petrochemist Loc: UK

Sony make sensors for most of the digital cameras in the world, so why is your question restricted to Sony users?

The sensor in question is larger than lower priced medium format cameras such as the Pentax 645D & Fuji GFX50S, but not as big as the Hassleblad H5D-60 or Phase One P65+, and certainly not as big as any of the common film 120 medium format models (645, 6x6, 6x7...)
It is a little over twice the size of my Sony's sensor & about ten times as many pixels, but the cost for gaining these stats would be totally prohibitive for me. If I need a big sensor I'll pull out my 5x4 which has nearly 10 times the sensor size of this new beast. I have to admit I doubt I'd get close to 5 frames per MINUTE with it, but FF or even crop are good enough for subjects where a high burst rate is needed.

I'm sure if I had a camera with this (and lenses to match) I'd find times when it's dynamic range & resolution might be useful, but price & weight make it very unlikely I'll ever explore them.

gwilliams6

You are welcome 😊

gwilliams6

Because there are too many Sony-hater fan boys here in UHH that just will troll any thread about Sony, lol

selmslie Loc: Fernandina Beach, FL, USA

I am not a Sony hater. But neither do I have any illusions about this sensor.

What you haven't mentioned is that this sensor does not have a home yet. There is no camera to put it in. Sony's not going to make one either. It would be too costly for them to create a new body and a family of lenses to go with it.

The only people likely to be interested in this sensor are the current manufacturers of medium format cameras and lenses.

This thread is premature. Let's wait until this sensor is in a body and we know the price. Then we can talk about whether it has a place.

Meantime we may as well be talking about an engine designed for Formula 1.

gwilliams6

You aren't a member of Sony's Engineering, Design and Production teams and have no say in what cameras are coming from Sony , so you have no idea what Sony will do with this sensor. You are just speculating what
wont be made by Sony, LOL .

But Sony's history is to surprise and shock the photo world with new innovations and new products.

We shall see.

BTW inside sources say Sony may well be announcing and making a medium format curved sensor camera and curved sensor lenses very shortly, that will be another industry first-ever, and a game-changer for medium format and all current camera and lens designs.

Sony has had numerous patents on the camera and the lenses for years, and has been working on this for several years now, at least as long as they have been working on a fullframe global shutter consumer camera, and they shocked the photo world with the release of the A9III.

Sony Imaging alone has more yearly revenue than Canon's and Nikon's yearly revenues combined, look it up at Forbes.

Sony Imaging 2023 Revenue- $8.2 Billion USD
Canon Imaging 2023 Revenue-$5.2 Billion USD
Nikon Imaging 2023 Revenue- $1.7 Billion USD

And Sony total corporate 2023 revenue- $840 Billion USD, yes $840 Billion USD.

Sony has the money to spend on development and production of anything they wish to make for themselves, or make for their business clients.

Dont ever bet the farm against Sony, you may lose big. Nikon and Canon did that and got left behind to play catch-up with fullframe mirrorless cameras.

Cheers

selmslie Loc: Fernandina Beach, FL, USA

I don't work for Sony but I am an engineer and I have common sense.

If they were going into the medium format business the lead story would not be the sensor.

But if they surprise all of us with a $50,000 camera and new line of lenses, I'll bet you will find a way to sign up.

Common sense doesn't seem to be your strong suit.

selmslie Loc: Fernandina Beach, FL, USA

You can't solve a problem simply by throwing money at it. Take a look at Photographic System Resolution

The first column below shows the difference between a very good and the best full frame lens available at the time, 2018. The last column is resolution in line pairs per picture height. You can see how little is gained when the sensor resolution changes from 24MP to 45.7MP. The rest of the article explains how the lens resolution limits the system resolution.

The last row is how Zeiss's best MF lens would work on a 50MP sensor. Using that lens on a 247MP sensor is not going to help much.

Sony used to rely on Zeiss for their better lenses, but that ship has sailed.

petrochemist Loc: UK

Sony has made the MF sensors for Fuji, Hasselblad & Phase One models in the past (since at least 2016).
It's far more likely they are hoping for this to be used in a new model in one of those ranges than that they will decide to build a completely new system around it.

selmslie Loc: Fernandina Beach, FL, USA

That's just common sense.

petrochemist Loc: UK

I guess that doesn't often apply in the corporate world, or indeed most of the rest of the world!

selmslie Loc: Fernandina Beach, FL, USA

It didn't apply at the first two companies I worked for after graduation, Bethlehem Steel and Eastman Kodak.

Fortunately, I stayed with them for a total of only 2½ years.

gwilliams6

You are totally all wet here with your reasonings, LOL .

If and when Sony makes its own medium format cameras they will have already done their market research for it. .

And trust me Sony is NOT relying on your engineering or on your market analysis , LOL, LOL.

You are just blowing in the wind here, sorry . Sony already has their own patents to their own medium format camera, and for medium format lens designs for at least six new medium format lenses . Sony has had those patents since 2017. They wont need any other lens makers at all. You need to do better research.

And BTW, Zeiss no longer makes any new consumer lenses, they found it was much more profitable to make branded smartphone lenses , and their industrial and medical lenses and glasses .

Cheers

gwilliams6

Folks, you need to stay up to date, Sony has spent millions over the past several years working on their own medium format camera designs, and their own medium format lens designs, with multiple patents already issued ,dating back to 2017.

Sony wants new markets to expand its imaging revenues and photo market shares.

Please do more thorough research folks.

Cheers and best to you all.

selmslie Loc: Fernandina Beach, FL, USA

The first step in their market research would be to see how well their current customers are doing and what one more competitor, their sensor provider, would do to dilute their customer base. It’s ironic you would use the phrase “all wet”.

Yes, I knew where Zeiss went. Why? Because it’s more profitable than the regular camera business.

Sony makes sensors for smartphones but that market is so healthy that they can make smartphones also without pissing off their sensor customers.

selmslie Loc: Fernandina Beach, FL, USA

Research leads to patents to protect that research.

They are more likely to sell the patent than to actually build their own camera system and risk putting one of their clients out of business.

Maybe it’s too late for you to take some business courses. I’m not sure where you would need to go to improve your common sense.