What’s the Future of the Sony A7x Series? An Exclusive Interview at Sony HQ

by Johnnie BehiriDecember 12^th, 2015

My resent business trip to Japan was full of pleasant surprises. First,  I was able to conduct and publish one of the first Sony FS5 reviews and footage, then, I was invited to Sony’s HQ and among other activities, had a chance to make a quick interview with Iwatsuki-san who is a senior manager for product planning at Sony industry consumer electronics. 

The talk with Iwatsuki-san was mainly about Sony’s a7xII camera line and lenses. If I can draw any conclusions from that talk, it will be about Sony recognizing some of the obstacles related to their current models like overheating and menu structure to name a few. On the other hand I came out of this meeting feeling that Sony carefully listens to a customer’s voice and as a leading manufacturer, they are committed to develop and improve their a7x line even further.

By the way in the above interview, I deliberately avoided some of the repeatedly asked questions like “why does the a7x cameras can not record 4:2:2 10 bit internally?” as I truly can’t see Sony implementing specs like those in their s7x line anytime soon.    

For those who chooses to watch parts of the interview, here is a breakdown of the questions I’ve asked and where to find them on the video :

• Where is the DSLR market heading to? (00:12)
• How does Sony see the mirrorless camera market? (01:14)
• Do you see a need for small, lightweight lenses? (03:09)
• Does Sony recognize the need for faster lenses? (04:39)
• When will Sony be implementing HDR technology on a7x cameras? (05:09)
• Can you see further improvements for low light capabilities? (05:28)
• Which camera would you consider better suited for video recoding, the a7SII or a7RII? (06:32)
• What is Sony’s recommendation for choosing the right Picture Profile? (08:29)
• What are the most significant improvements in noise reduction between the original a7S and the a7SII? (09:37)
• Any comment regarding overheating issues concerning the new a7RII and the a7SII? (10:30)
• Why can the REC function not be assigned to the shutter release button? (11:37)
• Why do you get a blank EVF and screen when connecting an external recorder? (12:20)

Much more could have been asked but my slot ended with a promise to meet again in the near future. If you have any relevant question to ask the Sony team, please do in the comments below. I can guarantee that they are looking at what you will be writing.