Sony cancel production of A7C, A6600 and a professional camcorder

[Andrew Reid]

Is this the end for affordable Sony cameras? A7C, A6600, A6100 all cancelled

Due to a major chip shortage, Sony has announced it will cancel the production of several recent models, some permanently. Sony are themselves a manufacturer of semiconductors, can't they just make more? Of course it isn't that simple. Sony use thousands of third party chips in their products...

Read the full article on blog:

https://www.eoshd.com/news/is-this-the-end-for-affordable-sony-cameras-a7c-a6600-a6100-all-cancelled/

[Emanuel]

Great article, Andrew, glad to see you back in action : ) No one reviews this camera industry as you, mate :- )

[Emanuel]

BTW I feel sorry for that a7C, that's a hell of a small form factor device... With only one year life cycle released within the pandemic period itself? Makes little to no sense...

[Andrew Reid]

I am pretty sure the a7C will be back but if they can't get just one critical component for 2 years, they've got no choice but to terminate it

I can't see Sony redesigning the PCB and making big changes.

They will just go straight to an A7C II instead

This could be the permanent end for Sony APS-C stuff though.

[MrSMW]

The ZV E10 has only been out a few months…

It all sounds a bit crazy, but the combo of factors is quite possibly enough to tip it all into a spin. 

[newfoundmass]

Sony seems to be doing this in quite a few areas, including their Playstation business. They've slowed down / stopped production of PS4 controllers due to shortages, for example. You can't find them in stores here, and they're sold out on Amazon and Walmart. 

Seems like they're redirecting their resources into their most valuable products, at least for now. 

[SteveOakley]

Thinning out crowded product lines isn't the worst thing. When you have similar models with incremental features and incremental pricing, taking out middle models isn't so bad. Another case in point : Tenticle has to redesign their Track E because the ADC's from AKM aren't available due to factory fire. so MK2 product with different ADC but otherwise same specs plus new bluetooth features. In the modulat synth world a company has closed shop because they can't get parts at volumes that are right for the needs, either you buy huge quantities or try to buy piecemeal quantities if or when you can which is no way to reliably produce small run products. 

I wouldn't panic. maybe it wll slow down product release cycles so your 2 years old camera / whatever hasn't lost 1/2 its value - looking at you canon for the C300mk2 price reduction that killed the used market. Keeping mine now I think as its working as B cam.

[Video Hummus]

Sony is probably selling a lot of high-end cameras at the moment. Probably most likely A7IV, A7SIII, and A1. Margins are much higher for those products.

Canon is announcing a R5C. A camera probably no one will be able to buy for 4-6 months. I hope it has more than the rumors are saying it has. I’m more excited to see the body and form factor.

Nikon is probably most disappointed. They finally release a pro mirrorless camera for a good price with more than competent video chops and probably can’t produce enough of them. Hopefully it doesn’t hurt future development from Nikon. It finally seems like they are on a strong course for mirrorless hybrids. 

[Caleb Genheimer]

This is good in the long run IMO honestly. It feels like there’s a lot of unnecessary waste in the electronics sector. Entry, mid, and high level segmentation in photo/video cameras really only justifies 3-4 models tops per manufacturer, maybe 6 if you include full-on cinema cameras. Many camera companies seem to have bloated, convoluted and self-cannibalising lineups, despite their somewhat arbitrary attempts to differentiate between models (which is often via software).

[ND64]

Nothing about this chip shortage makes sense to me. They act like world population has doubled overnight! 

[PannySVHS]

@Eric Calabros There is a chip shortage but still plenty opportunity to buy stuff. Are you on the edge of purchasing a camera at the moment? I bought a BMMCC a few weeks ago. Beautiful image! Blackmagic stopped its production one or two weeks ago due to the chip shortage. We will see how long it takes until the new Ursa Broadcast G2 with its 6K sensor will be available in larger numbers.

[ntblowz]

So funny that the "doomed" EOS M system still going while Sony APS-C just stopped like that.

[zerocool22]

is the chip shortage also the reason the prices from the A7S iii and R5 are kept so high? As they are almost a year and half old, and almost seem to be the same price as the launch. I am used to camera prices dropping like crazy, especially when I buy one.

[Grumble]

No mention of the A6000 which I'd imagine is still their best selling APS-C camera model due to the price. There seems a massive shortage of entry level cameras across the board from all brands if my local camera shop is anything to go by.