Sony says they cannot make the A1 II fast enough to keep pace with demand!
As you can see from the screengrab above used Sony A1II cameras are currently being sold for nearly $10,000 on Amazon (Click here). No US or European store has any A1II in Stock right now: BHphoto, Amazon, Adorama, BestBuy, FotoErhardt, FotoKoch, Calumet, WexUK, Clifton, CameraPro. Sony Australia. And according to latest Adorama info the camera will ship out in May only if you reorder it today.
PetaPixel had a chat with Sony manager Masaaki Oshima at the CP+ show. He said:
Professional photographers love our evolution from the original Alpha 1 to the Alpha 1 Mark II. We can’t deliver enough of them.
Sony told PetaPixel that much of the camera’s popularity comes down to its reliability, and that means not only reliability in terms of its build quality and operability, but its performance. “That’s why we think the a1 II is a hit to the right creators,” Oshima explained. The “right creators,” in this case, are photographers for whom a series of relatively minor improvements add up to a massive change. The sum is greater than the parts. Even though Sony thinks highly of its flagship camera, as the company should, it was surprised by how much photographers valued the a1 II’s upgrades. Demand was “a lot more” than expected.
My take on the A1II and future A7V:
First of all, I am surprised that the demand is so high. When the camera was launched in November, many people complained that it was only a small improvement on the original Sony A1. But apparently the professionals are interested in the many small improvements that have been made to this generation. Perhaps this will convince Sony to do the same with the future Sony A7V: Keep the same sensor and incorporate the same improvements as the Sony A1II: New body, new AI chip and so on. Will that be good enough for the market?
Also, the fact that the Sony A1II is in high demand is another reason why Sony will wait to introduce the new A7V. Until they can make enough Sony A1IIs, it makes no sense to make things worse and launch a new A7V, which will probably be in even higher demand than the A1II.
What do you think about it? Did you expect the Sony A1II to be such a great sales success?
