Here's a company that needs no introducing: Sony, the shape-shifting Japanese brand whose products range from rechargeable batteries, computing and telephony to video game consoles, TV shows and movies.
Sony was also one of the first camera brands to go digital (the first Cyber-shot was launched in 1998). Ever since acquiring Minolta's camera business in 2006 the firm has been present on all fronts, from digital compacts and pro SLRs to interchangeable-lens compacts. Same goes for video cameras, where the brand sells everything from £80 pocket camcorders to professional Hollywood cameras that run for tens of thousands of pounds a pop.
Sony was also one of the first camera brands to go digital (the first Cyber-shot was launched in 1998). Ever since acquiring Minolta's camera business in 2006 the firm has been present on all fronts, from digital compacts and pro SLRs to interchangeable-lens compacts. Same goes for video cameras, where the brand sells everything from £80 pocket camcorders to professional Hollywood cameras that run for tens of thousands of pounds a pop.
The Photokina 2012 trade show in Cologne was a big event for the brand, which is making its great return to the 24 x 36 mm SLR market with the Alpha 99, an exceptionally well-made camera that boasts outstanding video capabilities, and launching the first camcorder with a 24 x 36 mm sensor, the NEX-VG900.
We held two successive interviews with Tatsuya Akashi and Takashi Yasuda, respectively Vice President and General Manager of Sony Personal Imaging and Sound Europe, and Toru Katsumoto, Deputy President of Sony Imaging Business Group.
The Alpha 99 is being launched on a market already dominated by Canon (with the EOS 5D Mark III) and Nikon (with the D800). How is Sony planning on making its own niche at a time when there are "low cost" versions (around £1,500) sprouting up and when Nikon is offering 36 Mpx for the same price as the Alpha 99? And aren't you afraid of competing with your own product, the NEX-VG900, which has the same sensor?
Tatsuya Akashi: The thing that sets the Alpha 99 apart from the competition is a technical feature: the semi-transparent mirror, which considerably improves the autofocus in burst and video mode. Another thing that sets us apart (although it's true that Canon also does this) is that we use our own technology everywhere on the device: the sensor, the body, the mechanics, the image processing chips, the lenses... This allows us to optimise every link in the chain to produce better quality images at the end of the line.
Toru Katsumoto: Sensor resolution is just one of many criteria that matter. You also need the right balance between sensitivity, dynamic range and capture rate. To record Full HD video at 60 FPS you need an exceedingly fast sensor. We feel that our 24 Mpx sensor was the best choice for the Alpha 99.
Besides, we think the Alpha 99 is well positioned and don't intend to meet our competitors on the low-cost 24 x 36 mm market. We feel that the APS format still has a role to play in the mid-range market and wouldn't want to help push down the prices of 24 x 36 mm cameras unless the market demanded it.
Takashi Yasuda: There isn't really any "fratricidal" competition between the Alpha 99 and the NEX-VG900. The choice should come naturally: users who primarily want to shoot movies will go for the VG900 and people who are looking more to shoot stills but want video functions on the side will prefer the Alpha 99.
Tatsuya Akashi: And then you have users' habits. People with experience using traditional video equipment like camcorders and professional video cameras will feel at home with the VG900. People who started out on SLR-type cameras will instinctively be more efficient on an Alpha 99.
Your compact range goes all the way up to the higher end of the market with pro models, large zooms and the like, but unlike your competitors, you only put Wi-Fi on the NEX. Are you afraid that smartphones will end up eating into your low-end sales, especially when your low-end products lack connectivity?
Tatsuya Akashi: Smartphones will not kill the digital camera, but it's true that low-end models could wind up taking a hit. In fact, sales have already started to go down, despite very attractive pricing. We wish to meet the consumer's needs, and we will naturally be including Wi-Fi in other models. But we don't want to introduce any given technology gratuitously; both the timing and the demand will have to be right.
Toru Katsumoto: We think, for instance, that it's still too early for 3G connectivity on cameras, at least in Europe. Mobile contracts are still too expensive, and we aren't going to force our customers to spend another £10 to £15 a month on top of the cost of the camera itself.
And what about touchscreens? Right now Sony only has them on entry-level NEXs, with none in the Alpha range or advanced Cyber-shots. Isn't that paradoxical, given that you're in the middle of launching a series of apps for the NEX line?
Toru Katsumoto: Starting with the NEX-6, the cameras all have viewfinders. Now, when you have your eye pressed against a viewfinder, the touchscreen becomes useless. You aren't going to do a touch command on the screen while looking somewhere else. We believe that people who buy these models buy them because they want a viewfinder and wouldn't end up making the additional cost of a touchscreen worthwhile. That's why we only gave a touchscreen to models with no viewfinder, like the NEX-5R.
As for apps, we've studied them on both types of interface (touchscreen and non-touchscreen) and they will be practical with or without touch functionality.
We would like to thank Aurélie Hallereau, from the magazine Le Monde de l'Image, who participated with us in the first section of this interview.
We held two successive interviews with Tatsuya Akashi and Takashi Yasuda, respectively Vice President and General Manager of Sony Personal Imaging and Sound Europe, and Toru Katsumoto, Deputy President of Sony Imaging Business Group.
The Alpha 99 is being launched on a market already dominated by Canon (with the EOS 5D Mark III) and Nikon (with the D800). How is Sony planning on making its own niche at a time when there are "low cost" versions (around £1,500) sprouting up and when Nikon is offering 36 Mpx for the same price as the Alpha 99? And aren't you afraid of competing with your own product, the NEX-VG900, which has the same sensor?
Tatsuya Akashi: The thing that sets the Alpha 99 apart from the competition is a technical feature: the semi-transparent mirror, which considerably improves the autofocus in burst and video mode. Another thing that sets us apart (although it's true that Canon also does this) is that we use our own technology everywhere on the device: the sensor, the body, the mechanics, the image processing chips, the lenses... This allows us to optimise every link in the chain to produce better quality images at the end of the line.
Toru Katsumoto: Sensor resolution is just one of many criteria that matter. You also need the right balance between sensitivity, dynamic range and capture rate. To record Full HD video at 60 FPS you need an exceedingly fast sensor. We feel that our 24 Mpx sensor was the best choice for the Alpha 99.
Besides, we think the Alpha 99 is well positioned and don't intend to meet our competitors on the low-cost 24 x 36 mm market. We feel that the APS format still has a role to play in the mid-range market and wouldn't want to help push down the prices of 24 x 36 mm cameras unless the market demanded it.
Takashi Yasuda: There isn't really any "fratricidal" competition between the Alpha 99 and the NEX-VG900. The choice should come naturally: users who primarily want to shoot movies will go for the VG900 and people who are looking more to shoot stills but want video functions on the side will prefer the Alpha 99.
Tatsuya Akashi: And then you have users' habits. People with experience using traditional video equipment like camcorders and professional video cameras will feel at home with the VG900. People who started out on SLR-type cameras will instinctively be more efficient on an Alpha 99.
Your compact range goes all the way up to the higher end of the market with pro models, large zooms and the like, but unlike your competitors, you only put Wi-Fi on the NEX. Are you afraid that smartphones will end up eating into your low-end sales, especially when your low-end products lack connectivity?
Tatsuya Akashi: Smartphones will not kill the digital camera, but it's true that low-end models could wind up taking a hit. In fact, sales have already started to go down, despite very attractive pricing. We wish to meet the consumer's needs, and we will naturally be including Wi-Fi in other models. But we don't want to introduce any given technology gratuitously; both the timing and the demand will have to be right.
Toru Katsumoto: We think, for instance, that it's still too early for 3G connectivity on cameras, at least in Europe. Mobile contracts are still too expensive, and we aren't going to force our customers to spend another £10 to £15 a month on top of the cost of the camera itself.
And what about touchscreens? Right now Sony only has them on entry-level NEXs, with none in the Alpha range or advanced Cyber-shots. Isn't that paradoxical, given that you're in the middle of launching a series of apps for the NEX line?
Toru Katsumoto: Starting with the NEX-6, the cameras all have viewfinders. Now, when you have your eye pressed against a viewfinder, the touchscreen becomes useless. You aren't going to do a touch command on the screen while looking somewhere else. We believe that people who buy these models buy them because they want a viewfinder and wouldn't end up making the additional cost of a touchscreen worthwhile. That's why we only gave a touchscreen to models with no viewfinder, like the NEX-5R.
As for apps, we've studied them on both types of interface (touchscreen and non-touchscreen) and they will be practical with or without touch functionality.
We would like to thank Aurélie Hallereau, from the magazine Le Monde de l'Image, who participated with us in the first section of this interview.
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