Hope this is true

[jr_rodriguez]

Why is it ego-centric to have your own best interests at heart? I mean, last time I checked, it was MY money that was getting spent ... and not a single other person has run up to me and said, "Don, Don, here ... invest this." I mean, do I look like a politician or something? This is MY part of the world and welcome to it, as far as it all goes. When someone starts stuffing cash into my pockets ... fine, but egocentric? No. I simply know what I want ... and it is not the NEX, okay? If you want to decorate your walls with this "lens cap" device, have at it. You will be hard pressed to know it even exists around here.

Again, one of the knocks on the NEX is that it is not an Alpha-mount. You need E-mount lenses, if you do not have the adapter and the last time I checked, the lenses cost even more than the Alpha-version. Plus, ask yourself: "Self ... do I want duplicate lenses for ANOTHER system made by the same company?" Good lord, how much moolah do you have? It's bad enough that I have to spend what I do for the lenses I have for ONE system.

Things change and I suppose we are simply waiting for the tide to shift ... AGAIN!

Is a little standardization too much to ask for?

Don,
It is ego-centric when you say Sony is doing everything wrong because they are not doing what YOU would like them to do.
It would be fine if you said you don't agree, but saying they're going in the wrong direction, etc. because you don't like it, is not. They are selling lots of the NEX cameras. The market has spoken, and Sony is a for-profit corporation, after all. We know you don't like them, but lots of people do and have spoken with their wallets. I think you are regretting getting into the Sony system (don't like where they are going), though I doubt you'll admit it.

[DonSchap]

After further review, SONY looks like it is worse off than originally thought. Eight factories has closed, indefinitely, so unless the China and US interests take up the slack, some production is effectively ... well, over for a while.

Manufacturing operations have been suspended at the following production sites: Sony Chemical & Information Device Corp.'s Tagajyo plant (magnetic tapes, Blu-ray Discs) and Tome plant (optical devices, IC cards); Sony Shiroishi Semiconductor (semiconductor lasers); Sony Energy Devices' Koriyama plant (lithium ion secondary batteries); Sony Energy Devices' Motomiya plant (lithium ion secondary batteries); Sony Manufacturing Systems' Kuki plant (surface mounting equipment); and Sony DADC Japan's Ibaraki facility (CDs, DVDs).

Sony also confirmed that Sony Chemical & Information Devices' Kanuma plant, Sony Energy Devices' Tochigi plant and Sony's Atsugi Technology Center have suspended operations on a voluntary basis in a bid to conserve power.

It would not matter what I desired ... nothing is still nothing.

Do I agree with their corporate vision? Of course not. I have not for a while, but even more since the BetaMax debacle. There is something to the proprietary games that they play that just torques me off in ways I find hard to explain.

"We're going make a product that is entirely useless after WE quit making it."

Sorry, that's not a good way to do business in my book. It is self-serving and more ego-centric than anything I would do or hope to do. I look to seeing a better way to conduct business with the buying public. That make be short-sighted of me, but then again ... is it really?

Unnecessary "dead ends" are pointless and ill-conceived choices in my business model. Seeing the a700 killed off without immediate replacement seemed rather pointless. I am still wondering what that was all about.

A full year of no "intermediate" camera. It hurt a number of folks I know. They simply could not replace their broken unit, leaving them to have to make a new choice of Full Frame or a 500-series. I do not get it.

It is so convoluted, I find hard to reckon a clear direction going forward with my business plan. I need reliability, not some boardroom's silly screw-ups and greedy grabs, when I due business.

Let's consider a new plan, SONY ... "Small Business-friendly"

[jr_rodriguez]

It is so convoluted, I find hard to reckon a clear direction going forward with my business plan. I need reliability, not some boardroom's silly screw-ups and greedy grabs, when I due business.

Let's consider a new plan, SONY ... "Small Business-friendly"

Well, Don, you may need to consider switching to Canon or Nikon. Heck, or even Olympus. You pretty much know where those companies are going to be with respect to the top-end. I know you have a lot of money in the Sony system, so it'll be really hard ($$$) for you to switch. However, you are looking for assurances from a company (Sony) that will not give them to you, and does not seem to want to go where you'd like them to go.
I don't believe Canon or Nikon will do what Sony is doing. This is why I switched from Sony -- it was the perfect time since I didn't have too much invested in that system. I didn't like where they seemed to be going, so I decided between Canon and Nikon. They both have a clear path, with lots of support, so long-term they were the answer.

[DonSchap]

Canon lost me when they didn't add anti-shake to DSLR camera bodies. I mean, c'mon ... they could have, but the boardroom opted to burn their adoring crowd, forcing them to purchase this capability in lenses. Sorry, that's just abusive, inherently costly and I cannot subscribe to that practice. Nikon ... more or less, the same thing. I'm not good with that.

SONY has an opportunity to put smiles on and cheers from the Minolta legacy owners, as well as high-end dslr owners by catering to THEIR needs and introducing a terrific high-end, EOS-1Ds or D3x "beater" to the world. I say forgo a couple iterations of the 300-series and just cave into the needs of this elite segment.

Of course, we are really whistling in the wind, with the emergency in Japan. It could take several years to stabilize the manufacturing environment in that part of the world, again, with all the destroyed homes, buildings and the dreadful loss of life. A solid and immediate idea would be to abandon the nearby plants, for a couple years, and bring their manufacturing directly to the states, in the Chicago area and surrounding suburbs. What I am saying is that they need to do a complete reversal of what has happened to the U.S. in the 90s and this past decade, with the "moronic" migration of business to China, Mexico and India. This strategic move would directly help in restoring economic viability to the United States, keep SONY as a top producing manufacturer and allow the Japanese citizens the ability to concentrate on properly restoring their own country, without the burden of technology production commitments hanging over their heads, too.

We have a talented workforce, here, and people would be anxious to help keep the technology ball rolling. Illinois is sufficiently geared with all sorts of incentives and manpower for such a move. I figure the sooner the better. SONY could be the first of many to make the transition and restore some sanity to a somewhat nutty Nikkei Index, which is suffering not so much from factory shut down, but the poisonous environmental issues of the nearby nuclear power plants. Remember, when they spew, they sue. They now have three full fledged reactors literally destroyed (by sea water contamination) and never to be online again. I suggest they cut the losses and let the U.S. help where it can -> relocating SONY and other important manufacturing. Illinois does not suffer from earthquakes like this, nor tsunamis or even volcanoes. It is, kind of boring, actually. That makes for a very stable workforce and many consistently productive factory shifts = a formula for success.

My goodness, if only the twenty-something crowd could think this far ahead, huh? Too busy with the newest gaming system and "texting" their non-existent social situation.

Not to ignore Canon or Nikon, there is this:

"Canon has reported injuries to 15 employees, and “significant” damage at a number of sites located in Utsunomiya, Tochigi Prefecture – about mid-way between Tokyo and Sendai. Operations at the company’s Optical Products Plant and Optics R&D Center at Utsunomiya are suspended, with Canon saying that there is likely to be a delay before any operational resumption.

Canon has also suspended operations indefinitely at its Optron subsidiary in Yuki, Ibaraki Prefecture, where the company produces optical crystals used in stepper, camera and telescope applications. Canon added that if operations at any of these sites were likely to be affected for more than a month, it would be able to transfer some activities to alternate facilities.

Nikon has suspended operations at a number of key locations. These include its Tochigi Nikon Precision Co., Ltd and Miyagi Nikon Precision Co., Ltd subsidiaries, which both produce high-quality lenses for applications in lithography steppers and scanners used in IC and LCD manufacture.

Also impacted are the company’s Sendai location, where it produces cameras, and Tochigi Nikon Corporation, whose main business is the manufacture of interchangeable and optical lenses."

[Buck Nasty]

Firstly, it sounds like the American media scaremongers as much as ours does there's been very little radiation emitted and that was in steam, the explosions were hydrogen, and the absolute worst case scenario will be a "3 Mile Island" where the radiation emitted equalled the equivalent of 2 chest x-rays. Here's a small explanation for all the people that want to look past the gutter journalism that's doing the rounds.

OK now my opinion on Sony, I think they're going in the right direction, they released a DSLR for each level their competitors had and are now improving on each and every one. Yes they're taking their time but they don't have the market share the Canikons do, so it will be a slow and sometimes painful process.
I (and probably most people) look at upgrading their cameras every 18 months as they better themselves with photography, I started with the A200 in March 2009 which had me wanting to upgrade in October last year. As I'm still learning I was looking in the '500' range so the A55 became the perfect camera, when I next start looking I hope Sony have a new FF, otherwise I'll happily take the A77.

What I like about Sony is as each new camera comes out it's not only light years ahead of its predecessor (why people want to upgrade from the Canon 550d to the 60d is beyond me), but it's competition, what you get might be called gimmicks but they save me hours in front of the computer (panoramic shooting, HDR) and they take fantastic photos, have great low noise at high ISO 10fps etc, infact I have a few mates with Canons who wished Sony had released the A55 before they bought theirs.
I can live quiet happily knowing when I do upgrade it will be to a much better camera again, not only in options but quality, fps, ISO etc because that's what we want, it's our money so we don't want small changes, we want massive shifts, can I see Canon/Nikon doing this? not a chance in hell!

[Rooz]

What I like about Sony is as each new camera comes out it's not only light years ahead of its predecessor (why people want to upgrade from the Canon 550d to the 60d is beyond me), but it's competition, what you get might be called gimmicks but they save me hours in front of the computer (panoramic shooting, HDR) and they take fantastic photos, have great low noise at high ISO 10fps etc, infact I have a few mates with Canons who wished Sony had released the A55 before they bought theirs.
I can live quiet happily knowing when I do upgrade it will be to a much better camera again, not only in options but quality, fps, ISO etc because that's what we want, it's our money so we don't want small changes, we want massive shifts, can I see Canon/Nikon doing this? not a chance in hell!

this is of course, pure nonsense. if anything the biggest criticism with sony dslr has been their LACK of progression between models and there being far too many too soon.

[Buck Nasty]

Really? so Sony releasing the A500 & A550 in what, August 2009 and then the A560 (A33 in full body), A580 (A55 in full body) & A55 in September 2010 (and when I bought my A55 the A560 & A580 weren't coming to Aust) is too many in 12 months? Have you had a chance to see cameras Canon have in the same category?

I suppose a translucent mirror, 10fps (6 with autofocus), 3D sweep panoramic, GPS pinning, video, and swivel screen isn't enough 'progression' betweens models for you?

[Rooz]

Firstly, you have picked one small snapshot in time and one model progression. Go back further to see what sony was doing which has reallybeen their modus operandi. Secondly, the a55 is not a dslr. It is a new type of product just like the nex. Going by your logic we should see revolutionary enhancements to the a56...aint gonna happen.

[Peekayoh]

Unfortunately for some Sony users Rooz is quite right.
In your case, having moved from an A200 to an A55, you have seen a good step forward in IQ and AF etc.
Not the case for others.
Had you purchased an A700 back in 2007 you may be pretty miffed or even p***** that there is still no replacement.
It all depends on the individual. As it happens, I'm pretty happy (lucky) to have an A900 which does all I need and I'm in no rush for a new camera body.

[DWessel]

Unfortunately for some Sony users Rooz is quite right.
In your case, having moved from an A200 to an A55, you have seen a good step forward in IQ and AF etc.
Not the case for others.
Had you purchased an A700 back in 2007 you may be pretty miffed or even p***** that there is still no replacement.
It all depends on the individual. As it happens, I'm pretty happy (lucky) to have an A900 which does all I need and I'm in no rush for a new camera body.

Agreed. Here's to the A900. I did the one time scream and forked out for the A900 instead of the lesser priced APS-C models. So, instead of being , I've been very with my A900. Now I just need to get more people to pay me to use it!!!