Well damn, perhaps I should’ve stayed quiet… Two days after I wrote 
Sony goes 
Sign of things to come? 
1 Like
I wonder what they could practically do though.
Cripple existing cameras with a firmware update to only work with lenses made by “partners”? Huge reputational cost for Sony, and one would always have the choice of just not updating firmware.
Restrict new cameras to “partner” lenses? Could work, but at that point people with a lot of the 3rd party lenses would just think about not getting Sony, or not upgrading at all.
Of course, this is just speculating from the assumption of rationality. Sony has done very stupid things in the past, so I would not put it past them.
1 Like
Things like this are what made me avoid sony when I was picking new kit, and has kept me away ever since. I know they’re totally willing to cut of their own nose to spit their face, so to speak, and I spend too much on camera gear for a rug pull.
I mostly landed on Nikon, who seemed to be the least offensive (this was back in the DSLR days) and were also priced better than the others.
1 Like
All major manufacturers do nasty or stupid stuff from time to time. The more dominant they are, the more likely it is.
Thinking about it though, Sony’s announcement could simply be expectations management about warranty and product compatibility claims. Third-party AF lenses are getting more and more common, and they are no longer just primes.
Imagine that you get a shiny new Sony body but put one of these good quality but more affordable lenses on it, and it does not work as expected — maybe the AF is a bit off, etc. Can you complain to Sony, open a warranty claim, or even return the body because of this? They are clarifying that you cannot, they only care about lenses they and their partners make.
There is nothing inherently nefarious about this, just a clarification.
1 Like
I had a Sony camera in the early 2000s and it used memory stick pro 
glad I got it from a friend and didn’t pay for it.
it seems like sony makes their cameras reliant on the rotary encoder for control, unless things have changed recently.
these have a fairly short life generally, it’s about 10-20k twiddles they’re rated for I think, I’ve got panny and fuji cameras which both have multiple ways of changing settings, touchscreen etc
CEO of Insta360 says in interview on Japanese website that company will produce two mirrorless ILC cameras. One in a shape that ‘no one has ever imagined’ … and one involving AI. Aimed at people who don’t know how use an ILC camera…
2 Likes
Why not… Learn it?
1 Like
lol. I don’t know what it could mean… Maybe it’s just a matter of marketing to people who have never heard of lenses. Seems like both cameras might be quite automatic somehow as it talks about using AI extensively to automatically correct mistakes. I’m not too excited, tbh.
2 Likes
I’m intrigued!
I’m dismayed!
3 Likes
I have an epistemological question: how do we know that no one has imagined something?
3 Likes
Maybe something like First Shape Found That Can’t Pass Through Itself | Quanta Magazine 
1 Like
Here’s an Opus 5 High translation:
Two mirrorless cameras in development, one with an unprecedented style
For some time now, rumors that “Insta360 is developing a mirrorless camera” have been circulating on X and other social media. We put the question of Insta360’s mirrorless camera — a subject of great interest to photography fans — directly to Liu.
“There’s only so much I can say at this point, but we are moving ahead with development of two types of mirrorless camera,” he said, confirming the project. He went on to say, “One of them has a surprising shape that none of you have ever imagined,” revealing that the company has a new kind of camera in the works that doesn’t follow the orthodox interchangeable-lens form.
The motivation for developing an interchangeable-lens camera, he said, came from the desire to “introduce new technology and AI so that even people who don’t know how to use an interchangeable-lens camera can pick one up and use it easily.”
There’s no doubt this new-concept camera will draw heavily on the technology Insta360 has built into the cameras it has released so far, including its 360-degree and gimbal cameras. In particular, unlike Japanese camera makers, it will likely make aggressive use of AI to automate shooting and to include features that reduce mistakes. And as a Chinese manufacturer that sells on value for money, an ambitious price point can also be expected.
“At next year’s CP+, I think we’ll be able to show everyone a prototype,” said Liu. There’s a real possibility this will completely overturn the established way of taking pictures — frame, focus, press the shutter. Just what kind of unconventional camera will appear is something to look forward to.
3 Likes