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Future Sony FE Bodies

iiiNelson

Well-known member
I thought I’d revisit this thread since the A9 Firmware Announcements are now known for a couple of weeks now. IMO they are great and make what is arguably the best performing FF camera even better.

What they dont address are the camera size (for some using larger/heavier lenses) and the 5fps mechanical shuttter. Even still it’s a unique camera made even moreso through software.
 

seb

Member
I thought I’d revisit this thread since the A9 Firmware Announcements are now known for a couple of weeks now. IMO they are great and make what is arguably the best performing FF camera even better.

What they dont address are the camera size (for some using larger/heavier lenses) and the 5fps mechanical shuttter. Even still it’s a unique camera made even moreso through software.
I live on the other side of the innovation-river. Therefore I'm looking at the river and see how the water flows in the right direction. ;)
It's amazing to compare the a7 from 2013 with an a9 and the future firmware update. My needs were fulfilled with the a7RII. Of course, it would be nice to have the AF of an a9 or even an a9 with 20fps mechanical shutter. But I'm wether a professional event-photographer nor a sports/wildlife-photographer.

There is one thing the announcement of the a9 firmware update made me curious: Sony told the a7SIII will come but it will take some time. Just think of the combination of an a7sIII with AF/FPS of a9...
 

iiiNelson

Well-known member
I live on the other side of the innovation-river. Therefore I'm looking at the river and see how the water flows in the right direction. ;)
It's amazing to compare the a7 from 2013 with an a9 and the future firmware update. My needs were fulfilled with the a7RII. Of course, it would be nice to have the AF of an a9 or even an a9 with 20fps mechanical shutter. But I'm wether a professional event-photographer nor a sports/wildlife-photographer.

There is one thing the announcement of the a9 firmware update made me curious: Sony told the a7SIII will come but it will take some time. Just think of the combination of an a7sIII with AF/FPS of a9...
Yeah I think the A7SIII May come in a larger body but I fear it’ll have the fully articulating screen that many vloggers constantly complain about in EVERY camera. For me the S1/S1R seemingly have the “perfect” body (save for the LCD top plate screen with the Knight Rider tech). I just want Sony to introduce something similar to that so that (and by similar I mean nearly a carbon copy is shape, size, and strength) I don’t feel I need to switch systems.
 

seb

Member
Yeah I think the A7SIII May come in a larger body but I fear it’ll have the fully articulating screen that many vloggers constantly complain about in EVERY camera. For me the S1/S1R seemingly have the “perfect” body (save for the LCD top plate screen with the Knight Rider tech). I just want Sony to introduce something similar to that so that (and by similar I mean nearly a carbon copy is shape, size, and strength) I don’t feel I need to switch systems.
The formfactor of the body and also things like the fully articulating screen are individual preferences. I'm using a GP-X1EM to enlarge the body and I'm fine with that. The screen is hardly touched. If I need it, it's often limited. I would love to have a fully articulating screen. But that's me. Others think different about it.

If it is about future bodies I'm more curious about low light performance, dynamic range, AF-accuracy, speed, video-capability, customization, ... With the a7SIII I'll expect all of that on a new level or at least on a9 quality...
Camera size of the a7SIII? I don't care. :)
 

Pradeep

Member
For me the articulating screen of the Sony cameras has been a significant factor in my choice. I love the low perspective it offers, just flip it up and lower the camera - with a smallish lens it is very easy to hold it in that position forever. From game drive vehicles too, it is possible to lean out a little and lower the camera. Gives you a much better composition, at eye-level with the animals usually.

My wish list would be:

1. Improve the AF and tracking abilities of the a7r3 to equal that of the a9. At present is is not good enough for wildlife and birds. I don't mind the slower fps. I tend to crop a lot in post and the higher resolution would be a huge plus.

2. Continue to improve the low-light (High ISO) performance across the line.

3. Continue to improve the already stellar AF of the a9

4. Already granted, but I do hope the much talked about eye-AF for animals works the way they claim it would. That is truly a game changer, especially when the DOF with large lenses is so shallow.

5. Keep the bodies compact - this is my personal wish, I know Tre and others want bigger bodies - but hey, I have small hands.

Everything else is gravy, and tastes very good ;)
 

iiiNelson

Well-known member
For me the articulating screen of the Sony cameras has been a significant factor in my choice. I love the low perspective it offers, just flip it up and lower the camera - with a smallish lens it is very easy to hold it in that position forever. From game drive vehicles too, it is possible to lean out a little and lower the camera. Gives you a much better composition, at eye-level with the animals usually.

My wish list would be:

1. Improve the AF and tracking abilities of the a7r3 to equal that of the a9. At present is is not good enough for wildlife and birds. I don't mind the slower fps. I tend to crop a lot in post and the higher resolution would be a huge plus.

2. Continue to improve the low-light (High ISO) performance across the line.

3. Continue to improve the already stellar AF of the a9

4. Already granted, but I do hope the much talked about eye-AF for animals works the way they claim it would. That is truly a game changer, especially when the DOF with large lenses is so shallow.

5. Keep the bodies compact - this is my personal wish, I know Tre and others want bigger bodies - but hey, I have small hands.

Everything else is gravy, and tastes very good ;)
For the record I don’t want all of the bodies larger. Just want Sony to either enlarge the A9 line or for them to release an “Alpha Pro” type camera that is in line with the Panasonic LUMIX S Cameras. I’m fine with continuing to make a smaller body because it’s desired and works for many. I’d just like a larger bodies option that worked natively with FE lenses that’s larger than the A9 but smaller than an A99... so like A77 or XH1 sized maybe.
 

iiiNelson

Well-known member
Thought I’d update in this thread too. Since some things in life have changed and I accepted a consultant job outside of my photography (though it won’t end my photographic work). It was a job where the money was extremely hard to pass up and will actually allow me more time to do photography for myself when not on active assignments for the company.

Personally I’m taking my own advice and holding still on any camera purchases until I see if there is any truth to the impending Sony rumors (pro body APS-C/A9II/A7SIII/other rumored future cameras). I’d prefer to stay within the Sony ecosystem because it’s less expensive then completely changing but there are a handful of course I can take that includes maintaining Sony as my professional system and adding a secondary system for personal projects/use, switching to Fuji (yeah that’s back on the table), or adding/switching to Panasonic L-Mount in conjunction with my existing Micro 4/3 kit.

An extremely distant possibility is re-evaluate the Canon RF system once they announce/release their pro body. I like the lens lineup as it seems to be “top notch” there but the available bodies are a complete non-starter for me personally.
 

k-hawinkler

Well-known member
Thought I’d update in this thread too. Since some things in life have changed and I accepted a consultant job outside of my photography (though it won’t end my photographic work). It was a job where the money was extremely hard to pass up and will actually allow me more time to do photography for myself when not on active assignments for the company.

Personally I’m taking my own advice and holding still on any camera purchases until I see if there is any truth to the impending Sony rumors (pro body APS-C/A9II/A7SIII/other rumored future cameras). I’d prefer to stay within the Sony ecosystem because it’s less expensive then completely changing but there are a handful of course I can take that includes maintaining Sony as my professional system and adding a secondary system for personal projects/use, switching to Fuji (yeah that’s back on the table), or adding/switching to Panasonic L-Mount in conjunction with my existing Micro 4/3 kit.

An extremely distant possibility is re-evaluate the Canon RF system once they announce/release their pro body. I like the lens lineup as it seems to be “top notch” there but the available bodies are a complete non-starter for me personally.
Tre, good luck with your new endeavors. :thumbs:
 

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.
So with Sony set to announce a new camera in a little under an hour or so it’ll be interesting to see what they come up with. Looking back my predictions for the A7Siii wasn’t too terribly off. I wonder if the other prediction/request will be close.
 

k-hawinkler

Well-known member
Rumors are reporting a larger high end body... I guess all it took was me buying a couple of L-Mount cameras and not buying a Sony Camera since 2015 or so.
Oh well Tre, another opportunity maybe?

Right now my attention isn’t focused on Sony or Fuji.
My Apple Silicon M1 Mac mini 16GB, 2TB has me completely mesmerized and preoccupied! :)
 

iiiNelson

Well-known member
Oh well Tre, another opportunity maybe?

Right now my attention isn’t focused on Sony or Fuji.
My Apple Silicon M1 Mac mini 16GB, 2TB has me completely mesmerized and preoccupied! :)
Probably not this time either. The tech looks excellent the image quality on samples looks meh... and if the rumored price of the GFX 100S is correct I may just double down on L-mount or consider the new Fuji and dump the Sony gear I have left... but it’s such a small focus these days that the Sony’s mostly sit on the shelf while the S1R is what gets used.
 

iiiNelson

Well-known member
Probably not this time either. The tech looks excellent the image quality on samples looks meh... and if the rumored price of the GFX 100S is correct I may just double down on L-mount or consider the new Fuji and dump the Sony gear I have left... but it’s such a small focus these days that the Sony’s mostly sit on the shelf while the S1R is what gets used.
Actually on second thought after looking more closely, this seems like a huge release potentially. I’d at least want to get one into my hands for review from Sony Pro Services later this spring. The biggest thing is that some of these features will trickle down to lower end models in time. This seems like the “perfect camera” for the Olympics given the speed, ability to use flash in electronic shutter modes, improved mechanical shutter sync speed, lossless RAW (for those that care), greatly improved video functionality, full size HDMI, etc. still wish it were a larger body but there’s a lot to like here.
 
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