Roger, as mentioned, I do not believe Sony is interested in the Sports/News arena that you keep referencing ... there are other segments that represent opportunity ... both pro AND advanced enthusiasts ... Where a high spec camera with quality build can do well ... especially one that offers the AF Zeiss lenses that no one else has. When I first bought my A900, I used it with the Nikon 1 series cameras until I was sure it was up to the rigors of wedding work ... it was, so I sold the Nikons (as you well know ). Sony quietly improved the ISO and increased the speed of the AF without losing any of its well proven accuracy. If they did nothing else from now on I'd still be satisfied with it as is.Mikal
Sony has canceled the A900 and has yet to release the A99 . It looks like they will be able to correct that at Photokina and they may make a successful move into the professional market (with the volume necessary to keep management happy) ..if not you could be looking at an ophan product line . The product line has to remain viable in order for Sony to continue to (1) apply new advances in technology (2) introduce and maintain new lenses and (3) offer on going service and support .
You don t care ..here is my experience with the Leica DMR ( what I consider a really great camera with glass second to none ) . Service became spotty as they only have a few technicians that know the camera ,then they started running into part shortages . Batteries wore out and were darn hard to replace . They stopped introducing new lenses and then they stopped selling them altogether . They stopped introducing new technology ..we got only one or two firmware updates and SD cards were topped out at 4GB . Some of my friends held out a long time before selling and suffered numerous electronic problems . The die hards now buy used R9 bodies because they are much cheaper than a repair .
I bought my DMR in 2007 and once had over 20 R lenses . I sold it in DEC 2010.
The point being that any product that doesn t continue to evolve and improve will die and it will affect you eventually . Thats why the A99 needs to be a success in the professional market .
Why do I care what the Pro s use ..because they bet their reputation on the ability to deliver . They are all capable of producing great images ..so it comes down to who delivers the goods . NPS and CPS support almost any newsworthy event and you can find help on site if you break a camera or lens or need a different camera or lens as a loner . For a new entrant into the sports,news ,journalism segment ..it had better have something more than some neat features .
It always depends on what you shoot and how you go about it ..maybe none of this is important to your specifics ..but it will be to the market viability of new sony products in the professional market overall .
Keep in mind that I am not predicting any specific outcome just pointing out that Sony hasn t shown a track record of competing effectively to date in the professional market . They are clearly a force in the much larger consumer segments .
Is it possible that Sony would walk away? I would say it is more possible than Canon or Nikon doing so ... possible, but not probable ... anything is possible. What is also possible is that Sony will be first in, best dressed with a modern camera that enthusiasts will embrace, and some Pros will adopt.
Meanwhile my trusty A900s just keep on clickin' on and on and on ....
-Marc