Sony interview at IR: Best Sony sensors will remain in house and not be outsourced (to Nikon).
Imaging Resource interviewed Mr. Kenji Tanaka and Mr. Yojiro Joe Asai from Sony (UPDATE: IR removed the interview). They didn’t spill out any info about future specific products but they gave a more general idea of what kind of tech they are working on:
- No outsourcing of best Sony sensors:
“The sensor is a custom [design, meaning that] only Sony can use these sensors, and our strength is our in-house technology.”x - FF forecast
“I think that this segment is stable. If the segment increases, [it will do so] very slowly” - Future key development:
“Now we are focused on three essential factors. One is of course the resolution, and another is the sensitivity, and third is the speed. [For example] 20 frames per second and 30 frames per burst or 100 frames per second, everybody wants to [have] that kind of functionality, but I can’t say yes. Because they don’t know how to use this kind of technology, but if we can show the benefit for that, people [will] enjoy the new technology, I think.“ - Object recognition drive AF and Exposure is a major technological key . And that’s possible because:
“I think that Sony has been repeatedly saying about the advantage of mirrorless, is that not having a mirror, having direct information…” - FF and APS-C
“Full-frame is our primary area. But as you said, we don’t ignore the APS-C market, and we can also grow the APS-C market.” - About US customers and market:
“I think American people still think the DSLR structure with mirror and shutter is best. But the technology can change that kind of way. And I think only Sony can do it. So I want to explain why the future is changing. And sensor is one aspect, and the lens is another one. Of course, intelligence is another aspect, but there are many technologies we have, so these things I want to tell your users. And of course [by combining] these technologies we create new cameras. So I want to show you the new camera.”
Probably it’s very interesting to hear the fact that Sony will not outsource the sensor they use on their own cameras. Which kind will give Nikon a very hard time!