Will Sony update their A7x lines every year?

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Daniel Kim

Member
I'm on the fence with purchasing either an A7rII or A7sII. But I'm wondering if I should hold off until later in the year to see if Sony will release an A7rIII or A7sIII. Will Sony update their A7x lines every year, or should I just go with what's currently available?

I've been thinking about maybe just getting an RX10mII or an A6300 to hold me off. Too many decisions :)

For the most part I'll be shooting short films and corporate type videos.
 
I don't think anybody on the outside really knows, but with yearly releases, you could spend forever waiting for the next one to come out because "it's just around the corner", gotta pull the trigger sometime. Is there a feature that you want that they don't currently have?
 
I know my answer, an A7SIII with 10bit and/or an A7RIII with the (apparent) AF capabilities of the A6300. If I saw that in 2016 I might just get both!
 
It is a bit tough with the constant releases. I just bought an a7RII. But for the price, i worry that in 9 months they'll have the next version with 4k 60p, or 120fps 1080p. So, i'm returning it for the a6300 since you can buy three of them for the price of the a7RII (and get that 120fps 1080p). I just have a hard time buying the expensive cameras now, because it's a lot of money to spend only to feel it's been replaced a year later.
 
A6300 isn't likely to depreciate much (it has nowhere to go!) and, at worst, it'll be a B-Cam for those who use those.

As to what Sony will update and when - not even Sony executives know this months ahead. If one model sells well, they are often inclined to just keep pumping it out.
 
I think id recommend the a6300 for the meantime. You can get one of the better cameras later if you decide you need it, and the a6300 will still be a good B camera or backup.
This is unless there is something you need now that the a6300 cannot do
 
I find it difficult to buy one camera, knowing that it will be replaced with a new model in a year or so. Especially when your spending around $3,000 for an A7x model. The way I see it, pick the one that best suits your needs now. And make the best of it.

Spending around $3,000 every year or so to upgrade is very costly! For me at least. So I'm not gonna wait around for an A7SIII/A7RIII, so I'll be getting the A7SII and making it worth while.

On the other hand, cameras in the $1,000-2,000 is a bit easier on the pocket to upgrade yearly, I feel.
 
Timing the market in camera releases is about as effective as timing the stock market.

If you need a camera get one that will work for you now. No more. Time isn't on your side like Canon wants you to think. With that said Sony is on a tear. They said they wanted to refresh models every six months. 6 months! Yeah. Crazy right? You can see it happening. So get ready. in the next year we are going to see big advances.

Take a breath.....
The camera you have will keep working and will still make great images even if the next best thing comes out. Don't get caught up in the "New model is so much better" syndrome. This will always be the case. 6 months or 2 years later.
 
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raf702 said:
... Spending around $3,000 every year or so to upgrade is very costly!...
Click to expand...
The idea is, of course, that you would sell your old camera before you decide to replace it. If a camera is still effective - say, a GH4, A7S/II/RII, NX1 - then you won't be taking much of a bath on it. You'll lose more if a replacement hits another plateau rather than if it is only an incremental improvement. 4K vs. 2K, for example, is a plateau. 6K vs. 4K is an incremental improvement.
 
I believe they'll slow down a bit from now on. The II generation was quick to appear because once you have a body with IBIS it's relatively simple to put that on all models, and same for the processor that allows internal 4K recording. The next generation should have 4K at 60 fps and no aliasing/moire on the baseline a7 model, which may take more time to develop.

Also, the very fast release cycle is expensive for people who upgrade often because depreciation happens faster. My a7S cost me $2700 (taxes included) and I sold it for $1500 just 18 months later. That's $800 per year, which makes it the most expensive camera I've ever owned. It was alwo my best camera to date, though...
 
DLD said:
The idea is, of course, that you would sell your old camera before you decide to replace it. If a camera is still effective - say, a GH4, A7S/II/RII, NX1 - then you won't be taking much of a bath on it. You'll lose more if a replacement hits another plateau rather than if it is only an incremental improvement. 4K vs. 2K, for example, is a plateau. 6K vs. 4K is an incremental improvement.
Click to expand...

Yes agreed, and it's a long ass waiting game.
 
Thanks for the feedback everyone. I think I decided to wait to see how the a6300 turns out and just purchase it if there are no major issues with the video. It would be a really good B cam and also a great camera that's small enough to take anywhere that takes great photos as well.

I can purchase lenses, recorders etc in the meanwhile that could also be used with the A7x cameras.

Thanks again!
 
Also: they seem to up the price with the updates. A7s was around 2000$ and A7sII was around 3000$ on release. It becomes segmenting like that.
 
FWIW, I try to buy the camera that satisfies my needs for the most part. If a new one model comes out not long after that, so be it - unless it has something that I find critically important, I stay with the old one... after all, if fulfils my needs. So rather than buying every model as they come out, I prefer to stay with the one that works, skip generations of updated models unless they come out with something that makes a big difference in my workflow. From what I can see, for me the a7Sii has what I need - now, if the a7Siii is drastically better with skewing/aliasing/moire, then I might feel like I need to buy again... but it it's just say, 6K, or some wi-fi feature, or better screen, or some other nice-but-not-critical, then I'd skip it. I kinda hated the colors on the a7S - so I waited. But they improved the colors on the a7Sii, plus added a bunch of good stuff like IBIS, and now it has reached the level of "good enough for a long while". So maybe you can determine what it is that you absolutely need, and what it is that would be a reason to buy again, and then go ahead and buy or not. At least that's what I try to do - can be hit or miss, as sometimes my needs change. Therefore the questions would be (1) is the a7Sii good enough for your needs? (2) what would make you switch to the next a7Siii.
 
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