The Sony A7s Price Disappointment

I was eagerly waiting for the pricing information on the A7s from Sony, and the price was finally revealed today, at $2500.  Disappointingly, this is too much for most enthusiasts, including me.  I was hoping the pricing would be close to that of the A7 or just slightly more. As it stands, the A7s is now $1000 more than the A7.

Personally, I think pricing the A7s this high is a wrong move for Sony and will put this camera into a niche market. Before the price announcement, Sony leaked out different price points to test the reactions from potential users, from $1800 to $3500, and then settled somewhere in the middle. There is nothing technologically advanced about the A7s; the very capable low light capability was made possible by lowering the pixel count of the sensor, which pretty much any company that makes sensors can do with current fabrication methods. The autofocus system, or even the video subsystem, is nothing earth shattering. In many ways, the Panasonic GH4 is a more capable video camera; it can literally focus in the dark, and records 4K video internally. Besides, the low light capability of the GH4 is no slouch either. But, I can see that the A7s is a perfect compliment to the GH4, when the full frame look is desired. What makes the A7s great, is that Sony actually dears to be different and has made a camera that no other company would do. Don't get me wrong, $2500 for a full frame camera with such low light capability is entirely reasonable; just that its price is not low enough for most people who want to use it as a camera for still photography, especially when today's cameras are already very good at low light.

In some ways, my heart is broken for not being able to afford the A7s. I guess I will pick one up used in a year or two, probably at half the price. In the mean time, I can now look forward to the A7, which has its price just reduced to $1500 in Canada.

Toronto from the 46th floor - Kiron 28mm f2.0 [OM Mount] & Sony NEX-6. Click for larger

Latest Gear Acquisition from the Camera Show

Here in Toronto we have a few camera shows each year. Many envy us for the opportunity to get cheap used lenses. This used to be true, but if today is any indication, the days for deals are numbered.

I went today and only stayed an hour. Everyone seemed to be selling over-priced junk. Found no deals today. Bought a whole bunch of projection lenses from a charity table and later found that the lens register of these lenses are way too short to be usable even on the NEX cameras. A write off. Sad, really, because a few are really nice 50mm f1.2 lenses. I did buy another unusual projection lens: Navitar 25mm f2.8. This is one huge and heavy lens. Never seen a projection lens this wide and made like this. I think it would be fun to try it out later.

Found a Meyer-Optik Gorlitz Primagon 35mm f4.5 in very nice condition. Came with a bonus Exakta mount body, which will probably end up as garbage. I am a big fan of Meyer-Optik lenses. especially the Primoplan 58mm f1.9. The Primagon 35mm f4.5 is a bit on the slow side, but the few sample pictures I took already look promising. I bought it mostly because I never even knew this lens existed.

Another purchase, which kind of regretted, is the Canon nFD 50mm f1.2L. It costs more than I wanted to pay, but cheaper than the 55mm f1.2 S.S.C. The test picture I did at f1.2 made me feel much better about the purchase: Very sharp wide open. About the same, if not better than the nFD 50mm f1.2. Now, the only Canon f1.2 standard lens in FL/FD/new FD mount I am missing is the Aspherical version, which is the most expensive of all. More so than the L version.

So, I guess that OM-D EM-5 has to wait a bit longer, and I most likely won't be going to the camera shows until summer.

Downtown Toronto - NEX-6 & Meyer-Optik Primagon 35mm f4.5 @ f8. Click for larger.

The Tree - NEX-6 & Meyer-Optik Primagon 35mm f4.5 @ f8. Click for larger.