Is the Sony A-mount Dead?

Winder · 09-17-2014, 06:53 AM

http://www.photoclubalpha.com/2014/09/17/sonys-big-system-future-at-photokina/

The entire Photokina show has been about E & FE mount for Sony. There wasn't even a single slide of A-mount product during the Sony presentation. The A99 has a AF-D mode that requires SSM AF motors to work. The CZ 85 & 135 were expected to be announced at this show with updated SSM. Nothing. IF Sony is finally going to abandon A-mount it would be good news for Ricoh. Sony has been selling a lot more A7 bodies than A99 bodies, and demand for FE lenses is high. Maybe Sony is just taking a break from A-mount to focus on FE mount and get the lens line-up filled out. Maybe A-mount is slowing being abandoned.

**boriscleto** · 09-17-2014, 06:57 AM

Yes. Has been for some time. It's just as dead as K-mount would be if Ricoh made a mirrorless FF.

jimr-pdx · 09-17-2014, 07:24 AM

I'm glad I left the Alpha system behind & (re)joined Pentax four years ago. The alpha A200 served me well, but I was one good salesman away from the K100 Super in '08.
I knew a lot of heavily-invested Minolta folks who rejoiced when Sony stepped in, but clearly their reprieve was not long-term. I cannot believe they treated David K so shabbily as to refuse him a lens - he's been the UK Champion for the A mount. I recall him saying the K-5 was the true A700 successor many years ago (or was that the K-7?). With so much invested in Alpha he probably needs to ride it out, but it has to hurt.

RIP, Minolta - again.

lytrytyr · 09-17-2014, 08:21 AM

As a Pentaxian, I'd love to see that superb Zeiss 24/2 repurposed for K-mount,
if the extra millimeter of registration distance could be accommodated.

Stavri · 09-17-2014, 08:49 AM

Originally posted by boriscleto

Yes. Has been for some time. It's just as dead as K-mount would be if Ricoh made a mirrorless FF.

They're not mutually exclusive, the K-01 is a mirrorless K mout dslr.

**boriscleto** · 09-17-2014, 09:22 AM

Originally posted by Stavri

They're not mutually exclusive, the K-01 is a mirrorless K mout dslr.

Mirrorless DSLR is an oxymoron.

The conventional wisdom is that if Ricoh were to make a FF MILC it would have a new mount with a shorter registration distance. The K-01 maintained the K-mount and was a failure until it was sold off at fire sale prices.

There is an autofocusing A-mount to E-mount adapter, but it is awkward, expensive, and not a big seller.

stillshot2 · 09-17-2014, 09:23 AM

It's been 1 year now since I left the alpha mount system for Pentax, and I was a little nervous back then about what direction Sony was trying to take. The SLT pellicle mirror tech in the a55 I tried was interesting but still not refined enough to my liking. Since they didn't manufacture optical viewfinders anymore I said goodbye even though I still have a soft spot for Minolta lenses. If I were with Sony now I would be getting stomach ulcers. It seems like they are completely ignoring their a mount users which is just bad form. They probably don't want to pull the plug because it will "look bad" but in my opinion ignoring a user base already looks pretty bad.

Winder · 09-18-2014, 12:54 PM

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=FYodehAOlUE#t=233

Youtu.be

JohnBee · 09-13-2015, 09:29 PM

Sony has a history of abandoning products in the pursuit of better technology. The problem wit hthis however is where camera owners often times end-up investing such large sums of money in their kits that they will avoid staying companies who do this in favor of those with long product stability.

That said, it's no secret that Sony has taken some serious financial losses over the past few years as they phased out both their Sony Style stores and finally their online outlets also. All of which, doesn't inspire confidence insofar as product sustainability for the imaging division.

As an A99 owner, my take on this is that the product lineup had a good run. Whereas I'm thinking I will not be shooting with A-mount for much longer myself, as Pentax and Nikon will soon be announcing their new sensor bodies in the near future.

pinholecam · 09-13-2015, 11:20 PM

Not surprising to me coming from a non-brand forum with a large user base.
A-mount talk (by extrapolation interest) had started to drop by the point of the A77/A99.
It was rather good traffic before that.
When E mount gained traction, most talk was on that.
This was followed by almost all FE mount talk when the A7 series was released 2yrs back.

IMO, its obvious that Sony will let A mount die a slow death much like how four-thirds was made to waste away.
I doubt Sony is willing to use the resources to support A, E, FE mount all at once.
Maybe at best a token Amount model every 2yrs or something.

Some guys will argue that there are the LAE-3 and 4 adapters for FE cameras.
But I don't see many want to spend good money on this sort of route.

I was a decision away from buying A100 when I was going to digital from film Pentax.
But luckily, I chanced on the K100D and the memory stick requirement of the A100 put me off.
Thankful that happened.

philbaum · 09-14-2015, 08:13 AM

Originally posted by JohnBee

Sony has a history of abandoning products in the pursuit of better technology. The problem wit hthis however is where camera owners often times end-up investing such large sums of money in their kits that they will avoid staying companies who do this in favor of those with long product stability....

I'm not sure how it could be otherwise. Canon has moved to more modern mounts as well. How could any company stay with a product that is no longer profitable. One could debate at which point of profitability a camera company can/should abandon a mount, but ultimately profitability determines what survives.

Pentax has stayed with the K-mount obviously. How has that worked for them? I don't see hordes of customers buying Pentax because of their loyalty to the K-mount. Tamron and Sigma has reduced their support of the K-mount - altho that will may change when the Pentax FF is produced. In the last 6 months in my photography club, 3 new Nikon FF have been purchase, 3 new Sony FF have been purchased and 2 Fuji's and a Panasonic or 2. No Canons that i have heard of. Sony has made all the sensors for the FF cameras i think.

aleonx3 · 09-14-2015, 08:26 AM

Originally posted by pinholecam

But luckily, I chanced on the K100D and the memory stick requirement of the A100 put me off.
Thankful that happened.

Interesting thing that you brought up as I don't seem to hear people mention (or even remember) Sony's proprietary "memory stick" any more....
I wonder if CF memory (mostly in high end cameras) would someday be phased out as well.

stillshot2 · 09-14-2015, 08:35 AM

I can't believe another year has passed and still no new a mount cameras. I can't imagine Sony is selling many of their a77ii or a58 aps-c cameras, as they are quite a bit more expensive than similar offerings from Pentax. Perhaps SLT pellicle mirrors are still a selling point for some people?

reeftool · 09-14-2015, 10:38 AM

Originally posted by philbaum

I'm not sure how it could be otherwise. Canon has moved to more modern mounts as well. How could any company stay with a product that is no longer profitable. One could debate at which point of profitability a camera company can/should abandon a mount, but ultimately profitability determines what survives.

Pentax has stayed with the K-mount obviously. How has that worked for them? I don't see hordes of customers buying Pentax because of their loyalty to the K-mount. Tamron and Sigma has reduced their support of the K-mount - altho that will may change when the Pentax FF is produced. In the last 6 months in my photography club, 3 new Nikon FF have been purchase, 3 new Sony FF have been purchased and 2 Fuji's and a Panasonic or 2. No Canons that i have heard of. Sony has made all the sensors for the FF cameras i think.

Pentax s lack of market share has nothing to do with the K mount. IMO, it's the K mount that has probably kept them alive. With their total lack of any marketing in the US, I'm surprised that they're still going (but also very happy). Sony is so big that they can afford to constantly experiment with new products. Their business model is built on customers constantly buying their new technology and putting last years stuff out at the garage sale. They are using that same business model in their camera division. How it will ultimately work out for them in the long run remains to be seen. Photographers tend to buy into a brand and loyally stick with the product. Lenses are considered a long term investment. Abandoning a lens mount isn't a decision that shouldn't be made lightly.

stillshot2 · 09-14-2015, 01:56 PM

Lately I've been thinking that as long as Pentax makes some kind of camera that is at least as good as my K30 and has a K mount, I will never need to switch brands again.

09-17-2014, 06:53 AM	#1
Winder Veteran Member Join Date: Apr 2010 Location: Tennessee Posts: 6,617	Is the Sony A-mount Dead? http://www.photoclubalpha.com/2014/09/17/sonys-big-system-future-at-photokina/ The entire Photokina show has been about E & FE mount for Sony. There wasn't even a single slide of A-mount product during the Sony presentation. The A99 has a AF-D mode that requires SSM AF motors to work. The CZ 85 & 135 were expected to be announced at this show with updated SSM. Nothing. IF Sony is finally going to abandon A-mount it would be good news for Ricoh. Sony has been selling a lot more A7 bodies than A99 bodies, and demand for FE lenses is high. Maybe Sony is just taking a break from A-mount to focus on FE mount and get the lens line-up filled out. Maybe A-mount is slowing being abandoned.

09-13-2015, 11:20 PM	#10
pinholecam Pentaxian Join Date: Oct 2009 Location: North Photos: Gallery Posts: 4,706	Not surprising to me coming from a non-brand forum with a large user base. A-mount talk (by extrapolation interest) had started to drop by the point of the A77/A99. It was rather good traffic before that. When E mount gained traction, most talk was on that. This was followed by almost all FE mount talk when the A7 series was released 2yrs back. IMO, its obvious that Sony will let A mount die a slow death much like how four-thirds was made to waste away. I doubt Sony is willing to use the resources to support A, E, FE mount all at once. Maybe at best a token Amount model every 2yrs or something. Some guys will argue that there are the LAE-3 and 4 adapters for FE cameras. But I don't see many want to spend good money on this sort of route. I was a decision away from buying A100 when I was going to digital from film Pentax. But luckily, I chanced on the K100D and the memory stick requirement of the A100 put me off. Thankful that happened. Last edited by pinholecam; 09-14-2015 at 05:01 AM.

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09-17-2014, 06:57 AM	#2
boriscleto Loyal Site Supporter Join Date: Dec 2009 Location: North Syracuse, NY Photos: Gallery Posts: 16,475	Yes. Has been for some time. It's just as dead as K-mount would be if Ricoh made a mirrorless FF.

09-17-2014, 07:24 AM	#3
jimr-pdx Pentaxian Join Date: May 2010 Location: now 1 hour north of PDX Photos: Gallery \| Albums Posts: 3,897	I'm glad I left the Alpha system behind & (re)joined Pentax four years ago. The alpha A200 served me well, but I was one good salesman away from the K100 Super in '08. I knew a lot of heavily-invested Minolta folks who rejoiced when Sony stepped in, but clearly their reprieve was not long-term. I cannot believe they treated David K so shabbily as to refuse him a lens - he's been the UK Champion for the A mount. I recall him saying the K-5 was the true A700 successor many years ago (or was that the K-7?). With so much invested in Alpha he probably needs to ride it out, but it has to hurt. RIP, Minolta - again.

09-17-2014, 08:21 AM	#4
lytrytyr Pentaxian Join Date: Nov 2011 Photos: Gallery \| Albums Posts: 4,310	As a Pentaxian, I'd love to see that superb Zeiss 24/2 repurposed for K-mount, if the extra millimeter of registration distance could be accommodated.

09-17-2014, 08:49 AM	#5
Stavri Veteran Member Join Date: Aug 2014 Location: at a Bean & Leaf Photos: Albums Posts: 1,832	Originally posted by boriscleto Yes. Has been for some time. It's just as dead as K-mount would be if Ricoh made a mirrorless FF. They're not mutually exclusive, the K-01 is a mirrorless K mout dslr.

09-17-2014, 09:22 AM	#6
boriscleto Loyal Site Supporter Join Date: Dec 2009 Location: North Syracuse, NY Photos: Gallery Posts: 16,475	Originally posted by Stavri They're not mutually exclusive, the K-01 is a mirrorless K mout dslr. Mirrorless DSLR is an oxymoron. The conventional wisdom is that if Ricoh were to make a FF MILC it would have a new mount with a shorter registration distance. The K-01 maintained the K-mount and was a failure until it was sold off at fire sale prices. There is an autofocusing A-mount to E-mount adapter, but it is awkward, expensive, and not a big seller.

09-17-2014, 09:23 AM	#7
stillshot2 Pentaxian Join Date: Sep 2013 Location: Phoenix, AZ Photos: Albums Posts: 1,070	It's been 1 year now since I left the alpha mount system for Pentax, and I was a little nervous back then about what direction Sony was trying to take. The SLT pellicle mirror tech in the a55 I tried was interesting but still not refined enough to my liking. Since they didn't manufacture optical viewfinders anymore I said goodbye even though I still have a soft spot for Minolta lenses. If I were with Sony now I would be getting stomach ulcers. It seems like they are completely ignoring their a mount users which is just bad form. They probably don't want to pull the plug because it will "look bad" but in my opinion ignoring a user base already looks pretty bad.

09-13-2015, 09:29 PM	#9
JohnBee Veteran Member Join Date: Sep 2008 Location: Newrfoundland Photos: Albums Posts: 4,667	Sony has a history of abandoning products in the pursuit of better technology. The problem wit hthis however is where camera owners often times end-up investing such large sums of money in their kits that they will avoid staying companies who do this in favor of those with long product stability. That said, it's no secret that Sony has taken some serious financial losses over the past few years as they phased out both their Sony Style stores and finally their online outlets also. All of which, doesn't inspire confidence insofar as product sustainability for the imaging division. As an A99 owner, my take on this is that the product lineup had a good run. Whereas I'm thinking I will not be shooting with A-mount for much longer myself, as Pentax and Nikon will soon be announcing their new sensor bodies in the near future.

09-14-2015, 08:13 AM	#11
philbaum Veteran Member Join Date: Oct 2007 Location: Port Townsend, Washington State, USA Posts: 3,659	Originally posted by JohnBee Sony has a history of abandoning products in the pursuit of better technology. The problem wit hthis however is where camera owners often times end-up investing such large sums of money in their kits that they will avoid staying companies who do this in favor of those with long product stability.... I'm not sure how it could be otherwise. Canon has moved to more modern mounts as well. How could any company stay with a product that is no longer profitable. One could debate at which point of profitability a camera company can/should abandon a mount, but ultimately profitability determines what survives. Pentax has stayed with the K-mount obviously. How has that worked for them? I don't see hordes of customers buying Pentax because of their loyalty to the K-mount. Tamron and Sigma has reduced their support of the K-mount - altho that will may change when the Pentax FF is produced. In the last 6 months in my photography club, 3 new Nikon FF have been purchase, 3 new Sony FF have been purchased and 2 Fuji's and a Panasonic or 2. No Canons that i have heard of. Sony has made all the sensors for the FF cameras i think.

09-14-2015, 08:26 AM	#12
aleonx3 Veteran Member Join Date: Jul 2007 Location: Brampton, Ontario Photos: Gallery \| Albums Posts: 3,996	Originally posted by pinholecam But luckily, I chanced on the K100D and the memory stick requirement of the A100 put me off. Thankful that happened. Interesting thing that you brought up as I don't seem to hear people mention (or even remember) Sony's proprietary "memory stick" any more.... I wonder if CF memory (mostly in high end cameras) would someday be phased out as well.

09-14-2015, 08:35 AM	#13
stillshot2 Pentaxian Join Date: Sep 2013 Location: Phoenix, AZ Photos: Albums Posts: 1,070	I can't believe another year has passed and still no new a mount cameras. I can't imagine Sony is selling many of their a77ii or a58 aps-c cameras, as they are quite a bit more expensive than similar offerings from Pentax. Perhaps SLT pellicle mirrors are still a selling point for some people?

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09-14-2015, 10:38 AM	#14
reeftool Pentaxian Join Date: Dec 2007 Location: Upstate New York Photos: Gallery \| Albums Posts: 9,553	Originally posted by philbaum I'm not sure how it could be otherwise. Canon has moved to more modern mounts as well. How could any company stay with a product that is no longer profitable. One could debate at which point of profitability a camera company can/should abandon a mount, but ultimately profitability determines what survives. Pentax has stayed with the K-mount obviously. How has that worked for them? I don't see hordes of customers buying Pentax because of their loyalty to the K-mount. Tamron and Sigma has reduced their support of the K-mount - altho that will may change when the Pentax FF is produced. In the last 6 months in my photography club, 3 new Nikon FF have been purchase, 3 new Sony FF have been purchased and 2 Fuji's and a Panasonic or 2. No Canons that i have heard of. Sony has made all the sensors for the FF cameras i think. Pentax s lack of market share has nothing to do with the K mount. IMO, it's the K mount that has probably kept them alive. With their total lack of any marketing in the US, I'm surprised that they're still going (but also very happy). Sony is so big that they can afford to constantly experiment with new products. Their business model is built on customers constantly buying their new technology and putting last years stuff out at the garage sale. They are using that same business model in their camera division. How it will ultimately work out for them in the long run remains to be seen. Photographers tend to buy into a brand and loyally stick with the product. Lenses are considered a long term investment. Abandoning a lens mount isn't a decision that shouldn't be made lightly.

09-14-2015, 01:56 PM	#15
stillshot2 Pentaxian Join Date: Sep 2013 Location: Phoenix, AZ Photos: Albums Posts: 1,070	Lately I've been thinking that as long as Pentax makes some kind of camera that is at least as good as my K30 and has a K mount, I will never need to switch brands again.