Sony Expands Its Image Sensor Business – Invests $9 Billion

NewsIndustry

by Olaf von VossMay 29^th, 2018

Canon and Nikon continue to lead the digital camera market. It’s not enough for Sony to be “just” third, and they’re about to invest $9 billion to change that. Sony’s goal is to be the leading camera brand by 2021.

A couple of days ago Sony’s new CEO, Mr. Kenichiro Yoshida, has presented a three-year roadmap for their business portfolio. Among other things these two facts stick out when it comes to digital video/photo cameras: 1) The company aims for the crown in the digital camera market, and 2) they are about to invest a huge amount of money in order to achieve that goal. We’re talking billions here, $9.000.000.000 as a matter of fact.

Sony Invests in Its Future

We’re not going to cover the whole presentation the company held earlier this month on their Sony IR Day 2018 but a few slides of that presentation might be very interesting for the digital photo and filmmaking community.

From light to display and everything in between | image credit: Sony

The company wants to be the market leader when it comes to L2D technology: Light to display. Sony has you covered with everything you need to capture a given scene. They want to expand and strenghten their G Master lineup of high quality lenses. They will invest heavily in new and improved sensor tech and the underlying image processing pipeline. Their three-year roadmap really covers everything from light source to final display.

Analyze the market and react. | image credit: Sony

A core segment of Sony’s initiative will be mirrorless cameras. Since other competitors, such as Canon Panasonic and Nikon, are intensifying their (full-frame) efforts in order to tackle the very successful a7 and a9 lineup of mirrorless cameras, the company will invest even more dollars in order to stay ahead of the pack. Mind you, Canon and Nikon are still leaders in terms of market share here.

Sony also intends to invest in its professional support program in order to expand it. This is a good way to get in touch with professional users at events such as the Olympic Games or other major events worldwide. Canon’s strong CPS (Canon Professional Services) presence at such events remains an important reason for professional photographers to stick to the brand.

Conclusion

This is pretty big news, indeed. Not in terms of new products or actual new tech but as an investment in the future. This investment underpins sony’s attitude that they have come to stay. Sure, Canon and Nikon are still market leaders in terms of market share but for how long? These are interesting times and we’ll see a lot of competition going on.

For us, the filmmakers, competition between major brands is always a good thing because it keeps the companies stay hungry and innovative. Both Canon and Nikon have rumored full-frame mirroless camera systems ready in 2018. Let’s hope for the best and let’s see where we are in three years from now.

Links: IR Day 2018 Presentation (PDF) | Sources: PetaPixel.com and sonyalpharumors

What do you think? What about Canon’s and Nikon’s rumored full frame mirrorless cameras? Share your thoughts in the comments below!