Very true - in a published review of the a900 when it first came out, I complained about Sony's rear lens caps only being put on in the correct orientation - which made working in poor light problematic. (You have to match an arrow with a mark on the mount.) While the A mount lenses still have this problem, the FE does not.
Somebody at Sony was listening.
Somebody at Sony should have been thinking before launching a new product. This is my main problem with Sony in general and the A7 models in particular. I can't count how many times I have tried these cameras, wanting to like them since they would fill a void in my camera bag. Every time, I've concluded that ergonomics are on level with my OM-3. The OM-3 is of course a fine camera, but it was launched in 1983. Technology has made several improvements possible since then, not least in the area of ergonomics.
The A7 II is most of what the A7 should have been. None of what has been implemented in the new model was unknown to Sony a year ago. Still, the new camera comes with a video button that is impossible to push when the camera is held by one hand only and awkward to use unless one has three hands. They do this in spite of the fact that it has been an issue for a large number of users and in spite of the fact that more or less every other camera known to man (I'm exaggerating a bit here
) has that button in a place where it can be reached easily and without shaking the camera much.
This would have been fine if Sony were some startup company with great ideas but little experience. But they are not. They make some of the best cameras and some of the best video gear on the planet. They know this stuff.
It's like somebody at the head of the organisation said something like "Let's make the smallest exchangeable lens full frame digital camera ever, no matter what". It's the "Because we can" syndrome once again. I wouldn't be surprised if this is exactly what happened, even if they knew that ergonomics could be improved by making it slightly larger and even if they most probably knew that there wouldn't be any direct competitors around for at least a year. There wasn't any reason to rush this.
So the replacement comes and everything is fine, right? That ain't necessarily so. For while enthusiasts like the members of this forum will pay whatever amount required to get the latest version of the Sony Magic, there are lots of people out there who will be dismayed when they see that their excellent new camera which they bought less than a year ago, has suddenly lost 50% or more in value, making a sale, not to speak of an upgrade, very dubious business. These guys have wifes you know :lecture:
The problem for people like us then is that, if sales fall due to Sony's lack of strategy, development of new lenses and bodies will slow down, leading to further decreasing sales and eventually a halt. Obviously, I cannot predict, and certainly don't hope for, a scenario like that for the A7, but it has happened before, and it will happen again.
Still, I want one