14 DAY TRIAL // Earlier today, I told you that the rumor mill sprouted out information indicating that Sony would be releasing two new big megapixel cameras in the next six months. But apparently, that’s not all the photo giant is working on.
Trusty sources talking to Photo Rumors have revealed that Sony and Zeiss have joined forced to create a medium-format rangefinder.
Sony tipped to take on the medium-format market next year
Sony has developed the first CMOS sensors for such devices, which is employed by Phase One, Hasselblad and Pentax on their respective cameras. So, it makes absolutely no sense why Sony wouldn’t take advantage of its own technology and launch a product under the same category as well.
This year, the IQ250, H5D-50c and 645z medium-format cameras made a debut on the market, but more are expected to come, from giants such as Nikon and Canon. Now Sony is also joining in the rooster.
We had hopes that Nikon and Canon might each unveil medium-format cameras at Photokina 2014, but that didn’t happen. However, the appeal of medium cameras seems to be on the rise, so we expect these two companies to comply to the pressures of the market and roll out such products.
Mamiya is looking to refresh its medium-camera range too
Moreover, the same source said that Mamiya was also developing a product from the same category and that both these products would make an entry in the next twelve months.
Going back to Sony, the company has been working on close partnership with Zeiss for some time now, which has been extended further to include the FE-mount lineup. Now the two partners seem to want to take things to the next levels.
For the time being, the consensus is that Sony will take advantage of the same 50MP CMOS sensor we see with other medium-format cameras. We don’t know what part Zeiss plays in the story, but we’ll probably find out soon enough.
We can guess that it’s related to providing several lenses and a new lens mount. The time-frame provided is quite extensive, so we can’t really tell you when in 2015 the Sony medium camera will make a debut on the market.
As for Mamiya, the same shadiness applies to its upcoming medium shooter as well. It will be interesting to see whether the company takes advantage of Sony’s sensor or not.
By contrast, Leica’s recent medium camera takes advantage of 37.5MP sensor and is capable of shooting 4K camera, so it’s not all Sony love on the medium market.