Announced back on Oct 16, 2013 the Sony A7 has now been officially marked as discontinued at BHphoto and Adorama. You can still get the camera via third party sellers on Amazon. Still, this is the end for a glorious camera. Seven years after the very basic design concept is still alive in the new A7rIV and A9II cameras.
Would be nice if Sony would attempt to finally give us a completely different kind of Full Frame camera design too. But I guess that within a shrinking market it’s wise to stay focused on what works.
Bloomberg reports that Sony cannot produce enough sensors for the smartphone market:
“Judging by the way things are going, even after all that investment in expanding capacity, it might still not be enough,” Shimizu said in an interview at the Tokyo headquarters. “We are having to apologize to customers because we just can’t make enough.”
Sony in May said it controls 51% of the image sensor market as measured by revenue and is targeting a 60% share by fiscal 2025.
I do not think this production issue has any effect on larger sensor for the camera market.
It’s that time of the year when nearly all major youtubers and websites unveil their best gear of the year award. Above you see the Northrups video where they nominate the A7rIV as the camera of the year.
PCmag claims the 16-55mm G lens is the lens of the year
Gizmodo claims the Sony A7 line is the “Most Innovative Gadgets Of The Decade”
Film was long dead by the time Sony released its first A7 camera, but discerning photographers who wanted the quality of shooting on a digital camera with a full-frame, 35-millimeter sensor, had to learn to live with carrying bulky and heavy DSLRs around. In 2013 the Sony A7 (and A7r) changed that by putting a 35-millimeter sensor in a mirrorless camera body with interchangeable lenses that was comparatively smaller and lighter than any DSLR, and at a price point that even amateur photographers could stomach.
The A7 also positioned Sony, a company who for years had been selling camera hardware that only worked with its own memory card formats, as serious competition for industry giants like Nikon and Canon. Over the years the A7 line has advanced by leaps and bounds, adding functionality and performance improvements that the competition can’t, or seemingly won’t, compete with, allowing Sony to slowly but steadily woo professionals and grow its market share. It won’t be long before Canon and Nikon go the way of analog film, and Sony’s A7 line will be the reason why. — Andrew Liszewski
Sony | α | α9 II | Firtst impression by Bob Martin
Using Mirrorless Cameras For Landscape Photography (Photopxl). Sony Announces the Establishment of Sony AI with the mission to unleash human creativity
Sony A9II review at DC.watch.
Sony A6100 Custom Camera Setup (Marc Galer)
Choices for Building a Portable Videography Kit with New Products (Explora).
The TRUTH about Lens Design (TheArtofPhotography).
X-T3 vs SONY a6600 by TheSlantedLens
4K Continuous shooting with Eye AF / Canon FUJIFILM Nikon SONY / AF-C Part 2 | Hidema channel
