Wanted to start this thread for info on when the A1 II will be available in a non pre-order capacity. I don't remember any of the other cameras in the A series being this scarce. Am I wrong ?
From my store in Canada:
"Well…it’s quite terrible. We have seen what Sony is getting for incoming shipments for the whole country in the coming months and it is almost nothing. Not sure why they are so supply challenged on these. It’s brutal! At this point I am not sure when we will be able to get you one. Not sure if the US is taking most of the production or what. I am hoping it will get better. We are a top 5 Sony dealer, so they share this info with us."
arbitrage wrote:
From my store in Canada:
"Well…it’s quite terrible. We have seen what Sony is getting for incoming shipments for the whole country in the coming months and it is almost nothing. Not sure why they are so supply challenged on these. It’s brutal! At this point I am not sure when we will be able to get you one. Not sure if the US is taking most of the production or what. I am hoping it will get better. We are a top 5 Sony dealer, so they share this info with us."
Just an opinion: The R&D for the A1II has already been done with the A1; instead of doing a FW update, they announced a new camera, which is in short supply because of a lack of space on the production line. The new body is a left over from unsold A9III's. I may be totally wrong, but I don't think so.
sparadise wrote:
Wanted to start this thread for info on when the A1 II will be available in a non pre-order capacity. I don't remember any of the other cameras in the A series being this scarce. Am I wrong ?
I seem to recall having to wait for the original A1 when I ordered it from B&H, even several months after it was released.
mogul wrote:
Just an opinion: The R&D for the A1II has already been done with the A1; instead of doing a FW update, they announced a new camera, which is in short supply because of a lack of space on the production line. The new body is a left over from unsold A9III's. I may be totally wrong, but I don't think so.
I'm sure in the spirit of kaizan Sony is sharing a lot of components between cameras, but I also suspect the processors inside the A1ii are significant upgrades over those in the original (4 year old) A1 that push performance far beyond what could be done with a simple firmware update.
I preordered on 11/26 and just checked with the dealer (US dealer). Apparently I missed the first allocation and they said they expect another shipment somewhere around the 20th. Fingers crossed...
I read somewhere the UK got ~250 [a1ii bodies] and the next batch are coming in late Feb/March.
-----
Perhaps semiconductor shortages for ai focus chip and updated Bioniz chip plus new mainboard required in a1ii. Body changes may likely not just be ergonomics but also to fit updated/additional components - for example we know nothing of any internal memory [changes] to help facilitate precapture and maintain the buffer.
wordfool wrote:
I'm sure in the spirit of kaizan Sony is sharing a lot of components between cameras, but I also suspect the processors inside the A1ii are significant upgrades over those in the original (4 year old) A1 that push performance far beyond what could be done with a simple firmware update.
arbitrage wrote:
From my store in Canada:
"Well…it’s quite terrible. We have seen what Sony is getting for incoming shipments for the whole country in the coming months and it is almost nothing. Not sure why they are so supply challenged on these. It’s brutal! At this point I am not sure when we will be able to get you one. Not sure if the US is taking most of the production or what. I am hoping it will get better. We are a top 5 Sony dealer, so they share this info with us."
That is eye-opening. Shopping at a couple (great) smaller retailers, and asking whenever I have been in contact with SPS reps, such an ambiguous fulfillment schedule has not been communicated to them, or if so, they were unwilling to discuss it. Count me in the group that was hoping to have a refreshed A1 available should something irreparable happen to my existing bodies.
So this isn't terribly different than the original A1 or A9III releases either. The volume of the high-end bodies sold has to be substantially lower than others so I'm sure production is scaled to match, and they have to make an estimate of what they will need globally that can be wrong. It seems like initial demand was stronger than projected so supplies have been short. I'm glad I put my order in last year when the A9III was announced instead of the A1II.
Thanks for all the input guys. I seem to recall being able to find an A1 without a lot of trouble when I replaced my A9 II. Just my own recollection which could be wrong. Seems odd to say the least this camera is so scarce.
sparadise wrote:
Thanks for all the input guys. I seem to recall being able to find an A1 without a lot of trouble when I replaced my A9 II. Just my own recollection which could be wrong. Seems odd to say the least this camera is so scarce.
I got one at launch but they were impossible after that for several months. It took about 3 months for the backlogs to clear. I remember this clearly as I got my first one on launch day and ordered another that day and waited months to get it.
jhapeman wrote:
I got one at launch but they were impossible after that for several months. It took about 3 months for the backlogs to clear. I remember this clearly as I got my first one on launch day and ordered another that day and waited months to get it.
Good morning - I just logged in to our Sony dealer portal and they have pushed back the next expected delivery date to the beginning of February, citing manufacturing delays. I'll keep you updated as we receive more updates. Our apologies for the delay in fulfilling your order.
Good morning - I just logged in to our Sony dealer portal and they have pushed back the next expected delivery date to the beginning of February, citing manufacturing delays. I'll keep you updated as we receive more updates. Our apologies for the delay in fulfilling your order.
I pre-ordered on Nov 26 from B&H. I called them today. They had no information about a date or a quantity of cameras they are expecting. So, it's hurry up and wait some more.
