The gap in the DSLR market between Canon and Sony is still big but if you take into account all sold cameras in the year 2010 (DSLR+Mirrorless+compact cameras) the gap is only 1.1%!
According to Bloomberg worldwide camera sales jumped 10 percent to 141 million units last year, helped by the introduction of new models and economic growth in markets such as China. To win new customers, Sony and Samsung Electronics Co. are among companies unveiling devices that eliminated the need for a mirror in professional- grade cameras, where Canon has the lead.
“Sony’s and Samsung’s launching new mirror-less digital cameras helped them obtain more market share,” said Masahiko Ishino, an analyst at Mitsubishi UFJ Morgan Stanley Securities Co.
Most of the sold digital cameras are the small compacts. But you have higher profit margins on system cameras (That’s why Canon and Nikon are making more money than Sony). You can see on Amazon that most cameras in the TOP 20 are compacts:
Amazon US rankings (Click here)
Amazon DE rankings (Click here)
Amazon UK rankings (Click here)
Amazon FR rankings (Click here)
Amazon IT rankings (Click here)

My two cent on that: My crystal ball tells me that Sony will have the chance to surpass Canon if they manage to gain back some trust in the pro business with the A77 and the future full frame translucent cameras. Not to talk if they will manage to release a fullframe NEX. That would make one of my dreams become true! One more thing: I hope all that will happen before the end of the world in December 2012 -> according to the Maya calendar ;)

As you know Sony had to delay the recent NEX and SLT camera announcements. Some of my sources already saw the cameras and they still don’t know when Sony will release them (a possible date is May 26th). The reasons for the delay are well known. In his latest post Thom Hogan made a brief desription about what’s going on with the digital camera production problems in Japan. It perfectly fits with the info I received from my sources: “I see several different estimates from various sources within Japan, but in no case does the Northern Japan power grid (which includes Tokyo itself) look like it will be anywhere near handling the demand this summer. There could be 50% shortfalls some days, and the average shortfall in July and August could reach 30%. That means frequent and long power blackouts, which is bad news for the camera industry. Sensor fabs, for instance, of which several are in the area, need continuous power (on top of the temperature issues in many critical processes, you’ve got to maintain continuous air filtration to avoid contamination). High quality glass factories can’t be turned on and off easily with rolling blackouts. It appears that the deeper into the supply chain you go (e.g., back to chemicals and raw materials), the worse the problem gets: those plants can’t be toggled on and off at whim. Many need long warm-up periods or continuous power to operate.”
and…
“Between the March quake and early winter when things even up a bit in the power realm, I’m guessing that the output of the plants in the affected area could be less than 50% of normal. That could mean nearly nine months of significantly reduced production of everything from Nikon FX bodies, to Nikon/Canon/Panasonic lenses, to Sony CMOS sensors, to all those proprietary lithium batteries, and more.”

Sony is also  considering having all its employees in Japan take two-week summer vacations to save energy (Source: Breitbart)

I guess the Tsunami-Fukushima disaster will affect the digital camera industry for the whole year and maybe more. Le’s hope Japanese engineers can fix the Fukushima plant as soon as possible…

Video on top: Juan Martinez (Sony Product Manager) shows the new Sony NEX-FS100 camera. He also talks a bit about the upcoming E-mount lenses.

According to Macworld the Sony A55 is the best DSLR in the sub $1,000 category.
Chipworks: Sony Switches to Bulk BSI in 1.1um Pixel (Image Sensor World).
iSuppli on Japan Image Sensor Industry Hit by Disaster (Image Sensor World)
Sony mulls two-week summer break to save energy (Breitbart.com).
Sony NEX Viewfinder with Magnifier (SonyAlphaNex)

Sony just announced new Sony Alpha Camera Accessories:
HVL-F43AM external flash with GN43, Quick Shift Bounce adjustment, wireless ratio control and dust/moisture resistant design. Price $350.
VCT-55LH bracket is versatile mounting bracket that offers space for mounting additional ISO cold shoe accessories. Price $50.
LCS-AMB soft carrying case protects A-mount camera and attached standard zoom lens while traveling. Price $50.
ALC-SH111 lens hood shades cameras from direct sunlight to prevent glare and lens flare. Price $20. UPDATE: The lens hood is made for the 35mm f/1.8 and the 85mm f/2.8 specifically (Thanks DYna for reminding us that).

P.S.: Direct links to the Sony 35mm f/1.8 at [shopcountry 6422] and the Sony 85mm f/2.8 at [shopcountry 5979].

You can read more at Sony.eu.

At least we have something new we can buy :)  I will go for the flash! And you?

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Image on top: The Sony F3 with PL-mount

You can see the first images of the 18-252mm Super35mm lens at Dslrnewsshooter.com (via Noisycamera). It uses the PL mount and not the Alpha mount! That because it has been developed for the new Sony F3 and Sony F65. It starts with a f/3.8 aperture. Price is to be determined and availability is said to be winter 2011.

We have to wait a little while before to see new Alpha and E-mount lenses…

I do currently live in Italy and we are the best in the world in saying badwords for hours. That’s what happened today to me :)

I just noticed that our contact form didn’t work since March 21. I didn’t receive any single rumor from those anonymous sources that usually do contact me via contact form only. And I didn’t receive any info from readers that sent me news or reviews. REALLY SORRY! I feel so bad now. I owe you all a beer :(

If you sent me something important please send it to me again. The form now works (I tested it many times).

The issue happened after a routine work made by my designer. He changed a setting and didn’t think that it would affect the form. And I didn’t recognize the problem earlier while I was fixing other big issues on the website (like the IE9 bug).

I hope my sources can forgive me for that :) I am waiting for your news about the A35 NEX-3C and other cameras…. :)

UPDATE: I just received the first messages through the contact form. Thanks!

During the last two weeks I had quite a few small talks with important digital camera dealers. We can expect price increases on most digital cameras from all manufactures. He said major retailers like Mediamarkt or Amazon will start to “feel” the supply problems by end of April. The supply problem with Sony-Canon-Nikon is estimated to persist for at least 4-6 months. It might be to early to draw final conclusions but there are some price increases like on the A55 in Germany (+60 Euro -> Source: Idealo) and the Sony NEX-3 in US (+ $50 -> Source: Bhphoto).

My overall impression after those “talks” is that Japanese companies are in a much worse situation than they want us to believe.

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P.S.: As you know you can support SonyAlphaRumors by using my affiliate links to purchase any product you want. Click here: [shopcountry 3617] and for every product you buy we will earn a small commission that helps us to cover all costs. And you don’t pay any penny more ;) Thanks!