Sony launched a revised plan for 2015-2018. And in very short Sony will cut the TV and smartphone lineup and make only profitable high end stuff. At the same time Sony sees growth in Playstation and Image Sensor Business. They also published their plan for the Digital Camera business. You can donwload it as pdf here: sony.net/SonyInfo/IR/info/irday2014electronics/IPandS_E.pdf.

And it clearly stands out how Sony is committed to bring the whole Alpha system to a new level. The first slide on top shows they want to stand out from the competition by going for ultimate sensitivity, ultimate resolution and ultimate speed in 2015.

Their goal is to exceed the limits of human eye:

They want to introduce features like 1000fps recording:

Have over 20 FE lenses by end 2015:

You can see many more info on their document and here below and to sum up here are the key info:

– Sony wants to push the Alpha system to the more advance premium market (RX and Interchangeable lens cameras)
– Sony sees growth in the mirrorless market but still recognizes the DSLR market will still be bigger than Mirrorless by 2018.
– Sony wants to expand the Alpha interchangeable market share at cost of the big ones (Canon/Nikon).

Overall it’s pretty clear 2015 will be an exciting year on the Sony Alpha front. and the Sony A9 which is coming soon is just the start!

There are a couple of more financial reports with some good news:

Reuters Japan: Sony revised upwards the camera sales plan for 2014. While Canon and Nikon digital camera sales are falling Sony reported a growth. While for Sony there is a decrease in numbers of sold camera the earnings are increasing. Mainly because Sony is selling much less non profitable fixed lens budget compacts but it’s gaining shares in the profitable interchangeable camera market.

Reuters: Fitch revises Sony from negative to stable.

Based on the Sony RX100m2 Hasselblad just announced the Stellar II. It costs $2,395 and you can choose between the carbon fibre, olive wood, padouk and walnut editions.

This is their fourth Sony based luxury edition cameras after the [shoplink 22672 ebay]Hasselblad Lunar (here on eBay)[/shoplink], [shoplink 22673 ebay]Stellar (here one Bay)[/shoplink] and the Hasselblad HV (here at BHphoto).

Preorders:
Sony Alpha a7II  (Body Only) for $1,698 at Amazon (Click here), BHphoto (Click here), Adorama (Click here), SonyStore (Click here).
Sony Alpha a7II  with FE 28-70mm OSS Lens for $1,998 at Amazon (Click here), BHphoto (Click here), Adorama (Click here), SonyStore (Click here).
Sony 70-300mm f/4.5-5.6 G SSM II Lens for $1,148 at BHphoto (Click here).

First Sony A7m2 preorder options are available in Germany through Technikdirekt.de (Click here). I also got the news that the A7m2 will ship in Germany starting from January 15. There is also a first “cheater” price of [shoplink 31020 ebay]$2,699 on eBay US[/shoplink].

Worldwide Sony stores are likely to start accepting preorders within th next 24-48 hours. Stay tuned on SAR and I will give you the link as soon as they are online.

P.S.: The price of the Sony a7II in Sweden will be 17500kr or 2347 dollar (Thanks P.!).

Preorders:
Sony Alpha a7II  (Body Only) for $1,698 at Amazon (Click here), BHphoto (Click here), Adorama (Click here), SonyStore (Click here).
Sony Alpha a7II  with FE 28-70mm OSS Lens for $1,998 at Amazon (Click here), BHphoto (Click here), Adorama (Click here), SonyStore (Click here).
Sony 70-300mm f/4.5-5.6 G SSM II Lens for $1,148 at BHphoto (Click here).

AV.watch, DC.watch and Digitalcamera followed the Sony A7m2 presenattion in Japan. And there are a couple of interesting additional informations to report:

About the mirrorless market:
– The mirrorless system camera market is growing everywhere (althaugh very slowly in US).
– Half of the system cameras sold in Japan and Korea are mirrorless (see blue bars on the image on top)
– In Germany the share now is 29%

About the A7m2 and future products:
– The A7m2 is ealsed against water drops and dust.
– 5 axis stabilization is very likely to be implemented on future models too because.

And also interesting: Half of the A7/r/s camera owners never owned a Sony camera before that camera

More images here (Click on it to enlarge).

The Sony Alpha Line – Making Sense Of The Choices (Gary Fong).

Sony 35mm 2.8 or Zeiss Loxia 35mm 2.0? (HikeVentures).
Hands on With the Sony FS7, Part 1 (Planet5D).
Sony 135mm f/1.8 Carl Zeiss Sonnar T* Lens Review (SonyAlphaLab).
Sony FS7 lens solutions part 2 (Newsshooter).
Sony Mobile Partners With 3 Internationally Renowned Photographers (ePhotozine).
Sony 60mm f/2.8 macro patent (Egami).
SONY’s Mini AC HDR AZ1VR – Review at ActionCameraRumors.
Review of the Sony RX100 III in Fantasea Housing (Divephotoguide).
Fotodiox tough E-mount review by MyPhotoJourney.
ENG lens on A7s at Newsshooter.

JJ Backer:  “just came across 5 very useful Sony ‘Lens Compatibility Charts’ on the Sony e-support site.  These charts show show full compatibility details for all A-Mount lenses when used on E or EF mount camera bodies.  The charts show all features / functionality issues with all 4 Sony LA-EA Adapters and every A-mount lens!  The reason I never noticed this before is that Sony has the charts listed under ‘Lenses: A-mount style’ on the support page.  I think these compatibility charts would be very useful for most E / EF mount Sony owners.  
Go to link below and look under “LENSES”: “A-mount style lenses”:  Then click the ‘lens type’ All 5 A-mount lens catagories listed there include details for all NEX / A7x series bodies when used with all 4 LA-EA adapter versions.
http://esupport.sony.com/p/news-item.pl?news_id=193&template_id=1&region_id=1”

Frans: “There is my new test for Pentax FA 31mm limited on the Sony A7: Focuspeaking (google tranlsation here)“.

Sony a5100 Review by John Sison.

The killer is democising (tskills).
Cashback on Sony cameras at Sony Japan.
Sony ILCE-5000 (A5000) test at Alfa Kulub.
Sony A5100 Hands-On Review Video by BHphoto.
Directly out of the Sony Box (Pinterest).
Is Sony Too Big to Succeed? (Eetimes)

Christian: “I think I can say I’m the one dedicated to macro photography. I’ve always been a Sony user, my current camera is a NEX5-T, waiting to upgrade to the A7 successor. I think the NEX5-T is a very handy camera, perfect for macro work, even if I have to use extension tubes as we don’t have Sony macro lenses yet, until the 100mm f/2.8 is available:
http://ilovehatephoto.com/2014/08/20/how-to-shoot-artful-droplets-on-flower-petals/
http://ilovehatephoto.com/2014/08/25/the-fairytale-garden/”

Eddy: “Something that might be of interest to your readers: DxO recently launched a new version of DxO Optics, with a new function called ‘ClearView’, which is intended to get rid of ‘haze’ in landscapes. I’ve been using it a number of times, both on older and recent shots and it really does a nice job. As you know the A7R already has a really good dynamic range, but what DxO ClearView can do with it, in just one click, it’s amazing. Here are some pictures from last WE, with the setting sun and some nice clouds: http://www.thelightpoet.be/2014/11/sunset-le-havre-november-2014/“