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The Sony conundrum awesome tech with rough edges and high prices?

  
 
DWOfPaul
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p.1 #1 · The Sony conundrum awesome tech with rough edges and high prices?


There is no doubt Sony is an extremely innovative company and has helped push the photography industry forward. Such as the first full frame mirrorless cameras, the first full frame stacked sensor cameras, the first full frame global shutter camera, and many innovative lenses.

But this innovation often comes with tradeoffs. Take, for instance, the 200-600mm f6.3, which changed the game for telephoto zooms, but has high focus breathing or the 400-800mm f8 that hits a lot of the right marks but then seems to suffer from high sample variation.

Now let's jump to the latest releases, the 100-400mm f4.5 and a7rVI. The 100-400mm f4.5 hits many notes right, but it's a $4,300 lens that seems to have sample variation going on with zoom creep. The a7rVI has the highest resolution of any full frame camera, and possibly the best dynamic range of any full frame camera, but most of the innovation seems to be around the electronic shutter, which is to slow for quickly moving subjects and negates the dynamic range advantage of a $4,500 camera. For example, I wish Sony had added a 15 FPS mechanical shutter to the a7rVI, then we could truly gain speed and dynamic range over the a7rV. But as it stands, we need to pick one or the other. I even find it strange that Sony does not put their best AF on a $4,500 camera. It's not like there is an a1r the a7rVI would be competing against.

This pattern of Sony making awesome tech, but the tech is coming with rough edges and premium prices, seems to be getting stronger by the year. I feel like this is hurting the Sony ecosystem. When Sony was the first/only company doing something and often times cheeper than their competitors, it was easier to look away at the rough edges. But now we have gotten to the point where Sony is often more expensive than the competitors, and the rough edges remain.

Personally, I was rooting for Sony that the a7V and a7rVI would be the grand slams we know Sony is capable of making. Unfortunately, I am left wondering if I want to stay in the Sony ecosystem. Maybe Sony will surprise us and the a7s line will turn into a true Z8 / R5II competitor, but I doubt it at this point.



Jul 07, 2026 at 02:38 PM
nhmorgan
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p.1 #2 · The Sony conundrum awesome tech with rough edges and high prices?


The electronic shutter negates the dynamic range advantage anyway because that DR advantage only comes when using mechanical shutter. However, the ES DR is still very good. The max 1/8000 shutter speed with ES is a genuine puzzle for me since that seems to be artificially placed on the sensor to maintain segmentation. That sensor should be capable of a faster ES top speed. Shooters are going to hit that with 1.2 lenses in daytime conditions especially with the base ISO of 100.

I think you raise some valid points. I use a variety of brands and the Sony is always top notch for tech (but always with some weird tradeoffs like you mention), but my biggest complaint is that they just don't understand color science like the brands with a longer history of being photography companies. I find the files harder to edit to the end result I want. I used to think that was just something I got in my head, but I've found it to be the case in so many different environments that I don't doubt it now. Not to say you can't get good results, but for me it just takes longer to get there and makes the editing process feel more frustrating.



Jul 07, 2026 at 02:55 PM
seaSharp
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p.1 #3 · The Sony conundrum awesome tech with rough edges and high prices?


Sony definitely could use an attitude adjustment. The gimping of third party lenses really hurts in situations where there is no native equivalent (e.g. the 500mm f5.6 Sigma that I'm trying to figure out right now). I've thought about getting a $5.5k Z8 and a 500mm 5.6 pf just for birding (my A7R5 and A7CR pretty much cover everything else right now) - rather than moving to a $10k AII and a Sigma 500mm (stuck at 15 fps with no teleconverter) or $8k A7R6 + Sigma (maybe a bit slow on ES and still no 30 FPS or TC). (Getting the R6 would let me sell my A7RV for something but would still probably be more expensive.)

It's weird when buying into a whole new system is the low cost option...

[Prices are new on B&H Edu.]



Jul 07, 2026 at 03:04 PM
Arka
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p.1 #4 · The Sony conundrum awesome tech with rough edges and high prices?


DWOfPaul wrote:
There is no doubt Sony is an extremely innovative company and has helped push the photography industry forward. Such as the first full frame mirrorless cameras, the first full frame stacked sensor cameras, the first full frame global shutter camera, and many innovative lenses.

But this innovation often comes with tradeoffs. Take, for instance, the 200-600mm f6.3, which changed the game for telephoto zooms, but has high focus breathing or the 400-800mm f8 that hits a lot of the right marks but then seems to suffer from high sample variation.

Now let's jump to the latest releases, the 100-400mm f4.5 and
...Show more

I can't speak on the telephoto zoom as I have no experience or interest in those. But I've been using Sony cameras for nearly 13 years now and I don't think the modern cameras (or the lenses I use) have "edges" that are any "rougher" than any Nikon or Canon camera I used before (or the Canon R5 I use alongside my Sony A1 right now). You can always find something to dislike I suppose but I find the Sony cameras to be truly exceptional tools - almost too exceptional.



Jul 07, 2026 at 03:09 PM
deepDEEPpurple
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p.1 #5 · The Sony conundrum awesome tech with rough edges and high prices?


Its odd Sony gets criticized for imperfect innovation while Canon/Nikon gets a pass for locking out third-party (not to mention QC issues Nikon has been having since the D810 era). Sony is at least pushing sensor technology forward with things like global shutter, high res sensors and the new DR mode.

If we're going to judge rough edges, we should judge every brand by the same standard.



Jul 07, 2026 at 03:25 PM
seaSharp
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p.1 #6 · The Sony conundrum awesome tech with rough edges and high prices?


deepDEEPpurple wrote:
Its odd Sony gets criticized for imperfect innovation while Canon/Nikon gets a pass for locking out third-party (not to mention QC issues Nikon has been having since the D810 era). Sony is at least pushing sensor technology forward with things like global shutter, high res sensors and the new DR mode.

If we're going to judge rough edges, we should judge every brand by the same standard.


Right, well queue the old joke about the Sony/Nikon/Canon/Fuji/Olympus executives gathering in a Shinjuku bar to parcel out the capabilities that they were going to reserve for each of their camera lines. I mean how else could you explain that Oly had weather sealed small bodies but no weather sealed small lenses and Fuji had the opposite gap (yes that eventually got fixed but like I said this is an old joke etc. If one of the majors ever actually got its act entirely together it would be a shocking event. In the meantime at least we can grouse about the sorry state of the industry.

(And to be clear, if you are not shooting wildlife or something else challenging almost any camera sold today will be capable of delivering excellent results. But if you are not shooting something challenging what are you doing with a camera instead of a phone? So it actually may start mattering in the near future that the companies we depend upon are so bad at what they do.)



Jul 07, 2026 at 03:59 PM
duncangr
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p.1 #7 · The Sony conundrum awesome tech with rough edges and high prices?


DWOfPaul wrote:
There is no doubt Sony is an extremely innovative company and has helped push the photography industry forward. Such as the first full frame mirrorless cameras, the first full frame stacked sensor cameras, the first full frame global shutter camera, and many innovative lenses.

But this innovation often comes with tradeoffs. Take, for instance, the 200-600mm f6.3, which changed the game for telephoto zooms, but has high focus breathing or the 400-800mm f8 that hits a lot of the right marks but then seems to suffer from high sample variation.

Now let's jump to the latest releases, the 100-400mm f4.5 and
...Show more

What a ridiculous post.




Jul 07, 2026 at 10:13 PM
Jack Flesher
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p.1 #8 · The Sony conundrum awesome tech with rough edges and high prices?


I can make an argument in favor of any current camera manufacturer as the “best” choice.

They all pretty much offer a pinnacle of something. Choose your ammunition.




Jul 07, 2026 at 10:22 PM
old-gregg
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p.1 #9 · The Sony conundrum awesome tech with rough edges and high prices?


seaSharp wrote:
Sony definitely could use an attitude adjustment.


Absolutely! If their Chief Attitude Officer is reading this, my consulting services are on the table. Here's the quick attitude adjustment action plan:

- Ban electronic shutters
- Ban all lenses longer than 135mm
- Replace FPS with FPH
- No more video
- Raise prices 2x
- Mandatory ice cream truck music when zooming

They also need to incorporate bitch-slaps into their customer service routine to keep their userbase energized and to dump the crybabies into the Canon's hands.



Jul 07, 2026 at 11:40 PM
umut_h_toprak
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p.1 #10 · The Sony conundrum awesome tech with rough edges and high prices?


I find Sony sufficiently innovative but I also feel we would all benefit if they had more competition in the sensor space from e.g. Samsung or Chinese players.


Jul 08, 2026 at 12:30 AM
 


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Nifty Fifty
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p.1 #11 · The Sony conundrum awesome tech with rough edges and high prices?




DWOfPaul wrote:
Unfortunately, I am left wondering if I want to stay in the Sony ecosystem.

That would be sheer suicide. I STRONGLY advise making the switch—and doing so immediately!



Jul 08, 2026 at 01:32 AM
Knut.
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p.1 #12 · The Sony conundrum awesome tech with rough edges and high prices?


Not to mention, every camera body is built to a budget, even the new A7RVI with prices around 4,5k.
Choices have to be made what to leave out, to stay within the limits of a certain budget, call these rough edges or whatever. If you omit these restrictions prices would soar into the A1II range (around 7.5k), possibly yielding a perfert camera, but alas pricing more people out of the market for such a camera.

Difficult decisions for marketing. Unlikely that compromise can be found that makes 100% of people happy. Saying that this is a reason to leave Sony is over the top. I have been well served by this company. But discussions like these are helpful (maybe Sony is reading) and this might influence future decisions concerning what really matters to photographers.



Jul 08, 2026 at 03:07 AM
WillR
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p.1 #13 · The Sony conundrum awesome tech with rough edges and high prices?


On the hardware side, I think there is little to complain about with Sony. In fact, it’s exactly because they are at the leading edge in hardware that you have “rough edges”. Engineering at the edge requires tradeoffs. Most of the rough edges are just that: tradeoffs.

On the software side however, Sony could do better. Some features , for example, bracketing, are more limited than other companies. Other things, like showing different crop ratios or aspect ratios in the EVF are also limited. There’s no option for multiple exposure, etc. Many other companies are far more generous with firmware updates.

It’s in software that I’d like more innovation.

Will



Jul 08, 2026 at 06:03 AM
nhmorgan
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p.1 #14 · The Sony conundrum awesome tech with rough edges and high prices?


duncangr wrote:
What a ridiculous post.



I think it's a fair criticism. For example the A7RVI has one of the best EVFs and one of the worst rear screens. The best high res sensor in FF and caps it at 1/8000. It drives me nuts that the a7r series is now one of the best systems for astrophotography by you still can't zoom progressively and are capped at 10x zoom. Does it make the cameras unusable? Of course not. Is it frustrating for real world users? It is for me.



Jul 08, 2026 at 07:07 AM
deepDEEPpurple
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p.1 #15 · The Sony conundrum awesome tech with rough edges and high prices?





Jul 08, 2026 at 07:54 AM
olegkin
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p.1 #16 · The Sony conundrum awesome tech with rough edges and high prices?


I don't know about other edges but Sony's flash connector is a terrible design that should not exist. Profoto connect trigger is already broken after one use, and looks like a Godox flash is next after a few uses. Together with other small issues it makes me question if I want to deal with Sony at all.


Jul 08, 2026 at 08:33 AM
johnvanr
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p.1 #17 · The Sony conundrum awesome tech with rough edges and high prices?


DWOfPaul wrote:
There is no doubt Sony is an extremely innovative company and has helped push the photography industry forward. Such as the first full frame mirrorless cameras, the first full frame stacked sensor cameras, the first full frame global shutter camera, and many innovative lenses.

But this innovation often comes with tradeoffs. Take, for instance, the 200-600mm f6.3, which changed the game for telephoto zooms, but has high focus breathing or the 400-800mm f8 that hits a lot of the right marks but then seems to suffer from high sample variation.

Now let's jump to the latest releases, the 100-400mm f4.5 and
...Show more

I've long abandoned Sony, but mostly because their ergonomics don't suit me. Otherwise, I think they probably lead in consumer sensor tech (as they should, being a sensor company as well as a camera manufacturer, unlike the others), but other than that, they're now just another large mirrorless camera producer. So, we're back to where things were before, with the latest release from whatever company being the best in something until the latest release from the other guy comes along.

In my mind, the big difference is that most innovations don't really matter anymore unless you just want to own the latest tech or have a specific use case.

If you're right and some Sony products fail to deliver what they're supposed to deliver, then that's another discussion and one I can't contribute to because I don't buy their stuff.



Jul 08, 2026 at 08:43 AM
johnvanr
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p.1 #18 · The Sony conundrum awesome tech with rough edges and high prices?


deepDEEPpurple wrote:
Its odd Sony gets criticized for imperfect innovation while Canon/Nikon gets a pass for locking out third-party (not to mention QC issues Nikon has been having since the D810 era). Sony is at least pushing sensor technology forward with things like global shutter, high res sensors and the new DR mode.

If we're going to judge rough edges, we should judge every brand by the same standard.


These companies are constantly criticized for their third-party lens policies. Maybe you're just looking at the wrong forums.



Jul 08, 2026 at 08:44 AM
johnvanr
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p.1 #19 · The Sony conundrum awesome tech with rough edges and high prices?


seaSharp wrote:
Right, well queue the old joke about the Sony/Nikon/Canon/Fuji/Olympus executives gathering in a Shinjuku bar to parcel out the capabilities that they were going to reserve for each of their camera lines. I mean how else could you explain that Oly had weather sealed small bodies but no weather sealed small lenses and Fuji had the opposite gap (yes that eventually got fixed but like I said this is an old joke etc. If one of the majors ever actually got its act entirely together it would be a shocking event. In the meantime at least we can grouse
...Show more

I feel sorry for Panasonic not being in that bar...



Jul 08, 2026 at 08:46 AM
johnvanr
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p.1 #20 · The Sony conundrum awesome tech with rough edges and high prices?


old-gregg wrote:
Absolutely! If their Chief Attitude Officer is reading this, my consulting services are on the table. Here's the quick attitude adjustment action plan:

- Ban electronic shutters
- Ban all lenses longer than 135mm
- Replace FPS with FPH
- No more video
- Raise prices 2x
- Mandatory ice cream truck music when zooming

They also need to incorporate bitch-slaps into their customer service routine to keep their userbase energized and to dump the crybabies into the Canon's hands.


Be careful what you wish for with the ice cream truck music. My wife is Japanese and we have quite a few Japanese appliances. They love their silly sounds. You're giving them even more ideas...



Jul 08, 2026 at 08:48 AM
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