[DPREVIEW]
http://www.dpreview.com/articles/0661793352/photokina-2014-sony-interview-we-still-need-to-create-more-lenses
Could you summarize Sony’s camera strategy in one sentence?
We want to make serious cameras. In terms
of our compact cameras, for example, the RX-series is the core. They’re
differentiated from our competitors by offering big sensors, great
picture quality and sophisticated cosmetic design.
How important are new photographers to Sony compared to experts or enthusiasts?
In business terms, entry-level users, or
amateurs are very important because there are so many opportunities.
Traditional photo enthusiasts might be fond of using more traditional
systems such as those from Canon or Nikon. They stick to those
ecosystems, since they have a lot of lenses. But beginners might not
have those kind of loyalties. We want to stimulate the interest of those
customers in photography.
But we also need to earn a good
reputation among professionals and higher-level amateurs. It’s kind of a
chicken and egg situation. So firstly, our strategy is to get that
reputation with enthusiasts. That’s why we started to make these
serious, high-end cameras. And for the moment, we think, it is proving
successful.
Do you think there is a gap in your lineup for a truly entry-level RX-series camera?
Yes and no. We are attracting a lot of
new customers with the original RX100. It might look like a serious
camera, but from an entry-level users’ point of view they can still take
a good photography with a single press of a button. Any amateur
photographer can use an RX100. The RX100 III is the top end, but we’re
continuing to run all three RX100-series cameras together - the RX100
has now been on the market for more than two years.
Will this strategy continue? Last year’s flagship becoming this year’s entry-level option?
Yes, we will keep the products on the
market for as long as we can. This is a different strategy to the one
we’ve used in the past. It’s good for us and also for the customers and
retailers.
How do you go about persuading someone who might be invested in another system to switch to Sony?
It’s not easy for people to switch, and
we understand that. But right now some of those customers are buying our
cameras and lenses in addition to their existing equipment. They
appreciate the advantage of mirrorless equipment, which is twofold:
light and small. The smaller the better and the lighter the better. In
the past, small, light cameras often weren’t capable enough but after
the introduction of the A7, there are no excuses.
With the Alpha a6000 and the SLT-77 II
the focus was improved so much that older mirrorless models look slow.
This is the kind of innovation that removes the ‘pain points’ from
buying mirrorless cameras. And gradually we’re gaining customers, from
new entry-level buyers to high-level amateurs and enthusiasts who are
traditionally Canon and Nikon customers.
There are three Alpha 7 cameras on the market now. Can you give us an idea of how they’re selling, relative to one another?
The Alpha 7 is the standard model, and it
attracts a wider range of customers. The A7R is a resolution-oriented
camera, aimed especially at customers that do things like landscapes.
Before we introduced the A7S we didn’t know who would buy it. At the
moment, a lot of videographers are interested in it. Last week we
attended the IBC conference in Amsterdam and already a lot of
journalists were using the A7S for video.
How important is video to the the Alpha range as a whole?
Well historically the photo industry and
video industry were completely separate. From Sony’s point of view we
had been doing, but independently. But thanks to certain technological
developments, the two have come together and now there is no great
distinction. So we can make use of a common platform and create very
specific, customized products according to customer feedback.
The A7S is clearly a capable video
camera, but ergonomically it is obviously designed in the same way as
the A7 and A7R, for still shooting. Was it an experiment?
No. From what I’ve heard, in recent years
a lot of professional photographers have needed to start creating video
as well as stills - doing two jobs. One camera which can do both - like
the A7S - is potentially better.
We had an issue with the A7R with
shutter vibration reducing resolution in certain situations. How do you
incorporate feedback like this from your users?
We take the feedback and make note of it, and we use it to improve the next generation of products.
Under the ‘Alpha’ brand you currently
have two lens mounts - A and FE. How long do you see those two mounts
running side-by-side?
We have one system - the Alpha system. Of
course the origin of A and E mounts might seem different from a
customer’s point of view, but they are fully compatible with one another
using adapters. I don’t want to separate those mounts into two
‘systems’. That’s why we stopped using ‘NEX’ in favor of using a single
family name - ‘Alpha’.
Before you made that change did you find that customers saw NEX and Alpha differently?
Yes. When we introduced the first NEX
models we were going after new users, and families. So the image might
have seemed ‘cheap’.
Historically, Sony is seen by many
people as an electronics company, not necessarily as a photography
company. Do you think that this is still a problem?
There is still some problem with that,
but my strong message to the market is that Sony is a serious photo
manufacturer. We are strengthening our lens lineup as well.
How much Minolta is left in Sony?
Some of the old Minolta lenses are still
very good - especially some of the long zoom lenses. In my team there
are several former Minolta engineers, but our team is bigger now than
Minolta’s was. So we can design new lenses completely from scratch [for
the requirements of digital].
Sony is clearly putting a lot of effort into creating new lenses - where do you think you need to do more?
The number. There are 13 lenses for the E
mount currently but we still need to create more lenses to compete with
other manufacturers. We’re catching up. One consistent request from our
customers is macro lenses and wide-aperture lenses.
Do you think you need a big lens lineup to be taken seriously by professional photographers?
We certainly have a lot of work to do to
gain a good reputation with professionals - like long zooms for sports
and so on. But we also need to make more affordable, light and small
lenses.
Is the AF system in your mirrorless
cameras capable of predictive focus tracking in the same way as a
conventional phase-detection AF system?
That depends on the lens. If we made a
new lens, something like a 300mm or 400mm, yes - it would be possible
with the new ‘4D’ focusing system in the a6000. But in terms of speed
the AF system in the Alpha 7 cameras is a little slower.
So you’re not aiming the A7-series at sports photographers right now?
No, the A7 [series] isn’t capable of professional AF performance, but the a6000 is good enough for sports events.
So are you focusing on improving AF performance in the next generation of FE mount cameras?
I want to, yes.
Sony sensors can be found in cameras from several different manufacturers. How does your sensor business work?
When we make sensors we put them in
several categories. [At any given time] one category of sensors is
reserved purely for Sony cameras - we don’t sell them to other
companies. Like the sensor in the A7S. But once we’ve enjoyed this
advantage we might sell them on later, after some time has passed. This
is the second category. The third category of sensors is completely
generic - the sensors are created for use internally and to sell
externally, to anybody. China or Taiwan or wherever.
Do you think that full-frame is the
biggest size sensor that an enthusiast could ever need, or is there an
opportunity for bigger sensors?
Bigger than full-frame? Of course there
is opportunity there for medium format but it’s a niche. For now, thanks
to developments in full-frame we can satisfy this need but there may be
room to explore this opportunity [in the future].
How has the QX-series been received? What kind of feedback have you heard?
In the beginning, we had a lot of demand
from gadget lovers, who really liked it. But after that initial boom was
over we’ve had a very stable level of business. It’s maybe still a
niche, but this is our challenge. This year we introduced the QX-1, an
interchangeable lens-type QX camera. While it might still be a niche a
lot of customers are interested in it for astrophotography, for
instance, to attach to telescopes.
Although we marketed them as modules that
you can attached to your phone, most QX users don’t attach the lenses
in this way, they use them remotely. This has been very interesting.
