Sony to stop producing DSLR?

[erotavlas]

sonyalpharumors | Blog | (SR4) UPDATED: There is no A600, and there will be no DSLR camera anymore...

"According to that source the A600 rumor is fake and he goes also one step further saying that there is no plan within Sony to make a DSLR camera in future. This can of course change, but in the short and mid term you should not expect any new optical viewfinder in any Sony camera."

If the rumor is true I'm not surprised, the classic DSLR design is on its way out.

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[Overread]

To be quite frank most camera rumours are not worth the type used to print them on the net. Canon Rumours has had "confirmed" rumours of things like a 100-400mm MII and a 24-70mm MII (often with IS) for years now - they've only just got the last one half right! In general most camera and most big companies don't have regular reliable leeks of info onto random blog sites. It generally does not happen and most rumour isn't worth paying too much attention too.

As for the whole "DSLRs are on the way out" I highly doubt this. Mirrorless have a long way to go before video input can equal or beat a mirror box (and be fitted economically inside a DSLR body).

[cosmonaut]

I agree there is just to big of a market for DSLRs, there are to many pros that will settle for nothing less. I think you will see less consumer based ones. I just don't see pros shooting pro sports with an a77. I just wasn't made for that.

[usayit]

The same rumor exists for Olympus DSLRs.... especially since micro 4 3 systems have gained so much presence in other markets.

I personally like the micro 4 3, but have little interest in olympus DSLRs.

[skieur]

As for the whole "DSLRs are on the way out" I highly doubt this. Mirrorless have a long way to go before video input can equal or beat a mirror box (and be fitted economically inside a DSLR body).

No, they do not have a long way to go in video, they are already there with A77 and will surpass that with the A99. The DSLR mirror is starting to limit further development in terms of size, speed, less noise, less vibration, etc. The fact that it is a mechanical system in an electronic digital camera means that potential for obsolescence is quite high.

Sony made lead in that direction but if the marketplace reacts positively, then Nikon and Canon will follow suit, like they have done in the past.

skieur

[gsgary]

As for the whole "DSLRs are on the way out" I highly doubt this. Mirrorless have a long way to go before video input can equal or beat a mirror box (and be fitted economically inside a DSLR body).

No, they do not have a long way to go in video, they are already there with A77 and will surpass that with the A99. The DSLR mirror is starting to limit further development in terms of size, speed, less noise, less vibration, etc. The fact that it is a mechanical system in an electronic digital camera means that potential for obsolescence is quite high.

Sony made lead in that direction but if the marketplace reacts positively, then Nikon and Canon will follow suit, like they have done in the past.

skieur

Canon tried it and it was crap, last week i did a studio night and the only Sony user could not see the subject through his wonderful veiwfinder

[cgipson1]

I have seen that too.. a Sony user on a night walk was complaining that he couldn't see some subjects, and was asking some of us to hold flashlights so he could try to get some shots. lol! I suggested he get a Nikon!

[o hey tyler]

Sony made lead in that direction but if the marketplace reacts positively, then Nikon and Canon will follow suit, like they have done in the past.

skieur

Canon invented the pellicle mirror several years ago. Who's following who now?

[Nikon_Josh]

As for the whole "DSLRs are on the way out" I highly doubt this. Mirrorless have a long way to go before video input can equal or beat a mirror box (and be fitted economically inside a DSLR body).

No, they do not have a long way to go in video, they are already there with A77 and will surpass that with the A99. The DSLR mirror is starting to limit further development in terms of size, speed, less noise, less vibration, etc. The fact that it is a mechanical system in an electronic digital camera means that potential for obsolescence is quite high.

Sony made lead in that direction but if the marketplace reacts positively, then Nikon and Canon will follow suit, like they have done in the past.

skieur

Soo now your claiming that Nikon and Canon have copied Sony in the past? Get a grip of yourself, Man! The new D4 is a copy is it? I don't know why your posts always have to go the route of downhill skiing.

[kassad]

As for the whole "DSLRs are on the way out" I highly doubt this. Mirrorless have a long way to go before video input can equal or beat a mirror box (and be fitted economically inside a DSLR body).

No, they do not have a long way to go in video, they are already there with A77 and will surpass that with the A99. The DSLR mirror is starting to limit further development in terms of size, speed, less noise, less vibration, etc. The fact that it is a mechanical system in an electronic digital camera means that potential for obsolescence is quite high.

Sony made lead in that direction but if the marketplace reacts positively, then Nikon and Canon will follow suit, like they have done in the past.

skieur

Soo now your claiming that Nikon and Canon have copied Sony in the past? Get a grip of yourself, Man! The new D4 is a copy is it? I don't know why your posts always have to go the route of downhill skiing.

Yes the D4 is a copy of a Sony camera that is exactly what he's saying. Come on don't be ridculous. Why do you guy keep baiting these trolls? As ridculous as Skiuer and Argy get, you and O Hey Tyler are getting just as disruptive.

[Derrel]

Sony made lead in that direction but if the marketplace reacts positively, then Nikon and Canon will follow suit, like they have done in the past.

skieur

Canon invented the pellicle mirror several years ago. Who's following who now?

Actually, I believe it was Nikon that introduced the FIRST pellicle-mirror-equipped SLR camera. Canon did produce a pellicle-mirrored SLR about two decades later, and they made ONE production run of it. Those EOS film cameras lingered on dealer shelves for eight or nine years. Meaning the model was a horrifically poor seller, and Canon EOS customers did not see any upside to the camera. The earlier Nikon pellicle mirror model was basically a way to get 2 more FPS out of a 1970's era F2 body. The Montreal Olympics,in 1976, keeps popping into my mind...

Canon and Nikon have figured out how to make counter-balancing and vibration-reducing mechanisms that tremendously lessen the forces of the mirror raising and lowering...it's one of the reasons both Canon and Nikon can make cameras that will fire at 8,9,10 frames per second, with virtually no ill effects. I suspect that the camera makers might have been inspired by the Japanese fishing and bicycle gear-maker SHIMANO, and their Dyna-Balance system, which turned the high-speed rotating motion and up and down oscillating motion of spinning reels from a wobbly, feel-killing mess, into a smooth, almost perfect balance and cancellation of opposing forces of the spool rising and lowering and the encircling rotor's rotating...when Dyna-Balance was invented, it revolutionized the fishing reel industry. That was in 1990 as I recall.

Never underestimate the mechanical engineering prowess of the Japanese camera designers. The pellicle mirror has been measured, and found wanting. Multiple times. Sony is using it to mace a lower-cost camera body that needs no mirror balancing system,and as a way to get to high firing rates, as a way to lure prosumers to their brand.

[kassad]

sonyalpharumors | Blog | (SR4) UPDATED: There is no A600, and there will be no DSLR camera anymore...

"According to that source the A600 rumor is fake and he goes also one step further saying that there is no plan within Sony to make a DSLR camera in future. This can of course change, but in the short and mid term you should not expect any new optical viewfinder in any Sony camera."

If the rumor is true I'm not surprised, the classic DSLR design is on its way out.

I would be suprised if this rumor isn't true. While I don't think DSLR is going away anytime soon on higher end bodies, I think mirrorless designs will continue to eat into the market share of lower end dslrs. I'm not sure how well Sony's SLTs will fair in the long run but I suspect the Sony Nex 7 might be a glimpse forward.

[o hey tyler]

Actually, I believe it was Nikon that introduced the FIRST pellicle-mirror-equipped SLR camera. Canon did produce a pellicle-mirrored SLR about two decades later, and they made ONE production run of it.

From Wikipedia:

The first camera to employ the pellicle mirror as a beam splitter was the Canon Pellix, launched by Canon Camera Company Inc. Japan in 1965.

Further along in the article...

The next 35mm SLR camera to employ the pellicle mirror was the Canon F-1 High Speed, made available in the event of the 1972 Olympic games, the object being rapid series photography, difficult at the time to obtain with a moving mirror.

and Nikon comes in...

Nippon Kogaku KK, Japan introduced their high-speed Nikon F2H in 1976. The mirror is a pellicle rather than a conventional front surfaced mirror that swings out of the light path when the exposure is made.

Here is the provided list of cameras:

• Canon
  
  • Pellix QL (1965)
  • F-1 High Speed (LE for the 1972 Olympics)
  • EOS RT (1989)
  • EOS 1N RS (1994)
• Nikon
  
  • F2 HS
  • F3 HS (Introduced for the 1998 Nagano Olympics)

Perhaps you know of an additional Nikon that wasn't mentioned in the article. After all it IS Wikipedia...

[DiskoJoe]

I doubt sony go to only making mirrorless cameras. Sony is an electronics producer and will keep producing dslr's as long as they sell. They may be trying to get a bigger piece of the mirrorless and 4/3 markets but it would be stupid for a billion dollar company to completely abandon the whole dslr market. Even if they dont lead the market they are still getting a pretty nice piece of it.

[Derrel]

Oh, sorry, my mistake!!!! The Canon Pellix...yes...that was the first production 35mm pellicle mirror SLR, and the thing never took off. Now that you mention the Pellix, I remember some on-line accounts of Pellix users. The Pellix lasted for one year, then was replaced by the Pellix QL, which had the Canon "Quick Load" system,designed to appeal to those were not confident in their ability to load a regular 35mm camera by putting a leader into a slit in a take-up spool. It is hard to appreciate it now, but Canon's 1960's cameras were largely kind of junky. Many of the Pellix bodies broke down well before their time,from what I have heard.

The Pellix had no option for a motor drive nor for a winder.

Like Sony today, Canon was just a mid-line SLR camera maker in 1965, stuck in the pack with Pentax and Minolta and Petri,and that ilk of camera makers. It's hard to over-state how far they have come since the Pellix days. But yes, they did make the "Pellix", which was not very popular, nor successful. I'm not saying this to be hostile toward Canon, but in 1965, Canon as a camera maker was a lot like SONY--trying to take on a market with bigger and better-selling and just "better" competitors with better models. It's not surprising that Canon tried something that was radically new, and different, but which was not really destined to succeed. Heck, I had forgotten about the Pellix...it was kind of like that movie with Afflec and Jolie...basically stillborn. Canon introduced the QL or Quick Load system in 1966...as a way to try and get end-users to believe they could load their fancy 35mm SLR cameras. I think SONY is trying some of the same methods, as a "new maker", to try and stimulate sales.

Nikon had a high-speed 7 frames per second camera at the 1972, Sapporo, Japan Olympics. It was called the Nikon F HighSpeed Sapporo, but it had a mirror that was locked up, and then an accessory finder was used.

Then, in 1974, Nikon produced a limited run of another F variant, The Nikon F HighSpeed Montreal, which went to 9 frames per second. THIS model is the one used later, in 1976, at the Montreal Olympics.

There were also 7 Nikon F Motor Pellicle cameras used at the 1976 Montreal Olympics.

The Nikon F2 HighSpeed Model 1, was introduced at Photkina 1978, and NOT in 1976, which Wikipedia wrongly states.

There was also a Nikon F2 HighSpeed Model II, not mentioned by Wikipedia.

The Complete Nikon System, by Peter Braczko, is where this information came from.

Canon and Nikon's pellicle mirror cameras were all basically technical marvels--but they never really DID ANYTHING great, sales-wise. Sony latching on to the decades-old, failed camera making ideas of the past...where will it lead Sony? One of the things research shows is that the mirrorless camera sales in JAPAN were pretty good last year, but in the USA were not so good. DPreview has a good article on sales of mirrorless cameras, posted a day or two ago. SONY might want to try and sew up the mirrorless market, before Canon's missing mirrorless model hits the streets. SOny bailing on the d-slr market??? I suppose they could. They have consumer electronics and video games to bail themselves out.