Canon and Nikon competition: What Sony has to do to beat them…

The market share in the system camera market (2017)

This is a perfect time for Sony to think about their future 5 year strategy within the camera business. And let’s start with a negative note:

Sony was the only Full Frame mirrorless system (except the expensive Leica system) in the market. But even with that unique distinctive character Sony did not manager to get much closer to Canon and Nikon in terms of market share. In Japan it’s Canon that is leading the mirrorless market (big surprise). And worldwide Canon has 49%, Nikon 25% and Sony only the 13% of the system camera share.

Now that the distinctive “mirrorless” advantage argument is gone Sony has to move on and lead on other aspects. I am summing up some of the ideas I got from SAR readers comments:

Be always one year ahead with sensor tech
Sony has to take fill advantage of their class leading sensor development. It means that as soon as a new sensor is available they should release a camera with it.

Fix the usual quirks
Internet is a bitch. If you claim to have a weather sealed camera and in fact it’s not…it quickly gets debunked and you get embarrassed. I understand no camera is 100% weather sealed but at least be on par with the competition. Also other issue like star eating have to be fixed ASAP.
Improve menu, ergonomics based on photographers feedback and don’t be afraid to make a major revolution (see Hasselblads X1D cool menu).
And don’t cripple on features: Touchscreen should not have just basic functions, if you use two SD slot don’t cripple the speed on one of the two slot. It simply makes you look “cheap”.

Think Social (APP store)
Older people tend to stick with the classic Nikon and Canon brand. Better to focus on the new social generation. Please let the cameras have a built-in APP store. Let people give a chance to be creative with your camera by developing special filters app and so on. It also would allow to have a ton of practical features. Example: On the fly image backup on google drive.
Hardware should be social too: This means selfie screen on all cameras!

Product diversification
I understand that you save costs by having the same body design on all A7-A9 series cameras. But I think it’s time to give people a palette of choice. Fuji does it: They offer rangefinder styled camera, classic and more modern designed cameras. It would love to have a [shoplink 23713 ebay]Zeiss Ikon digital E-mount camera[/shoplink]! I know this wouldn’t sell much but it would attract some attention and maybe bring other people on board that otherwise wouldn’t join.

Convince Olympus-Panasonic-Pentax to join E-mount
Olympus, Panasonic and Pentax are struggling with their systems. Invite them to join E-mount. This would lead to new innovation and diversification. I would love that to happen!

More products and more announcements
Create constant interest on E-mount. Like Fuji you should have an announcement nearly every month (products or major firmware update). Also create teaser for it to attract interest!

Do SAR readers have more ideas to share in our comment system?

Sony FE 70-200mm GM review at Opticalllimits: “is an impressive piece of equipment”

Opticallimits (former Photozone) tested the Sony FE 70-200mm GM. The conclusion:

The Sony FE 70-200mm f/2.8 GM OSS is an impressive piece of equipment. The broader center-zone is especially outstanding when keeping in mind that the lens has been tested on a 42mp sensor. The far corners could be better at 70mm f/2.8 and 200mm f/2.8 but that’s usually not an issue in real life. Lateral CAs are low. Image distortions as well as vignetting are well auto-corrected. The native distortion characteristic is somewhat worse compared to what we’ve seen with similar DSLR lenses though. The quality of the bokeh is pretty nice for a lens in this class. The amount of bokeh fringing is about average.

The build quality is perfectly aligned to professional standards. It feels super-sturdy and the weather sealing certainly helps when the going gets tough outdoors. Sony also paid attention to details such as a retractable window in the lens hood for using a polarizer and a bunch of focus stop buttons. The built-in image stabilizer is good enough for about 3 f-stops. If there’s one aspect that didn’t really convince us, it’s the auto-focus. Things may be different on the A9 but on the A7R II, the speed wasn’t all that great (compared to DSLR lenses) and we even experienced a few bugs which we haven’t seen in other Sony lenses so far.

If you want to achieve shallow depth-of-field with a zoom lens, the Sony FE 70-200mm f/2.8 GM OSS is certainly a go-to lens in the Sony system – albeit a pricey one.

Sony 70-200mm GM lens at [shopcountry 70053].

New image samples shot with the upcoming Laowa 10-18mm f/4.5-5.6 FE lens

In September Venus Optics will open the 10-18mm f/4.5-5.6 FE lens preorders. And today they shared some image samples you can download here: sendspace.com/file/a8n2ra

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Laowa 10-18mm f/4.5-5.6 FE Zoom
This lens is currently the widest zoom lens available for Sony full frame E-mount cameras. Designed primarily for travel photography, Venus optics have managed to compress the size to smallest in its class, less than 10 inch (<10cm) and only 1.1 pounds (<500g). The 102° (18mm) to 130° (10mm) angle of view provides flexibility for photographers to compose landscape or architecture photos with ease. The lens houses with 14 elements in 10 groups with 2 aspherical elements & 1 extra-low dispersion element to deliver exceptional performance. It can focus as close as 15cm for some mini-macro shooting. A rear filter slot is included to fit with 37mm filter. Click/clickless aperture can be toggled by the switch on the lens barrel.

 

Voigtländer 40mm f/1.2 FE review at Admiringlight: “I love this lens”

Admiringlight tested what has become my favorite lens since I bought it back in January, the Voigtländer 40mm f/1.2 FE:

I simply have to say: I love this lens. From the moment I looked at the first batch of photos from this lens, I was hooked. There’s something about the rendering that just speaks to me, and I found it to be nearly the perfect focal length for everyday use. The lens is sharp right from f/1.2, and is extremely sharp stopped down. Bokeh is generally very good, and color and contrast are excellent Portraits taken with the 40mm f/1.2 just pop, and it makes for a great landscape lens as well.

The $1,099 price might seem a bit steep for an all-manual lens, but the versatility and optical quality make it very much worth that price of entry. This is an outstanding effort from Voigtländer. Where’s my wallet?

Voigtlander really nailed it with all their FE lens range. Every lens has his unique and distinctive function you cannot get with other Sony or Zeiss lenses.

Links to all Vogitlander FE lenses:
Voigtlander 35mm f/1.4 FE at BHphoto, Amazon and Adorama.
Voigtlander 40mm f/1.2 FE at BHphoto, Amazon and Adorama.
Voigtlander 65mm f/2.0 FE at BHphoto, Amazon and Adorama.
Voigtlander 110mm f/2.5 FE at BHphoto, Amazon and Adorama.

This is the image of my Voigtlander 40mm FE lens:

First comparison between the Nikon FF mirrorless 3D paper model and the Sony A9 :)

People is really getting creative trying to picture the exact size and design of the new Nikon FF mirrorless. Based on the leaked teaser image @buildyourcamera made this Nikon Full Frame mirrorless paper model. I added the #SonyA9 to make a size comparison based on the rumored mount size specs.

Ted Forbes: “Why Sony is absolutely KILLING it right now” and why it will be hard for Canon and Nikon to match them…

In this new video from tech guru (and certainly no Sony fanboy) Ted Forbes he explains why Sony is currently killing it. He explains that Sony’s advantage is more than just about sensor:

For example Nikon and Canon will have to launch a complete new series of lenses with new linear motors to really take advantage of the autofocus speed from the mirrorless system. not something that can happen in a very short time.

Moreover Sony is leading the sensor tech and Canon and Nikon certainly cannot beat them in any way right now.

Check out his video!