I know Sony is working on it. It it's not too late, here's what I think would be great to have:
1. 60 Mpix *global* shutter - it's a must-have
2. Body shape to be improver for better ergonomics
3. Ability to switch between saved settings with a "single click" - meaning I'd like to have a "dial override". For example, I have a portrait settings and landscape settings. Currently, one needs to change multiple dials to switch between the stored settings.
4. Reliability - while A1 is reliable, I had couple of situations when I slid and fell hard. One of my lenses broke into two parts. Camera still works. But please Sony, improve it anyway.
5. Faster WiFi - this is extremely important when shooting untethered in the studio or on location with flash lights. I tried to use a fast router and connect the camera to laptop, it's not fast enough. Also, I tried to use a WiFi pairing straight to the laptop, it's the same - not fast enough. Cable tethering is not an option (in the world of wireless everything)
6. I use a battery grip, so battery like of good. No complaints here.
7. Video features are not important, A1 is a PHOTO camera, so disregard the video while improving the camera
Not sure "reliability" is at all related to dropping a camera. Unless you want an armored body that's twice the size and weight of the current one then we just have to accept modern electronics are not designed to be dropped. That's why insurance exists and professionals have multiple camera bodies. Even back in the day when cameras were largely mechanical and probably more drop-proof, multiple bodies was always the best insurance against in-field accidents.
As for the rest of the OP's desires, I'm not really in agreement. "Improved ergonomics" is a subjective thing but for most people it means a bigger body and that is the opposite of what drew me to Sony bodies in the first place. If I wanted a bigger body I'd have chosen Nikon or Canon. I opted for the smaller body and got used to it. My A1ii is already significantly bigger than the OG A9 that I started out with in Sonyland, and I really don't want it to get any bigger. If I wanted a bigger body I'd buy the battery grip, so at least there's that option.
Not sure what the switching between setting gripe is -- Sony makes storing custom shooting setups incredibly easy already. You literally just have to turn one dial one notch to change to another set.
WiFi speed is probably impacted by power requirements, heat generation issues, antenna limitations, etc., so there's no doubt a limit to how fast Sony can push the chips. It's 802.11ac bandwidth now, and no doubt the Mark 3 will probably be ax, but ultimately this is a battery-powered camera, not an AC-powered mutli-channel router with 8 antennas so it's never going to keep up with the fastest hardware especially if you want a global sensor that pushes vast amounts of data per shot. Tethering is always going to be the fastest, most reliable way to transmit large amounts of data, not least because wireless interference is always going to exist to some degree. I "tether" my desktop PC at home to my switch/router despite having very fast wireless access points because it's just more reliable, period.
And video features are here to stay unfortunately because the vast majority use exactly the same hardware as stills so just require software implementation, which is not a huge additional cost for Sony for a potentially large additional market of buyers. I've never shot a single frame of video on my Sony cameras, but I don't begrudge those features being there anyway
I see so many people asking Sony to remove video features and make photo-only cameras to bring the price down, but in reality, the exact opposite would happen. If you want the A1 III to stay in the $6,000–$7,000 range instead of jumping to over $9,000, then you do want strong video features. Video broadens the camera’s appeal to a much larger audience, increasing production volume and triggering economies of scale, which ultimately helps keep prices down.
It is simply not possible to "disregard the video while improving the camera". There are a lot of synergy between features for stills and for videos in mirrorless cameras. For example, fast AF = fast sensor readout = high video frame rates.
My request might be a strange one to ask for a massively fast autofocus camera, but I would LOVE for Sony to improve their manual focus aids like Canon and Nikon have done.
When the A1 III drops, I’ll likely be a customer since it may be the last camera I’ll ever need. But I really like my manual focus lenses and if they would just add those aids I’d be a happy man. Better yet, do a firmware upgrade for my A7R5 to add those manual focus aids!
AlexLF wrote:
I know Sony is working on it. It it's not too late, here's what I think would be great to have:
1. 60 Mpix *global* shutter - it's a must-have
2. Body shape to be improver for better ergonomics
3. Ability to switch between saved settings with a "single click" - meaning I'd like to have a "dial override". For example, I have a portrait settings and landscape settings. Currently, one needs to change multiple dials to switch between the stored settings.
4. Reliability - while A1 is reliable, I had couple of situations when I slid and fell hard. One of my lenses broke into two parts. Camera still works. But please Sony, improve it anyway.
5. Faster WiFi - this is extremely important when shooting untethered in the studio or on location with flash lights. I tried to use a fast router and connect the camera to laptop, it's not fast enough. Also, I tried to use a WiFi pairing straight to the laptop, it's the same - not fast enough. Cable tethering is not an option (in the world of wireless everything)
6. I use a battery grip, so battery like of good. No complaints here.
7. Video features are not important, A1 is a PHOTO camera, so disregard the video while improving the camera
Are you currently using an A1? If so, I agree with you about the body
Have you tried holding the A1 II/A9 III body. A big improvement IMO
Only real complaint I have about the A1 II is the AF is not quite as good as the A9 III on my experience. But the latest firmware could fix that. Haven’t had a chance to put it through it’s paces though
If so, I can’t really think of much I’d wish for in a mark III. 50MP global shutter could be nice. Not sure how likely it is though
robert614 wrote:
50MP global shutter could be nice. Not sure how likely it is though
Yeah, it would be nice on paper but I imagine 50MP at 120fps would really be pushing the limits of processing power that could be crammed into that size body. I'd settle for slightly faster sensor readout and 40fps with a corresponding bump in fps for third-party lenses, too. Keep the global sensor for the "sports" body, aka the A9 series.
the Sony cameras are actually more "drop proof" and reliable than the pro DSLR's. After dropping the pro DSLR's you often needed to send them in for check/service to check both mirror and sub-mirror assembly and mechanical parts. the AF calibration was very sensitive to the sub mirror assembly and slight misalignment there would easily result in subpar and inconsistent AF.... Not to mention no mechanical shutter failure, and constant cleaning of the sensor with the DSLR's, my 1DX II was notorious for oil spatter from the lubricant in the shutter mechanism on to the sensor after heavy burst usage..... don't miss those days at all
I'm not holding my breath, but I'd love to be able to enable / disable image stabilization per recall setting. I much prefer shooting action without IS. But frequently something pops up in the dark that does not move much. Like many I then use recall settings to quickly and temporarily change to longer exposures at low ISO. Doesn't work for IS though. And I'd want the capability for my lenses which mostly have a hardware IS switch on the lens.
octo wrote:
I see so many people asking Sony to remove video features and make photo-only cameras to bring the price down, but in reality, the exact opposite would happen. If you want the A1 III to stay in the $6,000–$7,000 range instead of jumping to over $9,000, then you do want strong video features. Video broadens the camera’s appeal to a much larger audience, increasing production volume and triggering economies of scale, which ultimately helps keep prices down.
Exactly. If you want a video-free camera you can buy a Leica M11 - that costs more than an A1.
Also, I know at least one person who decided to swing for an A1 II rather than a used A1 precisely because of the improved video - he wants one camera to do it all so he doesn't need to carry a ton of gear around. So I seriously doubt Sony will sign on to this "camera for photos" mentality anytime soon.
As for reliability - yeah. I'm not sure what Sony can do to defy gravity or user error.
robert614 wrote:
Are you currently using an A1? If so, I agree with you about the body
Have you tried holding the A1 II/A9 III body. A big improvement IMO
Only real complaint I have about the A1 II is the AF is not quite as good as the A9 III on my experience. But the latest firmware could fix that. Haven’t had a chance to put it through it’s paces though
If so, I can’t really think of much I’d wish for in a mark III. 50MP global shutter could be nice. Not sure how likely it is though
No, I haven't use A1 II. Well, if its body is much better than A1 then we may consider it as minor.
Yes, 60 Mpix or, ok, 50 Mpix global shutter is a must-have. Honestly, I wouldn't jump into the new version otherwise.
I always thought there should be two battery grip options for the top-tier camera. I said years ago that a battery grip with a cooling element would be a good idea, and I believe Canon did that recently with one of their battery grips for the R5 MkII... I also think Sony should have a battery grip (option) where it can use drop-in SSDs (knowing Sony, they would make it so it's a proprietary method, which is fine). This way, you can drop in 1Tb, 2Tb, or even 4Tb SSDs... This would be extremely useful for those professional sports/event shooters AND for those doing 8k videos or 4k long-projects.
Alex, post some of your work and we will let you know if what you need is a better camera ;-)
On a serious note, I always find it interesting when I look at the websites of the most successful commercial photographers in the world currently.
What I find is that they are shooting with a Canon R5 with kit zoom, 5DIV, 1dX (at 20mp), Nikon D850, A7rIV.
(shooting seven figure ad campaigns for Disney, Banana Republic, Apple, Tiffany, etc. etc.)
Meanwhile, in the forums people getting all nitty-gritty about lacking features.
ronno wrote:
Alex, post some of your work and we will let you know if what you need is a better camera ;-)
On a serious note, I always find it interesting when I look at the websites of the most successful commercial photographers in the world currently.
What I find is that they are shooting with a Canon R5 with kit zoom, 5DIV, 1dX (at 20mp), Nikon D850, A7rIV.
(shooting seven figure ad campaigns for Disney, Banana Republic, Apple, Tiffany, etc. etc.)
Meanwhile, in the forums people getting all nitty-gritty about lacking features.
That's because those people making a ton of money with the gear don't usually have time to be whining on the internet
trainerKEN wrote:
That's because those people making a ton of money with the gear don't usually have time to be whining on the internet
A lot of them don't know (and don't care) a great deal about camera tech either, and probably don't even know these forums exist, because they're too busy.
