In his latest article Thom Hogan (Click here) talks about the aggressive and well planed Sony strategy compared to the actual conservative Nikon and Canon approach. It’s worth to read!

Here is an excerpt of the text:

“Sony: most interesting strategies (yes plural) of the bunch. On the Alpha side went for very different technologies (e.g. pellicle mirror), which took awhile to get settled, but has clear benefits long-term. Also has been shoring up and improving dealer network here in the US, giving them a potentially significant advantage over the other players, above. Has been aggressive on price with the Alphas (some of which is happening with the dealer), and appears to be about to get more aggressive. Meanwhile, they’ve made NEX into a potentially serious mount (it currently extends from a low-end mirrorless model to a highly professional video camera). Too bad they don’t have the lenses to back it up yet. Status: making progress on all fronts, and Canon and Nikon need to be especially wary of this competitor. Forecast: one weakness is still not having all the right lenses. This blunted sales of both the full frame Alphas as well as NEX models. Even the Alpha is missing a few key lenses if it wants to tackle the high-end Canons and Nikons well. Rumors show progress on this front, but it needs to happen faster. Other weakness is in marketing. The dual strategy makes a strong cohesive “why Sony cameras matter” message very necessary.

Canon and Nikon have continued to pursue their old strategies: entry to pro DSLR lineups, iterated regularly, moved upscale in features and performance with each generation. Status: Quo. Forecast: declining returns from this strategy. A 24mp A77 at US$999 that performs well threatens the more expensive [shoplink 6952 ebay]D7000[/shoplink] and D400 on Nikon’s side, the same-priced [shoplink 5117]60D[/shoplink] and more expensive [shoplink 6954]7D[/shoplink] on the Canon end.”

Read the full text at bythom.com. What do you think about his anlysis? I do agree that Sony needs to extend their lens offering. The problem I see with the NEX roadmap is that Sony doesn’t plan to make any new pancakes. I hope they will change that. The Alpha mount will see 4-5 new Zeiss lenses within 2011 and a couple of new Sony lenses. This should make us go a huge step closer to Canon and Nikon!

 Loading ...

I am still waiting for the day where Canon and Nikon will give up their top position in favour of Sony. The good news is that at least in Japan the [shoplink 3003]Sony NEX-5[/shoplink] is pretty close to the two big guys. 8,1% of all sold cameras are NEX-5 (Source: BCNranking). But the real surprise is that the mirrorless camera market share is well…going back! After reaching a top of 36,7% of all sold system cameras it’s now dropping down to 31%. So the DSLR vs Mirrorless battle is still continuing. A wonder how it will be in 1 year from now!

P.S.: 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)

NEX shoots the ‘Flight of the Angel’ – HD1080 YouTube (Via Photoclubalpha)

NEX with Minolta 90mm Rokkor-M Lens Test (SonyAlphaNex).

Sony Alpha DSLR Sliced Down the Middle (Petapixel).

Sony Security Sensors to Shift from CCD to CMOS (Image Sensor World).

New Lens Mount Adapter for Sony PMW-F3 from P+S TECHNIK (Cameratown).

Sony Launches Fastest Memory Stick PRO-HG Duo HX Card to Date (Photographyblog).

How to transform your NEX-3 in an infrared camera (Alpha Numerique).

It’s a bit surprising for me to see that Sony has no plan to release compact pancakes like the current [shoplink 2998]16mm f/2.8 for NEX[/shoplink]. Do you think this is a mistake? I mean, what’s the meaning of having an ultra compact NEX-C3 if all the lenses (except the 16mm) are huge?

 Loading ...

P.S.: There is still hope that Sigma and other third party lens makers can bring us some nice pancake!

[shoplink 6885][/shoplink]

I just received a new message from a new source. Because the source is new please take the rumor with a grain of salt. He said:

“Sony will introduce a 70-300mm f/4-5.6 SAM telephoto lens (SAL-70300) to replace the current [shoplink 6885]Konica-Minolta designed 75-300mm f/4.5-5.6 (SAL-75300)[/shoplink]. It is currently designated “budget teleconversion lens“”

Message for the new source: When is Sony going to announce that lens? Thanks!

P.S.: Links to the current Sony 75.300mm lens to [shopcountry 6885].

Reminder (SR = Sonyrumor):
SR1=probably fake rumor
SR2=rumor from unknown sources
SR3=50% chance it is correct
SR4=rumor from known sources
SR5=almost certainly correct!

NEX-FS100 Gain test from Alex Wu on Vimeo.

Day 3 of the Sony A55 field review (ThePhoBlographer).

Holga Wide Lens for Sony NEX Cameras (SonyAlphaNex).

Sony Cyber-shot DSC-W570 review (Cnet).

Test high ISO Sony Alpha 55 and NEX-5 with 5 beta Silkypix: phenomenal! (Focus Numerique)

Sony TX10 image samples at Imaging Resource

A SAR readers video: 1st Round Italia Street Award (Vimeo)

[shoplink 6075 ebay][/shoplink]
Sony delayed the A35 and NEX-C3 announcements and there is still a bit to wait before we can see the new Sony A77 and NEX-7 in July. But also Nikon (a part the Nikon D5100), Canon, Olympus and Panasonic didn’t announce any new camera. The only camera manufacturer that is getting a lot of attentions around the web is Fuji. Since months every website is talking about the [shoplink 6075 ebay]Fuji X100[/shoplink]. The question I have to all SonyAlphaRumors readers is:

 Loading ...

I think the X100 is an “overstimated” camera. The hybrid viewfinder is a bit a pain to use (see focusing problems) and the fixed lens is quite a limitation if you consider the price of the camera. What I really like is the build quality and the manual controls. But I am curious to see what you think about the X100!

P.S: Check the Fuji X100 price and availability at [shopcountry 6075].