RUMOR: APSC is not dead yet...

[FowlersFreeTime]

Sony interview: New APS-C cameras and new affordable lenses are on our roadmap – sonyalpharumors

www.sonyalpharumors.com

We believe that APS-C cameras can meet different needs than full-frame cameras, thanks to their compact size. Sony will therefore continue to rise to the challenge of creating attractive products not only for creating videos, but also for photographers.

Interesting. Are they hinting at a new APSC body with the FX-30 sensor? And to be "for photographers" to me that means more like an a6xxx or a7 with dedicated eyepiece and not just a flippy screen.

But why oh why do I think they're still going to cater only to entry-level? Am I just jaded now?

 

[FowlersFreeTime]

Seems like and awful lot of hurry up and wait from Sony lately. Meanwhile Canon has started to kick Sony's mirrorless ass by continuing to introduce new APS-C cameras, including one I saw that has an A6000 rangefinder-ish body. I don't know if they ever released it.

Sony needs to release something soon.

Tim, I can hear Sony's response in my mind right now:
"What are you talking about? We've released GREAT products for the creator community, just look at our ZVE110 and ZV1F, the kids love us! Those tik-tokers don't need anything more than that."

 

[Deleted Member 5045]

That is interesting! See where this goes hey. One thing I wish I didn't get rid of was my A6400, they are a fantastic camera...

Although I have been so close to buying a Fujifilm X-S10 with the 16-80mm lens in the last few months, I really like this camera. But I know it will open up a whole new can of worms...

 

[Uncle Kevriano]

They definitely need an R7 competitor, so Im banking on that next.

 

[Unframed Dave]

That is interesting! See where this goes hey. One thing I wish I didn't get rid of was my A6400, they are a fantastic camera...

Although I have been so close to buying a Fujifilm X-S10 with the 16-80mm lens in the last few months, I really like this camera. But I know it will open up a whole new can of worms...

My 6600s will still be my travelling companions. Despite now having an a1, the difference in weight between body and lenses is a big issue.

 

[Uncle Kevriano]

They need to compete with both the R7 and Fuji's 40MP APS-C. Sony and Nikon are lagging in the APS-C Megapickles war. Imagine the Sony 200-600 at 1.5X and 40MP!

That R7 is 15FPS in mechanical, too.

Exactly. It's an awful lot of camera for the money

 

[Gaz]

My Apple iPhone 14 pro is an excellent bit of camera kit, and publishing/sharing/air-dropping is very convenient.

What I don’t like is digital zoom. They’ve helped that by adding 3 lenses, but these are tiny little things.

Give me a light bodied camera with some real glass, and all that nice stuff I get on my phone. Quite frankly, I can do without the incessant phone calls, text messages, emails, WhatsApp, messenger, and zoom interrupting my calming enjoyment. Don’t put that sh*t on my camera and I’ll get my life back.

 

[FowlersFreeTime]

They need to compete with both the R7 and Fuji's 40MP APS-C. Sony and Nikon are lagging in the APS-C Megapickles war.

Yep, whatever Sony's answer is to those benchmarks, that's my next camera.

 

[liggy]

The X-T5 and Fuji small primes are a real delight to shoot. Zero interest in a Sony apsc camera - will just use crop mode on the A1.

 

[Deleted Member 5045]

One other thing that has stopped me from buying an X-S10 is the fact that the Sony A7 bodies are so compact. If I throw my 40mm G prime or my 16-35mm PZ on my camera, it has a very small footprint. So I already basically have what I'd be trying to achieve by buying that Fujifilm APSC ie a small runabout, but even better actually...

 

[liggy]

One other thing that has stopped me from buying an X-S10 is the fact that the Sony A7 bodies are so compact. If I throw my 40mm G prime or my 16-35mm PZ on my camera, it has a very small footprint. So I already basically have what I'd be trying to achieve by buying that Fujifilm APSC ie a small runabout, but even better actually...

Yeah…being an XT and XPro fan I don’t really love the X-S body.
The A7 body is compact enough and you can shoot with small primes.

If Sony launched a baby A1 with a stacked crop sensor that might be worth a look.

 

[Deleted Member 5045]

And so it goes...

Exactly..!

 

[Deleted Member 5045]

Yeah…being an XT and XPro fan I don’t really love the X-S body.

Oh right, you ain't a fan? I'm quite the opposite actually, I really like that body over their other stuff.

The X-S10 thing started when I was asked about a single lens kit for around A$2,000. I really like Fujifilm so a look into all systems I said either an A6400 with the 18-105mm, or the X-S10 with the 16-80mm. Then it sort of got me thinking. That was a while ago though, so see how I'm feeling next week I guess...

 

[Deleted Member 5045]

I'm betting their next APS-C will be exactly that. A traditional body with a 30-40MP sensor, fast burst rate, etc. I've been saying it for months. Maybe if I keep saying it...

Has to be though. I think I'll be able to hear Chris celebrating from here when Sony announces it...

 

[liggy]

Oh right, you ain't a fan? I'm quite the opposite actually, I really like that body over their other stuff.

The X-S10 thing started when I was asked about a single lens kit for around A$2,000. I really like Fujifilm so a look into all systems I said either an A6400 with the 18-105mm, or the X-S10 with the 16-80mm. Then it sort of got me thinking. That was a while ago though, so see how I'm feeling next week I guess...

In the Fujiverse the X-S10 delivers great value. Ibis and the grip for those that don’t really need the dedicated dials. Price point here in the US is really good too.

I just love the whole X-T control layout.

 

[FowlersFreeTime]

Has to be though. I think I'll be able to hear Chris celebrating from here when Sony announces it...

I better start putting more in the piggybank for that fateful day...

 

[AlphaWorld]

This one isn’t a rumour - apparently that same interview has appeared on a French site, too, so a Sony manager (the one in charge of ILCs) is on record. Not sure what we will see, or when, but you have to think he would not have said what he did if there wasn’t imminent announcement/s.

 

[Uncle Kevriano]

My Apple iPhone 14 pro is an excellent bit of camera kit, and publishing/sharing/air-dropping is very convenient.

What I don’t like is digital zoom. They’ve helped that by adding 3 lenses, but these are tiny little things.

Give me a light bodied camera with some real glass, and all that nice stuff I get on my phone. Quite frankly, I can do without the incessant phone calls, text messages, emails, WhatsApp, messenger, and zoom interrupting my calming enjoyment. Don’t put that sh*t on my camera and I’ll get my life back.

Clients and friends and work people, pain in the butt. Digital zoom, is, has been, and always will be crap! I agree that the phone cams are exceptional for landscapes and the like though, and the computational side of that photography is definitely creeping into cameras in some ways.

 

[liggy]

One other thing that has stopped me from buying an X-S10 is the fact that the Sony A7 bodies are so compact. If I throw my 40mm G prime or my 16-35mm PZ on my camera, it has a very small footprint. So I already basically have what I'd be trying to achieve by buying that Fujifilm APSC ie a small runabout, but even better actually...

My favorite Fuji small runabout kit would be X-T30 + 18mm F2. I sold my X-T30 when I picked up the A9II but there are times I wish I hadn’t.

 

[FowlersFreeTime]

@Brownie Thanks Tim for sharing this link in another thread:

Sony interview at Dpreview clearly hints that next Sony APS-C camera will have same 26MP FX30 sensor! – sonyalpharumors

www.sonyalpharumors.com

I know many customers like small cameras and longer focal-length lenses. We understand there’s a huge opportunity and demand in the APS-C area, so we’ve never stopped our development of APS-C cameras. Also, as you’ve noticed, the FX30 has a brand-new image sensor. That means stay tuned!

So that's a good enough confirmation for me that the next a6xxx will have the FX30 sensor:
26 Megapixel (6192 x 4128) APSC sensor (23.3 x 15.5 mm CMOS)
ISO 100 to 32,000
Shutter speed in the FX-30 is 1/8000 to 30s, but I wouldn't be surprised if they limit the mechanical shutter to 1/4000 in the photo-centric body.
Video specs should match the FX-30.
I'd like to see the Z battery used here.
I'd like to see some decent IBIS, but will settle for any (I have none in the a6400 anyway)

I'd really like another control wheel at the index finger below the shutter button, but I don't expect it. I also don't expect more than one card slot, which I have no strong feelings on.

 

[AlphaWorld]

@Brownie Thanks Tim for sharing this link in another thread:

Sony interview at Dpreview clearly hints that next Sony APS-C camera will have same 26MP FX30 sensor! – sonyalpharumors

www.sonyalpharumors.com

So that's a good enough confirmation for me that the next a6xxx will have the FX30 sensor:
26 Megapixel (6192 x 4128) APSC sensor (23.3 x 15.5 mm CMOS)
ISO 100 to 32,000
Shutter speed in the FX-30 is 1/8000 to 30s, but I wouldn't be surprised if they limit the mechanical shutter to 1/4000 in the photo-centric body.
Video specs should match the FX-30.
I'd like to see the Z battery used here.
I'd like to see some decent IBIS, but will settle for any (I have none in the a6400 anyway)

I'd really like another control wheel at the index finger below the shutter button, but I don't expect it. I also don't expect more than one card slot, which I have no strong feelings on.

The ZV-E1 got one card slot but a Z100 battery, so you may be right.

I would be a little surprised if they limited the mechanical shutter to 1/4000, because 1/8000 is more important in a stills camera than in a video camera.

It will be very interesting to see how much of the new AF it gets!

 

[FowlersFreeTime]

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That's a pretty wild rumor to have the APSC photo-centric line-up split into two trims: A7 body, and A6xxx body.
Wild rumors... but maybe plausible? I could totally see Sony trying to rinse the existing sensor and body style for one more cycle, meanwhile we know they're working on putting the new FX-30 sensor into... something.

It really got me thinking: How attached am I to the small body of the a6400?

• My hands itch to hold something more ergonomic than the a6400
• My brain says we need the additional space for a z battery, IBIS, a fully articulated screen, and an index finger control dial
• My travel requirements (as infrequent as they are with a child now) mean I would still favor a camera body smaller than a full-frame body.
• My budget says, don't care as long as I don't jump to full frame and have to take the loss on all my APSC lenses

 

[FowlersFreeTime]

I saw that this morning, but it's so off the wall (and he admits it's probably all wrong) I decided to let it go.

If Sony fails on this new camera, you need to look at Fuji.

Or I will bite the proverbial bullet and just go full frame. Either way, I doubt I'll be spending until Christmas.