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Future Sony FE Bodies

iiiNelson

Well-known member
It's amazing how personal this all is. I bought my A7 2nd hand together with a grip. After some initial experimenting the grip came off and has never been back on. So for me the base body is fine and I'm glad grips can be added by people who like it.

What would be the advantages of a larger fixed grip body vs. one with a detachable grip, since I don't use one I'm probably overlooking something?
I agree it’s highly subjective and I started off on the original

Well I want to be clear... I’m not suggesting elimination of the smaller bodies at all but rather the addition of a larger one towards the top of the range specifically for the people that use the larger zooms and primes. I agree there’s room for a A5 or A6 in a “Rangefinder style” body especially for those that want the smaller/lighter benefits and those that adapt old manual focus lenses.
 

iiiNelson

Well-known member
The question about the body size is almost like the US politics nowadays. Changing the topic every hour to take the focus away from the key issues.

What happened to lossless RAW and lossless compressed RAW?

What happened to removing the star eater protocol?

Here is where Nikon will dent Sony’s sales and I will applaud them for it!

It is the image quality and not the ergos!
I’m not sure it’s forgotten but I can say it’s a issue that doesn’t actually affect me personally. I do hope they correct these things (that happen to be issues for some) if for no other reason than to quell the potential for negative PR.

Now would say to Sony (if they cared or bothered to ask led me) the best forward in the future is to allow customization of the camera through a mobile/desktop app where users could have some pre-defined presets or add remove features through it. Some will never do video and may want to hide those things. Some may not want JPEG and they could hide thousands options. Some may want custom in-camera crop options and those could be added through the app. Maybe this would complicate things further but we are in an increasingly computer/phone dependent world so I really only believe those that are technologically adverse would complain. In either sense the camera could be made as simple or advanced as people wanted it to be.

As for the current state of US politics... well... that’s a rough one and I equate it more to a dumpster fire near a sewage facility than civil conversation about camera systems.
 

iiiNelson

Well-known member
Does everyone mean the 'battery grip' (where the grip houses an extra battery) when they mean a 'body grip'? I have never used that with any of my cameras. Bought one for my Canon 7D2 and took it off after one attempt. It made the camera unwieldy and with a big lens it did not sit well on the tripod - there was some play even if the grip was screwed on tight.

For me, the current form of the a7x/a9 works very well, as I can actually carry and hold it with my fingers hooked on the side of the battery section. Granted this is never a good way to carry a camera with a heavy lens like the 100-400 since the weight of the lens puts a lot of strain on the mount, but for very short periods it is doable. If it is a smaller zoom/prime, it is better than my DSLR used to be since the overall weight on my fingers is much less. With the bigger lenses I always use the lens foot to hold it or to attach the BR strap.

Vivek, I see your point but I feel Sony has been holding itself since there was no real competition, now the gloves will be off and I expect them to be even more aggressive in coming up with new tech.

FWIW, the 'star-eater' problem, though real for many people did not bother me. On my trip to Namibia last year I did some astrophotography for the first time in my life, with the A7r2. The images were very satisfying - for me. There is no discernible loss of stars in the sky in my Milky Way shots - at least it doesn't look that way. I agree they could address this issue in future FW upgrades or future sensor designs. I am sure somebody at Sony is looking into it.

All said and done, competition is always healthy and for us end users it means better products - at hopefully a better price.
I was referring to the battery grip but some were referring to the extended grip as well.
 
V

Vivek

Guest
I do hope they correct these things (that happen to be issues for some) if for no other reason than to quell the potential for negative PR.
I do hope for real reasons they do not come up with truck sized monstrosities.
 

pegelli

Well-known member
I agree it’s highly subjective and I started off on the original

Well I want to be clear... I’m not suggesting elimination of the smaller bodies at all but rather the addition of a larger one towards the top of the range specifically for the people that use the larger zooms and primes. I agree there’s room for a A5 or A6 in a “Rangefinder style” body especially for those that want the smaller/lighter benefits and those that adapt old manual focus lenses.
Tre, I never suggested you wanted to eliminate them, I just pointed out that I like the form they are producing today.

But still nobody who wants bigger bodies to be available answered my other question, what's the advantage of a bigger body vs. a smaller body with a custom battery grip screwed on underneath?
 
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Vivek

Guest
Professional CaNikon bodies are huge and heavy. So, atleast, appearance wise Sony can compete with them? :p
 

iiiNelson

Well-known member
Tre, I never suggested you wanted to eliminate them, I just pointed out that I like the form they are producing today.

But still nobody who wants bigger bodies to be available answered my other question, what's the advantage of a bigger body vs. a smaller body with a custom battery grip screwed on underneath?
I know you didn’t suggest I did. I was clarifying in general so I apologize for not being more clear.

A slightly larger body (again thinking of the ergonomics of the XH1 and maybe the G9 too) provides a more natural fit for using the larger lenses without the grip. While a grip adds versatility in a sense it doesn’t tackle every issue regarding a desire for slightly larger dimensions in height and width. The biggest thing is the width of the camera and the height for me when using larger lenses and how tight it can be to fit your hand in the natural position. Many. Hangs their grip to accommodate butnid prefer not to need to. I think somewhere between .5-.75 inches taller and wider would do the trick personally. I like the size of the A7 for day to day shooting if I wanted to throw my 55 on there (or any of the Batis lenses) to walk around with or if I were using a Loxia lens. For that the A7 is perfect. When using the Sony Zeiss I generally put the grip on. For the 70-200 or 100-400 I wouldn’t mind a bit more clearance between the lens and the handgrip.

Personally I’m not suggesting that all of the cameras become 5D or D850 size but something comparable to the XH1, D750 or D500 (with the obvious shorter flange distance) wouldn’t be a terrible thing for the next generation A9 (or maybe the A9R or A9S in they come).
 
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iiiNelson

Well-known member
The XH1 body is perhaps better, but the G9 is IMV the best compromise.
Well, let's say it's almost perfect ... :grin:
I haven’t handled a G9 yet but I’ve always loved Panasonic Micro 4/3 from my past experiences. I still have my G1 which was my first Mirrorless camera. I haven’t been able to find my charger after we moved last year due to “putting it in a place where I wouldn’t lose it.”
 

Internaut

New member
My take: Given the size of some of the native lenses, for mirrorless, I think Leica got it right in terms of body size. However, I think there is also room for a smaller body optimised for smaller Prime lenses.
 

ggibson

Well-known member
I agree about Panasonic nailing the ergonomics on their cameras. The GH lineup was always super comfortable to me. I prefer a smaller camera for portability, but it's a trade-off that not everyone wants to make.
 

Bugleone

Well-known member
The a3000 was a 'cheap' way to get a viewfinder on a NEX.......But it was a blatant attempt by Sony to offer a DSLR lookalike! When you held the a3000 in your hand you wondered why it was so huge and cumbersome when the NEX models were so small and neat......

.....I can't see that a3000 was a marketing move which will ever be repeated.......consumers are not stupid!
 

iiiNelson

Well-known member
You know... when I think about it... I haven’t really heard any realistic rumors about what Sony is likely to present at Photokina or PPE this fall. I think we all assume the A7SIII is due soon but with Nikon and Canon soon to show their Mirrorless hands I wonder what Sony is up to and has been holding out on as of late.
 

iiiNelson

Well-known member
So in light of having the Nikon Z6/7 being announced officially, what are the things you hope to see on the next Sony bodies? I figured I’d return to putting my thoughts regarding Sony here to keep the peace.

I for one would like to see these things personally:

A7SIII/A9S:

18-24mp LSI/BSI/Stacked sensor (with same or improved high ISO capability - 400ISO Base)
OSPDAF with same A9 autofocus system
6k/24 | 4k60 or 4K120 (UHD/DCI) | 2k240p and/or 1080p240
10-bit (internal) | 12-bit (external) color space
ProRES RAW
Venice Color Science
Data bit rates up to 500mbps
Improved heat management
Larger body (A9S)
3.69md EVF (A7SIII)/ 5.6md EVF (A9S)
Improved weather sealing (since they advertise it as a feature)
Dual SD cards (A7SIII)/ Dual XQD cards (A9S)
Price: $3k (A7SIII)/ $5k A9S

A9R:

56-72mp LSI/BSI/Stacked Sensor (with same or improved high ISO capability - 50ISO Base)
Improved OSPDAF
4k60 DCI/2k240
10-bit Internal/External Color Space
Data bitrates up to 200mbps
5.6md EVF
Larger and more weather sealed body
Dual XQD Cards
User definable crop modes (or just include 1:1, 3:2, 16:9, 4:5, 6:7, 2:1, and 8:3)
Price: $5.5k

Lenses I’d like to see at some point:

200/4 G (can’t justify the cost of the $10k+ lenses)
400/4 G (can’t justify the cost of the $10k+ lenses)
200-600/5.6 G (something to directly compete with the Nikon 200-500/5.6)
100/2 GM (just take the Contax Yashica formula and modernize it)
135/1.8 GM (need an update to the legendary A-Mount lens)
Updated 24-70/4 (though I guess the 24-105 actually solves this)
21/2 G (Walk around ultrawide)
24/2 G (Walk around wide)
35/2 G (Walk around prime)
50/2 G (cheaper alternative to the Sony Zeiss lenses)
135/2.5 G (cheaper mid-telephoto option)
20/4 Tilt-Shift
Updated A-Mount adapters that allow all of the newer features.
 
V

Vivek

Guest
AFAIC, i have decided to buy the cameras (any) only at <60% list price.

Even the first gen RX1 is working too well for me! :)
 

iiiNelson

Well-known member
AFAIC, i have decided to buy the cameras (any) only at <60% list price.

Even the first gen RX1 is working too well for me! :)
LOL.

Yeah I know you aren't interested mostly in jumping in first anymore and I can understand being that you were burned with some cameras in the past. I generally keep my cameras for awhile though and I’m still using 2 generation 1 bodies and one generation 2 one. Whenever I do upgrade it’ll likely be for an A9 level model at this point (or A7SIII).
 

iiiNelson

Well-known member
Interestingly enough I guess the news outlets and reviewers/first impression media are finally starting to look at the “fine print” of the Z6/7 now that the excitement of a new camera system has worn down somewhat.

https://www.sonyalpharumors.com/nik...-5fps-no-lens-mount-sharing-to-third-parties/

I think it'll be a successful offering but mostly for existing Nikon owners - and that just may be enough to stop the “bleeding” in the short term... unless people decide to jump all in on Mirrorless then in those cases there are other options.
 
V

Vivek

Guest
I think they spoke too soon in doing the +/-.

There are some really useful features in the Z cams. Flickr free option is one. This mitigates banding.

Sony can improve learning from them.
 

iiiNelson

Well-known member
I think they spoke too soon in doing the +/-.

There are some really useful features in the Z cams. Flickr free option is one. This mitigates banding.

Sony can improve learning from them.
I don’t think the cameras are flicker free. They showed banding in some shots in videos.
 
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