Some Sony “protoype talk”… A5, A9r and A7sIII

One new source contacted me some time ago and we had a longer chat. He claims to be very close to Sony engineers and he did yet not want to share me exact details about the Sony product. But he told me this:

Sony has a couple of prototype cameras that are “near production” ready. The decision on what camera will go into production also depends on the competition. For example:
– Sony A5 (tentative name): Sony has an entry level $1,500 Full Frame E-mount camera. With Sony A7III sales being strong they have no need to release such a model yet. But if the competition will release a model in that price range they would be eventually ready to launch this (SAR note: This info was shared some time before the Canon EOS-RP launch!).
– Sony A9r: Sony has developed a new A9r prototype. This model has yet not passed management approval (this is a 3 months old info so things may have changed)
– Sony A7sIII: Sony has developed two prototypes. One “improvement” model which was developed for a possible early 2018 release. And a more “revolutionary” model which is going to hit market in late 2019 or early 2020.

Now, this being a new source of course means we have to take the info with a grain of salt. That said the chat lasted long and he seemed like a genuine guy. Now that Canon has launched the $1,299 EOS-RP FF mirrorless camera we will see if Sony will launch the A5 or not.