FF NEX discussion reloaded. The need for a “cheap” FF NEX!
Yesterdays post about the future FF-NEX set a new record with 475 comments (Click here to read them all). I am sure Sony managers read them all and it’s also clear that the high price of the FF-NEX may be a hurdle for the final success of the system. From the over 6.000 voters only 13% said they would buy the NEX-FF. And only 13% said they may or may not buy it.
So let’s imagine another solution. A cheap very basic and simple FF-NEX, with no viewfinder, no fancy tech but with a top sensor and decent AF speed. If Sony would manage it to keep costs low and sell the camera for $2500 (body only)….
Loading ...This is my last poll about the NEX-FF. After that I will ask for feedback from my sources to hear what they think. Let’s go back and post some new NEX-7n rumors soon 
P.S.: Reminder of what we know about the NEX-FF:
- 24 Megapixel FF sensor (there is a second prototype with 32 Megapixel sensor)
- Similar NEX-7 form factor
- More expensive than the current RX1
- Release in 2014
- Three new FF Zeiss lenses coming in June 2014 along the first FF NEX
Specs of the Zeiss lenses are unknown but Zeiss has a great history of FF lenses made for the “Full Frame” ZM analog camera:
Distagon T* 2,8/15 ZM (Click here to see price on eBay).
Distagon T* 4/18 ZM (Click here to see price on eBay).
Biogon T* 2,8/21 ZM (Click here to see price on eBay).
C Biogon T* 4,5/21 ZM (Click here to see price on eBay).
Biogon T* 2,8/25 ZM (Click here to see price on eBay).
Biogon T* 2,8/28 ZM (Click here to see price on eBay).
Biogon T* 2/35 ZM (Click here to see price on eBay).
C Biogon T* 2,8/35 ZM (Click here to see price on eBay).
C Sonnar T* 1,5/50 ZM (Click here to see price on eBay).
Planar T* 2/50 ZM (Click here to see price on eBay).
Sonnar T* 2/85 ZM (Click here to see price on eBay).
Tele-Tessar T* 4/85 ZM (Click here to see price on eBay).
Ric Ettinger
3 months ago |If you’re shilling for Sony, deliver this message for me please. $2500 for a NEX FF without an EVF and reduced feature set is not going to motivate me to purchase one. If the rumored NEX7n has improved autofocus to go along with the improved EVF, I’ll go that route and add a metabones speedbooster and still be well under $2500.
Theodor
3 months ago |The suggestion that 2500 should be perceived as cheap is quite amusing. Lol
More realistic suggestions are:
- Small cameras are cheaper than big cameras.
- Customers know that FF sensors are much less expensic than the camera industry wants to make us believe
- cheap Nex body with ff sensor = 1000€
- plus build in viewfinder = 1100€
- nobody wants a cheap body with an expensive external viewfinder
- nobody wants a FF camera without a build-in viewfinder
- cheap Nex camera costs 1100€
- expensive higher quality Nex body can cost 500€ more
- expensive NEX FF model costs 1600€
CZ lenses that last for 20 years can be expensive, not the camera body that will be substituted after 18 months.
Aero
3 months ago |+1
nobody
3 months ago |I agree with you complatelly. In fact i want an ff camera without a viewfinder
lorenzino
3 months ago |I don’t think that 1000 dollars for a FF Nex is realistic.
The least expensive FF camera on the market is the Nikon D600, which uses a kind-of-old body (D7000 series revamped) with an FF sensor.
If the FF Nex is going to have a newly designed body and mount, plus the FF sensor, it will hardly be less expensive than the least expensive DSLR.
I would be more than happy if it were marginally more expensive than the D600. I could seriously consider it, in that case.
Sure 2500 is not ok (I mean, I could get a D600 + kit lens and I would still have money for a basic non FF Nex kit… I can’t go FF Nex that way…)
Dean
3 months ago |Then forget about FF nex, anyway it’s not necessary. If your don’t target cheap FF nex to steal the market share, then no need to abuse us, keep losing your shares and sell your buildings.
Mist
3 months ago |EVF from NEX-7, 24MP, High speed AF which is faster than NEX-6 at around USD 2k for body only.
comes with some cheap prime lens alternatives
i will buy it then
99Problems
3 months ago |That’s still overpriced. $1500-$2k is the sweet spot to consider it. At $2500ish, it should be full featured. If you view the product as a Leica competitor, then fine, price it much higher and sell dozens. If you view it as an A99 alternative/companion, then I don’t think you can put a premium on the smaller form factor.
You already know that you’re trading of AF speed for size, and a there are surely a few other trade offs. Frankly I prefer the ergonomics of a larger camera. The thing I don’t like is that big cameras draw too much attention. Also, it becomes a bit to haul around on long excursions.
Almazar80
3 months ago |Most people in SAR are not interested in spending a lot of money on gear. Many people are on a budget and would prefer cameras below $2000. If I were Sony, I’d get that mirrorless A mount full frame out. And mirrorless A mount APS-C cameras out. You’ll have a bigger lens selection right off the bat and will sell more of the cameras. Price them reasonably, and watch the sales take off. It’s apparent that many NEX users (especially those who read SAR) are not really interested in higher priced but high performing cameras and equipment.
Wayne Summers
3 months ago |Sony just needs to make the camera little bigger than the nex-7, use the same battery as the a99, have dual card slots , 24mp and something that the other nex cameras don’t have. It can’t be that hard. The real problem is coming out with lenses that people will want and some that won’t cost a million dollars.
areyousure?
3 months ago |AT $2500, many enthusiasts will be left out. That’s still too high.
The camera that this could compete with would be the Canon 6D. Price-wise, they would be in the same category, but the size benefit would tilt the scale in Sony’s favor.
Just be sure to address the AF accuracy. It’s troublesome even with focus peaking on my A65.
Wizzard
3 months ago |Yes the EVF is a MUST HAVE! A “Moon priced” body approach that is more Xpensive than RX1 is quite ridiculous marketing trash talk and wish thinking.
Thank God, in reality with D800 and 5D Mk III out there (and maybe a mirrorles Samsung FF) Sony will learn the the “apropriate!” priceing.. If they belive they can sell a NEX FF Body for over 2,500€ => only the Zony Fan BoyZ will buy the toy and Cannon, Nicon and Samsung will wipe them of the market!
If on the other hand the NEX FF can really visibly Outperform Cannon and Nikon in Image Qulity, Meetering, Focus Speed and/or LowLight Performance they could earn some money.
Eisenvater
3 months ago |Agree!
WTH
3 months ago |Just confirmed-
The Nex-9 Will not be what photographers wants…
Whatever you would like to see in it… won’t happen… ever…
Jon
3 months ago |Small size is a must (slightly larger than nex7 OK)
EVF is a must
IBIS would be greatly appreciated
Don’t care about weather-sealing
Under $3k is a must
If more than 3k I’ll just buy a Leica.
lorenzino
3 months ago |In fact apparently Sony is not going vs Nikon or Canon, here, it is going vs Leica.
Good luck with it (and the big market od Leica buyers, who will certainly be eager to abandon a secular brand like Leica to invest into a mount belonging to Sony, which, so far, has a known record for abandoning not succesful mounts (alpha)…)
Ian
3 months ago |It needs to be a full frame model of 32-36 mp and have all the important features of a pro model, flash features inc. such as high speed shutter sync at 1/250th or better, reasonable low noise at high iso 1600 or so. Flash sync ports, bracketing, video would be fine, actually that could be on the lesser priced models as far as I am concerned. Extremely high pic. quality at low iso’s. Just make it a high mp pro model then + or minus 500$ does not matter to me.
Marcelobtp
3 months ago |The solution, make a 16 mp fullframe sensor, better than the d4 one, more autofocus points, 11 or more fps. price down and we will have a champion. Serious, i totaly would buy one!
RA
3 months ago |At $2500 I will still compare it to 5DM3 or A99 bodies. Smaller form factor is an advantage over DSLR, but it doesn’t separate it from them since they all have the same task, to take pictures. I’m willing to pay more for a smaller form-factor FF-camera, but I will not pay more if it has less features than equivalent DSLR like 5DM3 or A99. The ideal price for full featured NEX-FF should be around $3000 for body only. The cheap NEX-FF with reduced features should cost no more than $2000. No matter what Sony thinks, people *will* compare NEX-FF to DLSRs like D600 and 5DM3. Just like people compare current NEX-5/6/7 to APS-C DSLRs.
animalsbybarry
3 months ago |MORE PIXEL POWER !!!
winc06
3 months ago |A fully featured Nikon D600 with a much more expensive viewfinder is $2000, and they pay full price for the sensor from Sony. It is not the features that cost. It is the sensor. By what stretch of an addled brain is a feature stripped FF Sony NEX cheap at $2500?
Emir
3 months ago |Enthusiast level camera? I’d say max $1500…
PDC
3 months ago |So what is the competition in that part of the marketplace? Nikon’s D600 and Canon’s 5D Mark III. So how is a stripped down NEX with no viewfinder and limited feature set supposed to compete with these other FF cameras? If this is Sony’s best idea they are in serious trouble.
I am seriously beginning to wonder if a FF NEX is nothing more than proof of concept exercise like the R-1 which Sony dropped like a hot rock while leaving early adopters holding the proverbial bag.
Almazar80
3 months ago |What do you mean Sony dropped the R1 like the proverbial bag? You have to understand that the suppositions posted on this site is not coming from Sony, but ruminations from the site owner.
PDC
3 months ago |I’m not referring to the RX-1 but the R1 which Sony dropped into the marketplace about a decade ago and sadly walked away from. No firmware updates, no follow-ups, it was one and done. It was apparently a “proof of concept” camera. Nothing more, nothing less.
I suspect Sony is using this website and these responses as a focus group as they refine their FF ideas – in short – I suspect this is more than just an exercise in building website traffic.
zxaar
3 months ago |Sony never promised that there will be sequels to R1. R1 was not a interchangeable lens camera , so even if there were no further R1s your R1 would not have stopped working and you are not left with stray lenses. In fact mine is working great even now. Next week it will be visiting Holland.
Further I would argue that R series was never dropped. Rx100 Rx1 are all from the series R1 was.
One More Thought
3 months ago |Why oh why does Sony have to price it this way?
The RX-1 is priced at $2800 and we are told that the lens alone is worth well over $1000. Now I realize that a FF NEX would involve some additional engineering to allow it to take interchangeable lenses, but would this engineering cost more than the Zeiss lens on the RX-1?
Fuji prices their interchangeable lens XE-1 body at less than their X100 and X100s cameras with fixed lens.
I just don’t see the justification for this early trial balloon pricing. Anything at $2500 had better be fully featured…as someone else noted, though, the real sweet spot would be between $1500-$2000 and still have a good feature set.
Right now I can get a Canon 6D plus the excellent 24-105 L lens with other goodies from B&H for just over $2300. Sony needs to consider the pricing of cameras like the 6D and Nikon D600 to effectively compete. And the pricing of these entry level FF cams will only come down over time.
If they are instead aiming to compete against Leica, then good luck…Leica has a very loyal following and there is no way that Sony can create that Leica mystique for that market. Plus the Leica market is not large enough for Sony anyway.
Come on, Sony…you can deliver the goods at a good price…just do it…
Emir
3 months ago |+1
Eisenvater
3 months ago |Agree!
kenji
3 months ago |I could’nt agree anymore
Klaus The Vampire
3 months ago |The R1 was a good idea but one fugly camera! They could have refined it, but like Sony do they just dump stuff.
NEX just doesn’t rock my boat honestly I see it purely as a way for Sony to cut costs on production.
Now the Fuji X system, that has potential (at least more potential) but DSLR users well we want DSLR’s not ILC type cameras.
Sub $1500 a FF NEX has some chance but none over that price
AK-77
3 months ago |Dear Sony managers, please do yourself a favor: define your target user(s) for this FF NEX project, go ask them what they expect from such product, understand their needs and priorities so you can address they needs in the product design. Stop asking random people on interntet for an advice on what could be your breakthrough product.
Rolleiflex
3 months ago |+1. Asking SAR would not help whatsoever so I have not participated much so far. It’s more confusing looking at the polls’ results so far.
Shashi
3 months ago |As Nikon D600 was sold for $1600 (recently)with EVF and minimal automation…Can Sony develop something around $1500 similarly and some more features thrown in. This will motivate people..even though lens is non-existing for E mount Fullframes.
Cyrus
3 months ago |Really? Who is asking such question?
FF with No EVF and 2500$ ???!!!
They Did Not Learn from RX1?
Almost The only (Main) critics was about the lack Of viewfinder…
Eisenvater
3 months ago |do not forget the relative slow AF!
CanonJack
3 months ago |Sony will have a hard time being successful no matter what they do.
Sony knows in order to gain market share, they HAVE to push themselves very hard to develop innovative, groudbreaking, beyond-cutting-edge cameras, like the RX1 or technology behind the rumored NEX9.
Product A is a hypothetical innovative product. It costs them $2500/unit to produce.
Product B is based on product A, stripped of standout features. It costs them $1800/unit to produce.
If Sony markets Product A at $3000, they will sell very few of them, but make a profit on those they do sell.
If Sony markets Product A at $2000, they will sell very many of them, and take a huge loss.
If Sony markets Product A at $2500, they will sell a decent amount of them, but not make a profit.
Now…If Sony markets Product B at $2000, they will sell, but Sony will lose their innovative edge. It will sell to CURRENT mount owners who want an upgrade, but it will not sell to Nikon and Canon owners because it wont be enough to persuade a system change, so it will not help them gain NEW high-end camera customers.
This is why I think they’re avoiding an A89 version of the A99 right now. While it will sell well, it will not build their market share. Ideally, would they want to introduce an A89 also? I’m sure they would; but they’re not in a good financial position right now for further development costs that dont directly line up with their goal of gaining market share.
If this is true, is this a good move? Perhaps it is.
Sony is clearly after “innovative cameras”, not “classic cameras” (Canon, Nikon). With innovation comes high prices. This cannot be avoided.
Thus…meet the continued unstability of the company called Sony Electronics.
Jack
CanonJack
3 months ago |The more I think about it, the more I think Sony is doing the right thing with the $3000-$3500 FF NEX…its the only way to slowly chip away at Canikon.
To be honest, its getting me a little excited….
Even though I cant justify the cost myself.
Jack
LukeLx
3 months ago |If a FF reflex can be sold sub 2000$, a FF mirrorless should be sold sub 1500$…
What’s the point about a 2500$ FF NEX? Want it minimal? Ok, let’s take a Nex3 series camera and let’s put a FF sensor inside it, new circuits and voilat
MrLee
3 months ago |If Sony is needing help on what to produce in order to sell units… Maybe this will help… 36MP Alpha Mount with all the normal newer alpha features (- Plastic Mount and new flash mount(Dreaming)) in a Dslr version and a Slt Version Sub $2995.00… And Ill take one of each…
Will NEVER own a NEX…
majgr
3 months ago |Dear Sony, if you want to compete with Canikon, encircle them, why frontal attack. If you want to go premium, like-Tesla-model, give us Medium Format NEX. You won’t be compared to 6D, D600. You will have your flagship. You’ll get those Leica shooters.
If you still want to make NEX FF, make sensors changeable. And what about those organic sensors?
MrLee
3 months ago |I cant imagine … A person walk into a camera store… A N-word D800 and this FF Nex both sitting on a shelf, Both sub $3,000 and someone purchase this FF Nex…
Just cant imagine someone being that dumb….
James
3 months ago |Just because you can’t imagine it, or don’t want it, in no way means no one else does.
CanonJack
3 months ago |Even if just 13% of those who see the two sitting there purchase the NEX, it will be a huge success for Sony.
You have to remember, the Nikon is going to sell better regardless of how the NEX is priced. The FF NEX is a long term struggle for market share from PROs, not immediate sales from enthusiasts. They usually dont buy from camera stores.
If nothing more, the FF NEX will gain a lot of attention from amatures and enthusiats, sitting there on the shelf next to the Nikon. Thats good PR.
Jack
Quasimodo
3 months ago |I think to launch this product without a viewfinder would be a great mistake, the price means that probably older, wealthier people will (in the main) be buying it. These people cannot see what is going on on a screen without putting their glasses on, which they don’t want to do both for practical reasons and their vanity !
They are also not that comfortable with touch screens for the same reasons.
So – viewfinder essential !
As to price, well who knows what will sell – I wish Sony luck
As a A700 user who also has a NEX5N + electronic viewfinder I can commend the NEX to the house, don’t know why people are so anti, the NEX certainly isn’t perfect, far from it, but the size & quality shines through !
Nobody (almost) except Marketing Depts need 36MP – in my opinion & no offence intended.
Q
James
3 months ago |+1 very very few people need over about 20 good megapixels.
This is always going to be a premium product. Sony need to have faith and just go for it- if they build it, and just set their price, people WILL buy it. Asking a bunch of people what they WANT to pay beforehand is ludicrous- of COURSE everyone is going to say they don’t want it to be expensive! It will be a totally different story when there’s a shiny new FF NEX out there and everyone wants it and will justify it’s price if it means enough to them…
Just a thought- why not simply make the RX-1 interchangeable lens and stick a nice VF in it??
CanonJack
3 months ago |The RX1 is a little deceptive; the lens itself protrudes far into the body, in fact, very close to the image sensor. The lens itself is very specialized to make this work. I think it would require a major redesign to make it an interchangeable lens model – probably upping the cost of it well over NEX9 costs.
Steve
3 months ago |Quasimodo
Only a “marketing” department needs a camera with 36MP
Seriously?
you believe that?
Chris
3 months ago |not expensive, not cheap – right in the middle like the nex series – and i will buy it.
evf is a must.
Dactyl
3 months ago |Time is the problem. I’m not going to wait till 2014.
Steve
3 months ago |+1
Engineer
3 months ago |Put a full frame sensor in a NEX-3, NEX-5, NEX-6, NEX-7 and charge an additional $400 for it.
There doesn’t need to be a lot of other features, just support for the full frame. $400 should more than cover the costs for a larger sensor and upgraded CPU horsepower etc. The real costs on sony’s side are the engineering costs an the question of whether there’s enough volume.
Sony should be going for the jugular here– they have a chance to KILL nikon and canon with this.
They should take their Playstation approach and sell the system CHEAP but make the money on the platform by selling profitable lenses and accessories, and getting people invested.
This is a wide open opportunity, and they can lock up a lot of marketshare here without even losing money be selling it cheap/slightly above cost….
Nobody else has a competing camera right now…. but they will eventually.
Look at the advantage that Panasonic and Olympus enjoy from being to the market 2 years ahead of Sony…. even with their poor execution and distribution and smaller sensor they’re still doing ok, because a lot of consumers got locked into that platform and are invested in lenses.
This is a “give away the razor, sell the razorblades” type setup. Give away the camerabody, sell the lenses and accessories and you give people an incentive to invest in the platform, and once they have a lot of accessories and lenses, then you can start price discrimination with some really high end and high end models to take the cream of the market (while leaving the low end prosumers a reasonable system to use which doesn’t have the best features.)
Huge opportunity here.
dmsb
3 months ago |+10000
majgr
3 months ago |“..but he also makes the point that in fields where companies thrive on innovation, placing too much emphasis on what customers want destroys a company’s ability to be different.”
https://www.helpscout.net/blog/why-steve-jobs-never-listened-to-his-customers/
James
3 months ago |NO! Limiting the design and ‘cutting it down’ is a recipe for disaster and won’t attract people away from DSLRs or Leica/Fuji, etc.- I’d buy the more expensive model, but NOT this one. I want a viewfinder and all features, and at this kind of premium price I don’t want compromises. I definitely want a viewfinder, etc.
Think about what the votes on this actually represent- neither poll has a control question i.e. it doesn’t specify who, out of the people voting, actually spend that much on a camera at all! In other words, many of the people voting might not buy any FF camera, or pro-priced camera, so their no vote means little in this market segment and skews the vote! There should be a control question in the vote which asks something like ‘would you buy any FF, or Pro camera in these price ranges’ etc.? It may well be that, out of the readership of this forum, 13% is actually a very healthy percentage of buyers in the Pro price-bracket?
Anyway, personally, I’d spend more on the ‘proper’ model from yesterday’s vote, but would NOT spend £2500 on a ‘cut down’ model. Why not simply have two FF models, one with all the features at a premium price, one with ‘cut down’ features and cheaper, very much like the NEX-7 and the NEX-5R? Surely that would be the best approach?
animalsbybarry
3 months ago |If nokia can give us a 40mp cellphone camera and nikon can give us a 36mp sony sensor camera and sony has more sensor patents than anyone then why the #@*”* is sony trying to sell us a 24mp piece of. €√\|©¶
CanonJack
3 months ago |Have you ever heard of pixel density?
If not, have a google at it.
James
3 months ago |Because it’s not aimed at people like you who clearly don’t even know enough to know why that’s a ludicrous thing to say.
john
3 months ago |Why is the$6000 Nikon D4 only 16 MP?
CanonJack
3 months ago |Exactly. I shoot Nikon – the D4 and D800E. They each are so different, and lend themselves well to specific purposes. Megapixels are important, but when one goes up, something else always goes down…
Everything in physics and optics is a tradeoff.
Jack
john
3 months ago |its rather a problem of technology. Theoretically its not difficult to have viable high pixel density sensors. You just need to build a cooling module behind the sensor. Moore law will deal with the file size.
With todays technology, that would result in a really huge camera with extremely high energy demands. But we are far from reaching the physical limits yet and things will continue to get better.
sehreich
3 months ago |2500 is not cheap! A box without finder is no camera!
What we need is a NEX 6 with FF-sensor and an EVF with improved resolution, not more, not less. In the price range of 1500 to 1800 USD. This would become a big success, sure!
animalsbybarry
3 months ago |Some of you point out that high mp is a trade off.
Give us one high mp camera and let us make that trade off. The rest of you can still keep your low resolution camera. Give the peaple that actually need high res at least one camera to choose.
Airraid
3 months ago |Being over fifty has advantages and disadvantages. Higher disposable income is nice. Difficulty reading, not so much. A lack of viewfinder with diopter adjustment is a deal breaker for those of us who have graduated to reading glasses.
Mike
3 months ago |People who want FF cameras want a built-in viewfinder, period. We also need better battery life, I had to use 5 batteries for the RX1 for a full day at Disneyland. Sony needs to have good price and high quality line up of primes that can match Fuji before I will think about buying a FF NEX, or at least some good lenses like the 16-50mm F2.8 DT quality at that price point.
george
3 months ago |I would buy it if it is the 32 megapixel version, otherwise I am most likely to pass (i make rather sizable enlargements of 2+ meters wide for corporate use).
CanonJack
3 months ago |Maybe we just need to buy this $500 gadget to make the NEX series into Medium Format Cameras, skip the FF format altogether!
http://www.imaging-resource.com/news/2013/03/06/rhinocam-promises-to-turn-your-sony-nex-into-a-medium-format-digital-camera
Intersting concept.
Jack
animalsbybarry
3 months ago |A least give us the same pixel density as the nex 7 thats 54mp for a ff sensor.
dmsb
3 months ago |Why $2500?
D600 FF is only $500 more than D7100 APS-C,
so NEX-9 should be $1500 or so.
still waiting
3 months ago |I have multiple Canon and Nikon DSLRs and lots of associated gear. If I could have performance equal to or better than a recent-vintage APS-C DSLR with a pro-quality 17-50/2.8 in a smaller, lighter package, I’d buy it. Currently, I can’t. I don’t know if the benefits of full-frame will ever be worth the added size/weight/cost, to me.
RB
3 months ago |A camera w/o a viewfinder is no camera for me.
animalsbybarry
3 months ago |Andrea
Do a survey
Ask people that what resolution they want
include various square and conventional resolutions and formats
Let sony know what we want.
ageha
3 months ago |Do you really think the Sony folks in Japan read this blog?
lorenzino
3 months ago |Probably they don’t. Or, better, someone belonging to the company may even do it, but they will not care about what noisy and stinky Westeners think…
Paul F
3 months ago |I responded YES yesterday and NO today. I would pay more for a GREAT NEX than I would for the RX1, especially from what has been described so far. But I would surely not pay 2500 for a NEX with a reduced feature set. I was an early adopter of the NEX-7 when the price raised eyebrows and I have been 85% happy with my decision (the 15% is what they left out). And I have TWO of them plus a 5N. I would gladly pay the extra money for a NEX that was truly at a professional level. So..YES, I would pay more than $3,000 and NO, I would not pay less for a cheapened version. Doesn’t make sense. Get me something that will work better than a D800 and do more then a D800 and I’ll pay more. TMO.
lorenzino
3 months ago |I guess the problem here is not topping the D800 per se, but the entire Nikon lens system as a whole. As good as the Nex9 may be, Sony’s past does not bode well for the lenses that should make the system shine…
SoneyPix
3 months ago |The NEX-9 will definitely need all the goods (Ultra high-res EVF, faster Phase+Contrast focus, ISO Hotshoe, next-gen BIONZ processor, WiFi, Customizable UI, and 3 dial controls) for a $2500 body. If it were a $2000 body the EVF could be omitted but it would require a smart accessory port in addition to the ISO hotshoe. EVF mounting in the hotshoe would not be acceptable. No built in flash would be necessary for the NEX-9 at any price.
ac
3 months ago |Alpha is not NEX. The two systems have almost nothing in common.
Sony – and sonyALPHArumours.com – are like schizophrenics with a NEX personality that is slowly killing the Alpha personality.
ageha
3 months ago |Good!
Gary
3 months ago |I will purchase no camera without a viewfinder.
Full frame without any of the other fancy junk though… Count me in.
no to wifi
no to gps
no to fancy scenes modes,
I guess what I’m looking for is a camera
davidlam
3 months ago |Just make it simple!
If it looks like a NEX-7, I dont think Sony can put a price tag over 2k on it!
On the other hand, I think Sony can manufacture a ‘Delux’ model with wood & leather trims and a ‘Hasselblad’ or ‘Contax’ brand and price it as high as Leica!
Nonetheless, put back IBIS in the body, I dont mind a thicker body – but I dont want to have extra optical elements for IS inside the lenses!
Kevin
3 months ago |no real shooter want a nex period
GreenLens
3 months ago |No, ofcourse, not! NEX is a type of leasure photography, with light and sexy toys.
kenji
3 months ago |I still cannot justify why it is more expensive than a RX1. Unless you do it this way: produce a RX1, take away the zeiss glasses and chuck it into the bin, machine the metal plate then you put a new E-mount up there.
That’s what i might do after waiting for so long and the RX1 second hand price will fall by the time you have the nex-ff.
Otherwise i just get a metabone adapter problem solved.
Craig
3 months ago |for 2,500 I feel like it should be full featured! 2,500 for a camera that, besides a larger sensor, has less features then the step below it witch cost less then half of that……are you kidding me. That’s like if a car came with every feature you could imagine and a v6 engine putting out 300 hp and selling for 50,000. But then the same company releases the same car but with non of the features but a v8 engine putting out 375 hp……would you really even consider that. I Love Sony’s cameras….but I would much rather buy a nex-7n if I wanted/needed mirror-less. Besides that, 95% of people that want a full frame camera don’t even know why and would in all reality probably be better off with the asp-c
Sam
3 months ago |If Sony read a single comment here read this one please.
Apple computer are doing better than Sony. They do not compete on price, the compete on quality. People aspire to their products because they look, feel and work better than the competition.
Apple once looked up to Sony.
If you build a FF NEX which is one of the best cameras money can buy its cost will be irrelevant. Anyone wanting the best, whatever they currently shoot, will come to Sony for what you have.
Furthermore:
1. Consider dropping the NEX name. Sony has a strong brand and also owns the Konica name. NEX ceases to mean anything when it’s on cameras 10X apart in price with different size sensors.
2. An EVF is essential.
3. IBIS will make mounting and using Leica glass on the NEX-9 easier than using it on a Leica. That alone will lead many Leica owners to experiment with Sony as a back-up. Leica owners are the richest camera owners in the market. It’s a great market to tap and highly influential.
4. When you have made the best camera you can make a cheaper one. Start at the top though, crawling up from the bottom is harder.
5. Accept you’re not trusted yet. You don’t produce a full line of professional lenses and use a mount which is new compared to the 20-80 year lifespans of the big guns. Making NEX a universal digital back for other lenses lowers the risk while you prove yourself. We all want to buy lenses we can leave to our children. Not curiosities that get left behind. Many of us still see APS-C Zeiss glass as a very risky investment which may well be left behind.
GreenLens
3 months ago |“1. Consider dropping the NEX name.”
Not so sure. NEX should be perceived as the best system in CSC department. It is almost there currently. However, without FF icon it will be quickly overshadowed by fast and slick 4/3 and 1″ toys.
lorenzaccio
3 months ago |Sorry but: Sony is not Apple.
If Sony were Apple, there would be more product consistency, and more care for the actual use of the product.
All Sony products would be part of an ecosystem, where any product enhances the use of the other products.
The new Nex9 would be immediately and fully compatible with all Sony camera accessories and lenses (both alpha and nex) without adaptors.
Sony computers and cellphones could be used in combination with the camera.
The camera could be enhanced through third-party accessories and apps.
Warranty and support would be universal, no matter how and where you bought the camera.
Now, let’s go back to Sony: disrupting old accessories, with a quirky and closed OS, stopping third-party accessories to be functional, no connection to other Sony products (and, besides: no lenses, no accessories at launch)…
So: only for Leica users on a budget???
Carl G
3 months ago |My suggestion:
NEX9- Upscaled NEX 7N/R
A99 menu system w/quick navi
$1,499.00 Body Only.
That, would sell.
Carl Garrard
Craig
3 months ago |I would buy 2 of those!
Carl G
3 months ago |Let me add- that menu system in all NEX cameras would NOT appeal to enthusiasts NEARLY as much as a quick navi menu system found on the A99.
The fact that Sony has kept the same crappy 6 folder menu system in NEX is pure stubborn arrogance at this point. Everybody has complained about it that need be.
“Stop that, it’s silly!” Monty Python
Jim DE
3 months ago |Personally, at $2500 I’d buy the a99 instead because for a couple hundred more I get far more and have a already established lens system. No waiting for new lenses to drip out of the Sony R&D group as they have with the current NEX lens system.
Jim DE
3 months ago |With a question such as this one if it originated from the Sony group it just screams Sony has no grasp on the state of the worlds economy and they have very unrealistic views about the perceived value of their product in the market place. Gentlemen, if you are reading this look at your competitors and their current trends to pricing. If you don’t you will soon see nothing but their rear ends as they leave you standing in the marketplace with your over priced cameras and accessories without a viable consumer base to buy them.
You really need to understand what prices the market will bare and where Sony is perceived in the still photography marketplace so you can effectively price your products accordingly. I understand Sony as a whole is hurting financially but you will lose your still photography customer base if you try and keep the corporation afloat by overcharging for your still photography products.
I never thought I would be considering changing systems at my age and I have been a loyal Minolta/Sony since the KM A1 but it has been on my mind. It is not because of your product quality or innovation but more a uncertainty of whether you will keep your customer base and be in business later on with some of your current ways of doing business. I don’t want to be the last guy holding on to a Betamax again and as we all know it did not do well in the consumer group not because of quality or performance but because of the Sony business plan. Live and learn guy’s and be smarter this time!
Burak
3 months ago |The new nex should have in-body image stabilization.
It should fully support legacy lenses. (Focus confirmation and image stabilization support for older mf lenses, like olympus and pentax do)
A powerful video codec like found in GH2, GH3 cameras (high detail, high bitrate, no moire/aliasing)
Clean 4:2:2 HDMI output
Priced around $2000
Then I’d be all over it
Tom S.
3 months ago |I’d pay close to that for the 7n (crop sensor) as long as it has the features you list..
Eric
3 months ago |Should be $1500-$2000
Jared
3 months ago |I’d pay up to $3000 if the NEX 9 had a few specific features, including an amazing viewfinder, high speed flash sync (1/250, preferably higher), 30-36 MP sensor, and a set of fast compact prime lenses. I’d like one ultrawide, a 28-35mm, an amazing contrasty 50/1.4, and maybe something longer if it could still be compact. I don’t care too much about autofocus – as long as it’s decent I’m happy. I also want manual controls – aperture ring, shutter speed, exposure comp, and good manual focus on the lenses – well dampened and with a hard infinity stop. The end. I see no reason not to expect these things when I could get a nikon d600 for $2100 with lens. If Sony reaches above $3000 the camera better be amazing, because that kind of price will send me reaching for a Speedbooster as a stopgap solution while I save for a Leica M with a hopefully upgradable sensor.
Jim Stewart
3 months ago |I want to use it with M mount lenses so no viewfinder would be a deal breaker for me.
Minolta man
3 months ago |I would buy a amazing ff, with pro level features for 4000. I would not buy a normal ff nex for 2000.
Just ff but otherwise nex as it is now is not something I would buy. I see no reason.
jake
3 months ago |no need to be cheap but go the best with Leica like quality.
Jeffrey Worthington
3 months ago |I just bought the A99 so a FF NEX for 3.000-4.000 USD is not attractive, BUT I’ve been talking with several professional Canon and Nikon users recently who have been seriously looking to switch to Sony but want to hang on to their current lenses. They would love a FF NEX with image quality and features on par with the A99!
Christopher Mark Perez
3 months ago |It’s pretty easy, actually.
If Sony wants me to replace my current high-end studio FF DSLR setup, compel me to do so. Attract me in ways that DSLRs just can’t. Make me drool and beg for one. Differentiate! Differentiate!! Differentiate!!!
If Sony wants me to add a FF mirrorless to my walk-around location and street photography kit, it had better be cheap because the current APS-C NEX do a very fine job at 500USD to 1000USD. Cost! Cost!! Cost!!!
frosti7
3 months ago |1999$ with VF, nothing fancy besides a built in VF (a must!)
frosti7
3 months ago |Changed my mind, i wont pay more then 1499$
Austin Schutz
3 months ago |I would want an NEX 6/7 type camera with a full frame sensor at that price point. Stick in the same AF system and sell it for $2000-$2500 and I’d buy one ASAP.
Shy
3 months ago |INMHO teh answer to the right price is:}
Around same price as D600. Given that I already have FF F mount lenses and I´ll need to buy new FF mount lenses (good ones not just “anything”) forget kit lenses, forget video, forget nonsense things, forget even extreme high MPix, just plain good pictures with good dynamic range, a decent Mpix count 16 to 20.
“Thats is all” be a real game changer.
Gethin Coles
3 months ago |I just want the light going straight to the sensor without any semi silvered mirrors in the way. Don’t care how small the camera is. In fact why not make it big enough to include the apparently gorgeous screen from the new Experia z? It nonsensical that smartphones have bigger, brighter higher res screens than cameras.
Tom S.
3 months ago |Nex-7n with clean HDMI out, and a metabones adapter that works with sony alpha lenses, and I would be set..
ben1680
3 months ago |Totally agree with Dean.
My suggestion to Sony:
If you want to gain your long lost supremacy in electronic world, listen to the engineer and not marketing manager or any other greedy manager within.
Greed will got you nowhere.
Keep NEX momentum, priced FF NEX AT LEAST the same as lowest price FF DSLR at the time of launch (Lower price is better, of course).
Feature has to be better than NEX-6 (standard hotshoe, built in Flash, better EVF, better WiFi, built in GPS), higher megapixel is not that crucial.
If you worry about newcomer and their perception of megapixel number, start new marketing scheme that emphasize on pixel sensitivity and pixel size, and not megapixel number (although I believe NEX-9 target audience won’t be this naive).