holds.

But in the present -- Nikon has the mirrorless 1 system. It is a different flange distance but with a glass-less adapter, fast AF works with their most recent 30-50 lenses. Still an adapter, but really only s spacer.

Interesting that you failed to mention that the Nikon Mirroless is a new much smaller sensor size.. They have created a small camera with a UI and sensor meant to limit its use to advanced photographers. If you think an a-mount lens on a e-mount camera is odd try mounting a full sized Nikor lens on a Nikon 1 body..

As to Canon, who knows, but there are rumors they will make a mirrorrless using their dual pixel AF system -- which is compatible with their existing lens lineup. Though slightly slower than true dslr/a6000, etc.

A lot slower than an A6000.. dual pixel is not keeping up with Sony AF technology and it turns a 20 MP sensor into a 40MP ...

We really don't know what Canon or Nikon, or even Sony, will do in the future. But just as blackberry is still making blackberries, I'd expect Canon and Nikon to continue their traditional lines for quite a while.

And what share does Blackberry have by hanging on to the tiny keyboard model? You keep talking about blackberry.. Is this your idea of what Sony should have done.. with not looking to innovate?

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http://www.flickr.com/photos/havoc315/

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K.E.H. >> Shooting between raindrops in WA<<
Don't Panic!.. these are just opinions... go take some pictures..

The 1 system sucks. The image quality is much worse than the Rx 1 inch sensors. Their lower model is too basic, their advanced model is way overpriced.

But I wasn't exactly posting a comprehensive review. I was addressing a question about lens compatibility. Nothing more or less.
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Havoc315

Explore Havoc315’s 3,536 photos on Flickr!

www.flickr.com

 

[K E Hoffman]

Agree completely with that and the E mount fan boy take over of this forum is rather annoying to me.

 

[GoneMirrorless]

Sony can save time and money by developing FE lenses in conjunction with their A mount lenses. For example, there are no plans we know of to make F/2.8 FE zooms, nor 85mm F/1.4 (or even F/2.8) primes.

I hold out the hope that any new Sony ILC will always have the option of using their A mount lenses. So in the future if there is no A mount body, and E or FE mount body will work.

Maybe wishful thinking?

 

[nandbytes]

I can use all those lenses on the current a-mount very effectively. What benefit am I getting from a-mount being mirrorless? Not much at all, in fact I would lose the fast AF.

E-mount not a little gain in size, the difference is I can even fit A7 in my pocket while no a-mount will.

I am glad there are two mounts as they cater for very different needs.

 

[JimmyMelbourne]

Here is a song to cheer you all up

 

[tqlla]

I can use all those lenses on the current a-mount very effectively. What benefit am I getting from a-mount being mirrorless? Not much at all, in fact I would lose the fast AF.

E-mount not a little gain in size, the difference is I can even fit A7 in my pocket while no a-mount will.

I am glad there are two mounts as they cater for very different needs.

 

[JimmyMelbourne]

I can use all those lenses on the current a-mount very effectively. What benefit am I getting from a-mount being mirrorless? Not much at all, in fact I would lose the fast AF.

E-mount not a little gain in size, the difference is I can even fit A7 in my pocket while no a-mount will.

I am glad there are two mounts as they cater for very different needs.

 

[Douglas F Watt]

Even if they did stop making A Mount bodies (which they havent) the bottom line is that your existing lenses will function quite well on mirrorless cameras going forward.

Quite well = not good enough in my opinion. I think the o/p has a legitimate desire to have native a-mount bodies to mount their a-mount lenses on as do all of us heavily invested in a-mount glass.

There is nothing to suggest they won't either but if the a-mount was discontinued the last place I'd be going would be e-mount as I'd have no confidence that would not go the same way.

I am still amazed Sony was stupid enough to compete with itself with two lens mounts (despite attempts to differentiate the two systems) and the continued confusion over the future that has been the result can't help sales (of a-mount in particular).

OMG!

Sony should have stayed with one mount locked in at 10-12% of a shrinking market and waited for Olympus or Canon to lead a new mirrorless market than then jumped in? This is why companies fail.. waiting for others to create markets...

How many times does someone have to point out that Ford is not competing with itself when they doing a Taurus, Explorer and F250 Truck. The are all vehicles, designed for different users that by having both actually makes the line stronger.

Apple is not competing with itself doing a Mac, IPad and iPhone. All three are computing platforms with the PC level (Stagnant), Phone (Heavily competed against) and Tablet (Apple is leader) Again the entire family of computing products makes the over all company stronger vs working hard to grow 10% of a shrinking market to 15%.. which would have kept Apple barely relevant.

right now Sony is driving the conversation on e-mount and seen as an innovator, which in turn makes people take other cameras more seriously.

Again if you look at the international site format everyone but US uses.. A-mount is well represented.. US seems to have given up spending advertising money against Canon and is discounting to grow word of mouth etc.

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K.E.H. >> Shooting between raindrops in WA<<
Don't Panic!.. these are just opinions... go take some pictures..

Excellent analysis KEH. And Sony (quite correctly) has identified brand leadership in mirrorless as great opportunity to dominate the only real growth area, while it sees A mount and DSLR/SLT as big body platform for advanced AF and high performance/cachet brand value. Given the success (both commercial and media review) of the A6000 and the various FF A7 variations, they have to feel that they are right on track.

No need to 'choose one or the other'. Given the huge base of KM/A mount lenses out there, Sony knows that they have no credibility if they orphan such an investment in the more enduring part of the system

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DFW

 

[Ron Poelman]

I have 4 sony DSLRs in my household and 9 lenses and 3 flashes. I am looking to purchase another lens and was advised that sony may be deleting the Sony amount DSLR from its product line. I have not noticed many new products in this line lately.

Can anyone advise me if there is any truth in this?

I have a large commitment to this product line.

thank you and regards

terry

So you should be able to produce an immense body of work with them,
before you wear them out.
If you need the lens, buy it.
If you're too insecure to press a shutter, see a shrink or buy Canon.

 

[Douglas F Watt]

I have seen my lenses as a long term investment and bodies as a medium term at the best. My hope is that there will in the future be A mount bodies to put my lenses onto!

One should not buy camera gear as an 'investment,' For that you should consider real estate or stocks instead. If you bought those lenses for taking pictures rather than for fiddling with them, you're ok. Stop worrying about things you cannot control.

Every single one of today's lens mounts will be obsolete eventually. Not just Sony A but also Canon, Nikon, Pentax and other traditional SLR mounts will be replaced by newer native digital mounts eventually, and even most of today's mirrorless mounts will be replaced with something else at some point.

Nevertheless, that doesn't mean those lenses will become useless or obsolete any time soon. Although for technical reasons alone any lens mount won't last forever.

I've got a couple of Minolta AF lenses that were made in the mid 80's. I'll take the liberty in assuming that those lenses are older than you. They are still quite usable, and work just fine with any Sony A mount camera body. Including those that will be released in the near future. Without any compatibility issues, unlike with some other brands. That's 30 years of native lifespan and counting, man!

Even if I decided to buy, say, an A7II body tomorrow, those lenses would still be usable with the LAEA3 or 4 adapter. Take an older manual focus lens for Minolta or any other popular lens mount along with a lens adapter, and 50 years of active use is no big deal. Camera bodies come and go, but (good) lenses have a much longer lifespan.

So the bottom line is, just ignore the noisy enginerds and the ADD gadget geeks online, don't let them pollute your sense of relativity. Let alone common sense. Shut down the computer already, and just go make some pictures with those A-mount lenses of yours. Your hair will become grey (or missing) before those lenses become unusable. It's up to you.

Now, there's a beautiful full moon out there right now. Or it will be up there later on today. Let's go and either howl or photograph it instead. Or why not both. That's way more fun and productive than a discussion like this.

very well said. Esp. the last paragraph :-D

 

[Ron Poelman]

we need a Zombie forum.
It's our right as the REAL undead !

 

[Douglas F Watt]

I have 4 sony DSLRs in my household and 9 lenses and 3 flashes. I am looking to purchase another lens and was advised that sony may be deleting the Sony amount DSLR from its product line. I have not noticed many new products in this line lately.

Can anyone advise me if there is any truth in this?

I have a large commitment to this product line.

thank you and regards

terry

Yes it is, and all your lenses and cameras will immediately fail to function!! You should sell all your Sony equipment as soon as possible before it is too late, let me know what you have and I will be glad to make you an offer.

 

[nandbytes]

I can use all those lenses on the current a-mount very effectively. What benefit am I getting from a-mount being mirrorless? Not much at all, in fact I would lose the fast AF.

E-mount not a little gain in size, the difference is I can even fit A7 in my pocket while no a-mount will.

I am glad there are two mounts as they cater for very different needs.

 

[nandbytes]

I can use all those lenses on the current a-mount very effectively. What benefit am I getting from a-mount being mirrorless? Not much at all, in fact I would lose the fast AF.

E-mount not a little gain in size, the difference is I can even fit A7 in my pocket while no a-mount will.

I am glad there are two mounts as they cater for very different needs.

--
Focus on what you have, not on what you don't.
https://www.flickr.com/photos/nandbytes/

Really? With which lens? My Nex6 with kit lens is already on the edge of too big to fit in a jacket pocket.

He has really big pockets. He buys his clothes here.

http://www.bigpockets.com/

LOL!! didn't know they existed.

No my clothes are from normal shops and also cheaper than 'bigpockets'. My normal jacket (fits A7+FE55 or nex5n+SEL10-18+EVF) was £20 from costco, its light and durable. I normally destroy my jackets in 2-3 years so I don't buy expensive ones. My mantaray cargo trousers (which fits A7+FE35) was £30-35 each. They have zip-off legs so basically I can turn them in to shorts on my holidays when its hot or when I need to go into water/rivers/streams for example to take my shots.

--
Focus on what you have, not on what you don't.
https://www.flickr.com/photos/nandbytes/

 

[JimmyMelbourne]

I can use all those lenses on the current a-mount very effectively. What benefit am I getting from a-mount being mirrorless? Not much at all, in fact I would lose the fast AF.

E-mount not a little gain in size, the difference is I can even fit A7 in my pocket while no a-mount will.

I am glad there are two mounts as they cater for very different needs.

 

[nandbytes]

I can use all those lenses on the current a-mount very effectively. What benefit am I getting from a-mount being mirrorless? Not much at all, in fact I would lose the fast AF.

E-mount not a little gain in size, the difference is I can even fit A7 in my pocket while no a-mount will.

I am glad there are two mounts as they cater for very different needs.

 

[JimmyMelbourne]

I can use all those lenses on the current a-mount very effectively. What benefit am I getting from a-mount being mirrorless? Not much at all, in fact I would lose the fast AF.

E-mount not a little gain in size, the difference is I can even fit A7 in my pocket while no a-mount will.

I am glad there are two mounts as they cater for very different needs.

 

[digititus]

They just announced 3 upgraded lenses and the A77ii, just came out last year.

The Amount isnt going anywhere.

My comment was a feeble attemp at making fun of the OP for being taken in by all this A mount speculation.

Now that being said, your argument is not very convincing. The reality is Sony can't afford to drop the A mount right now, and at the moment they have no reason to. But if you think putting new coatings on the glass in old lenses, and doing a firmware update and calling it a new model is a long term committment, then I've got a bridge to sell you!

 

[dlkeller]

While I don't always agree with your analysis I really do appreciate it. One thing that would REALLY help would be Sony introducing a new adaptor with the full A77ii focusing system. If that were available I might even consider the new A7ii, as much as I have resisted E mount. Meanwhile I'll wait and see what the new A99ii is like--and priced!

 

[eFilm]

As long as you keep posting these same defenses

"Defenses?" Heheh, that was funny.

You can keep telling youself about 'defences' but I can't help being reminded about the anecdote that goes "if the only tool (program running inside your head) is a hammer, every problem (comment) you encounter will look like a nail (defence).

Oh well, as you wish, hammer away, but you'll have to carry on without me. I'm afraid I haven't got any nails for you.

I don't want to move to Nikon due to investment in A mount lenses

Then don't! Just grab your A-mount gear and go shoot the moon! Enjoy your existing gear today!

That's the whole point. Just use your gear and stop worrying. I have no need to 'defend' anything here.

and I do happen to like the A77ii.

So what's the problem? Again, the beautiful full moon is waiting for you outside... Go and get her, tiger! Grab your A77II and go!

If you keep hanging out online and worrying about your photo gear becoming obsolete tomorrow, you'll never get to actually shoot anything. Just like the bunch of easily intimidated gadget nerds on this forum.

Again, all gear may and will become 'obsolete' eventually, but good lenses have a rather long lifespan, anyway. The A-mount and the lenses will celebrate their 30th birthday later on this year. Many of those early lenses are still in use. That's what they've been made for, not to be speculated about. It's up to you.

I'm glad you like your e mount camera,

Sorry, I haven't got an E-mount camera. I used to have one for a while, but sold it a long time ago.

so get what ever floats YOUR boat,

Why of course I will. I always get what fancies me, as nothing else wouldn't make any sense.

but don't expect me to like the same thing.

No worries, mate, I most certainly won't. You can take that to the bank.

Now, I think this is quite enough of this particular topic. Either you get the point or you don't, doesn't really matter. Cheers.

"Start where you are. Use what you have. Do what you can." -Arthur Ashe