Sony Announces the Sony A7 V

[CJaurelius]

I forget where I heard it, but someone said that for Sony to do 7K / Open Gate would require codec modifications and that was a possible reason why Sony didn't want to do it.

Don't take that as gospel though, seems odd that Sony would have such a brittle codec.

I heard the same. My understanding is that its a software issue and instead of addressing it now on a lower tier camera they would push it off and tackle the change for a higher end model and then let that trickle down.. Their is a Sony Rep on record saying they don't think open gate is a feature their customers will actually use enough for them to address it now. While I disagree I see the corparate greed side of them knowing no one in the E mount ecosystem is going to leave over that one feature.

 

[CJaurelius]

Do you have any data to back up that statement? Sony had a 28.5% market share of camera’s sold in 2024. That is about 2.33 million camera’s……

Source: The Nikkei Industry Map 2026 via Sony Alpha Rumors.

I think this is very far from reality


Many of those are 5-to-9 joes like me and some random people with moderate to high interest in photography.

Anecdotal evidence along with looking at their financials. Canon sells a lot more cameras than Sony however Sony brings in more revenue than Canon.

Canon sells a lot of entry level cameras and Sony doesn't try to compete with that market. The cheapest current gen Sony apsc camera is the ZV-10 II which came out in 2024 is $1300. Meanwhile Canon released their answer in the R50V in 2025 and it's almost $600 cheaper.

Go into any Best Buy and there are an assortment of Canon cameras that you can buy for around $500 or less and/or an assortment of kit lenses. This is the entry level space for a hobbyist. Again Sony doesn't even try to compete in this space. Their entry level ZV-E10 II at $1300 is clearly marketed to content creators and has "Content Creator" in the description of the camera on their webstie.

On the photography side if you want a Sony entry level camera you'd be looking at the A6400 which still has an MSRP of $1,100 and came out in early 2019. The current generation of that camera is the A6700 (A6500 and A6600 are discontiued) and that camera is a $1600. The A6700 and ZV-E10 II are also essentially the same camera with the same sensor. The ZV-E10 II is just stripped down (No EVF for example) to catch the "creator" crowd.

Heck Canon's NEW Powershot released this year has a 1.4" sensor and retail for $1000. Meanwhile the RX100 VII which came out 6 YEARS ago has a smaller 1" sensor and is $1700!

I'm sure both companies have a fair amount of hobbyist among their custormer base but Sony does not seem to be targeting this crowd and as I mention their strategy seems to be to push pricing up as fast as possible and position themselves in the premium category and avoid direct competition with the Chinese.

Sony built their mirrorless brand off of marketing on Youtube with influencers. Their content is aimed at selling the cameras to other people who need those cameras to make more content. Whereas the Canon people (Jared Polin, Peter McKinnon, etc.) aren't really selling the cameras as much as making money showcasing what they do.

All the people I know who shoot Sony cycle through multiple cameras with 2 - 3 years. It's why the release very similar cameras with slight differences. The A7IV for example get complained about here because its too small. But in the Sony world you buy the A7IV and then they release the A7CII which is the exact same camera but in an even smaller body and no EVF. So they buy that camera as a B cam and then use it for travel. But both those cameras can't do 4k60 without a crop. So now that they released the A75, a lot of thost people will sell their A7IV and upgrade. Then in a year or so they will release the A7CIII which will be the same as the A7V but again smaller. And the cycle repeats itself.

 

[neuroanatomist]

A large part of the Sony customer base isn't hobbyist like what you see here. Their base is comprized of content creators and Youtuber's using their cameras to try and make a living.

Do you have any data to back up that statement? Sony had a 28.5% market share of camera’s sold in 2024. That is about 2.33 million camera’s……

Anecdotal evidence along with looking at their financials. Canon sells a lot more cameras than Sony however Sony brings in more revenue than Canon.
All the people I know who shoot Sony...

2.3 million cameras sold vs. all the people you know. Lol. The financial data speak to what was spent, your unsupported claim was about who was doing the spending.

So, no data to back up your statement. I'm not sure you even understand what data are or how to determine if they are relevant to an issue. At least you know how to ignore data that refute your claims, so...good job?

 

[P-visie]

Anecdotal evidence along with looking at their financials. Canon sells a lot more cameras than Sony however Sony brings in more revenue than Canon.

Canon sells a lot of entry level cameras and Sony doesn't try to compete with that market. The cheapest current gen Sony apsc camera is the ZV-10 II which came out in 2024 is $1300. Meanwhile Canon released their answer in the R50V in 2025 and it's almost $600 cheaper.

Go into any Best Buy and there are an assortment of Canon cameras that you can buy for around $500 or less and/or an assortment of kit lenses. This is the entry level space for a hobbyist. Again Sony doesn't even try to compete in this space. Their entry level ZV-E10 II at $1300 is clearly marketed to content creators and has "Content Creator" in the description of the camera on their webstie.

On the photography side if you want a Sony entry level camera you'd be looking at the A6400 which still has an MSRP of $1,100 and came out in early 2019. The current generation of that camera is the A6700 (A6500 and A6600 are discontiued) and that camera is a $1600. The A6700 and ZV-E10 II are also essentially the same camera with the same sensor. The ZV-E10 II is just stripped down (No EVF for example) to catch the "creator" crowd.

Heck Canon's NEW Powershot released this year has a 1.4" sensor and retail for $1000. Meanwhile the RX100 VII which came out 6 YEARS ago has a smaller 1" sensor and is $1700!

I'm sure both companies have a fair amount of hobbyist among their custormer base but Sony does not seem to be targeting this crowd and as I mention their strategy seems to be to push pricing up as fast as possible and position themselves in the premium category and avoid direct competition with the Chinese.

Sony built their mirrorless brand off of marketing on Youtube with influencers. Their content is aimed at selling the cameras to other people who need those cameras to make more content. Whereas the Canon people (Jared Polin, Peter McKinnon, etc.) aren't really selling the cameras as much as making money showcasing what they do.

All the people I know who shoot Sony cycle through multiple cameras with 2 - 3 years. It's why the release very similar cameras with slight differences. The A7IV for example get complained about here because its too small. But in the Sony world you buy the A7IV and then they release the A7CII which is the exact same camera but in an even smaller body and no EVF. So they buy that camera as a B cam and then use it for travel. But both those cameras can't do 4k60 without a crop. So now that they released the A75, a lot of thost people will sell their A7IV and upgrade. Then in a year or so they will release the A7CIII which will be the same as the A7V but again smaller. And the cycle repeats itself.

I‘ll summarize your “answer” for you: You have no data to backup your claims.

 

[P-visie]

• Canon’s R5 launched at $3,900; the R5 Mark II launched at $4,300.
• Sony’s ZV-E10 launched at $700; the ZV-E10 II launched at $1,000, and tariffs later pushed it to $1,200.

Economic conditions have been soft, and at the same time manufacturers have raised prices across most individual models. That combination means consumers gravitate toward more affordable bodies—where the year-to-year price increases are smaller—causing the average sale price to remain flat or fall even though the actual prices of individual cameras are going up.

Have you ever heard of inflation?

The R5 was launched in August 2020 for 3900$. The R5 Mk II was launched in August 2024 for 4300$. When you adjust 3900$ for US inflation from 2020 to 2024, that 3900$ price would be 4740$, i.e. 21% price increase.

You can check the numbers for yourself:

• US BLS: https://www.bls.gov/charts/consumer-price-index/consumer-price-index-by-category-line-chart.htm
• Inflation calculator from FED of Minneapolis: https://www.minneapolisfed.org/about-us/monetary-policy/inflation-calculator

 

[David - Sydney]

Have you ever heard of inflation?

The R5 was launched in August 2020 for 3900$. The R5 Mk II was launched in August 2024 for 4300$. When you adjust 3900$ for US inflation from 2020 to 2024, that 3900$ price would be 4740$, i.e. 21% price increase.

You can check the numbers for yourself:

• US BLS: https://www.bls.gov/charts/consumer-price-index/consumer-price-index-by-category-line-chart.htm
• Inflation calculator from FED of Minneapolis: https://www.minneapolisfed.org/about-us/monetary-policy/inflation-calculator

American CPI could potentially be used as one factor for setting the retail price but that is a marketing decision by Canon USA for their profitabiliy targets. Average selling price per product would also be different with regular rebates and the unique US practice of no-cost returns and refurbished pricing.

The only costs within the US for Canon (and probably Sony/Nikon) would be running their service support department, their marketing labour costs and minimally their inventory costs. They probably don't use the US minimum labor rate for their staff but that rate hasn't changed in 16 years.
Tariffs would be separate and significant together with USD:JPY exchange rate changes.
Some OEMs are trying to have more global pricing to average out the US tariffs ie everyone has an increase so that the US isn't a massive outlier but that hasn't stopped Canon Europe being significantly more expensive with grey market taking some sales.

Similar for profitability. Canon's costs are in JPY and associated supply chain countries/currencies for their mid to high-end products. A lot of labour (management, R&D, factories, etc) within Canon Japan could be estimated from Japan's Labour Cost Index.
I would be surprised if Canon Japan have any costs for components coming from America.
Cost reduction is omnipresent. Labour reduction costs is hard but AI may provide a step reduction especially for coding efficiency in R&D. Component costs changes through their product lifecycle are normal. Commodities pricing eg metals are very hard to estimate.
On the other side, new features are always added which can increase the price. Co-processors, eye controlled AF are new for R1/R5ii.

 

[scyrene]

Canon RF 85 f/2 at $690 that has no aperture ring and no programable button.

Aperture rings are pretty rare these days aren't they? But also doesn't the RF 85 have a control ring that can be assigned aperture adjustment?

 

[Del Paso]

Aperture rings are pretty rare these days aren't they? But also doesn't the RF 85 have a control ring that can be assigned aperture adjustment?

Yes, it does!

 

[Del Paso]

Have you ever heard of inflation?

The R5 was launched in August 2020 for 3900$. The R5 Mk II was launched in August 2024 for 4300$. When you adjust 3900$ for US inflation from 2020 to 2024, that 3900$ price would be 4740$, i.e. 21% price increase.

You can check the numbers for yourself:

• US BLS: https://www.bls.gov/charts/consumer-price-index/consumer-price-index-by-category-line-chart.htm
• Inflation calculator from FED of Minneapolis: https://www.minneapolisfed.org/about-us/monetary-policy/inflation-calculator

Aren't we poor European customers not the ones paying for the non-inflation-adjusted US pricing?
In earnest now: I believe my 2013 5D III represented about the same percentage of my salary as the much better specced 2025 R5 II. Much more camera for a comparable (inflation-adjusted) price.

 

[neuroanatomist]

Aperture rings are pretty rare these days aren't they? But also doesn't the RF 85 have a control ring that can be assigned aperture adjustment?

The Z zooms (2, or 3 if you count by color but I don’t) and VCM primes (4) have them. So about 12% of RF lenses, or so.

 

[CJaurelius]

Have you ever heard of inflation?

The R5 was launched in August 2020 for 3900$. The R5 Mk II was launched in August 2024 for 4300$. When you adjust 3900$ for US inflation from 2020 to 2024, that 3900$ price would be 4740$, i.e. 21% price increase.

You can check the numbers for yourself:

• US BLS: https://www.bls.gov/charts/consumer-price-index/consumer-price-index-by-category-line-chart.htm
• Inflation calculator from FED of Minneapolis: https://www.minneapolisfed.org/about-us/monetary-policy/inflation-calculator

You are making my point for me.

For inflation they take a basket of goods (Food, Housing, Transportation, medical, electronics, etc.) and assign a weight to each item based on how much the average person purcfhase that item as a precentage of theri budget and then looks at the prices difference of all of those items along with the weight to generate a top line number.

So the prices of individual goods going up is what causes inflation not the other way around. It's like me saying Housing is costing more and you say well actual no housing is just going up because inflation. No Housing IS going up and that IS what is being recorded as inflation.

Here is the recent BLS report breaking down all the compenents of inflation:
https://www.bls.gov/news.release/pdf/cpi.pdf

On page 13 you see the price increase of photographic equipment which is 5.7% year over year from Sep 2024 to Sep 2025. So the BLS is saying the retail price of photographic equipment is up 5.7% The weighted average of photographic equpment was .020 as this is not a category people spend a decent percentage of their income on.

When you factor ALL the items to their approriate wight factor the BLS calcuated top line inflation at 3% Not only are camera prices increasing, they are increasing faster than the weighted average of what most people buy.

Meanwhile smartphones decreased almost 15%.

 

[David - Sydney]

For inflation they take a basket of goods (Food, Housing, Transportation, medical, electronics, etc.) and assign a weight to each item based on how much the average person purcfhase that item as a precentage of theri budget and then looks at the prices difference of all of those items along with the weight to generate a top line number.
On page 13 you see the price increase of photographic equipment which is 5.7% year over year from Sep 2024 to Sep 2025. So the BLS is saying the retail price of photographic equipment is up 5.7% The weighted average of photographic equpment was .020 as this is not a category people spend a decent percentage of their income on.
When you factor ALL the items to their approriate wight factor the BLS calcuated top line inflation at 3% Not only are camera prices increasing, they are increasing faster than the weighted average of what most people buy.
Meanwhile smartphones decreased almost 15%.

USA CPI is not relevant. OEM marketing departments set the recommended selling price.
Tariffs will easily account for price differences as cameras are included and smartphones aren't.
Exchange rates are also significant with rates changing from 1:100 to now 1:156 over the last 5 years.
Certain government members were smart enough that tariff increases to smartphones would be so obvious a price increase to consumers that the policy would not be sustainable. Camera owners are more likely to absorb price increases in the US.
Also, retail pricing in the US doesn't cover refurb or rebates etc.
The US market may distort global figures and be a significant market for cameras but it is not the only significant market for Canon/Sony/Nikon.

 

[CJaurelius]

I‘ll summarize your “answer” for you: You have no data to backup your claims.

In 2024 Canon was at about ¥580B and Sony was at ¥670B. I'm pretty sure I saw a break down of lens sales and Canon sells more first part lenses than Sony. So if Canon makes more money from lenses and we subtracted the sales of lenses then the revenue left over for camera body sales would be even wider. Canon sells a lot more camera bodies than Sony. The result is that the only way Sony is ahead in revenue is because even though they sell less cameras and less lenses is that the camera bodies they are selling are more expensive. They need to be 1.75x to 2.0x more on average.

My wild baseless assumption is that becuase Sony is selling LESS camera bodies that are on average almost double that they have a smaller amount of hobbyist buying these more expensive bodies. This assumption is validated with the Sony prices being accross the board higher for comparable models and the lack of models available on the lower end.

 

[neuroanatomist]

In 2024 Canon was at about ¥580B and Sony was at ¥670B. I'm pretty sure I saw a break down of lens sales and Canon sells more first part lenses than Sony. So if Canon makes more money from lenses and we subtracted the sales of lenses then the revenue left over for camera body sales would be even wider. Canon sells a lot more camera bodies than Sony. The result is that the only way Sony is ahead in revenue is because even though they sell less cameras and less lenses is that the camera bodies they are selling are more expensive. They need to be 1.75x to 2.0x more on average.

My wild baseless assumption is that becuase Sony is selling LESS camera bodies that are on average almost double that they have a smaller amount of hobbyist buying these more expensive bodies. This assumption is validated with the Sony prices being accross the board higher for comparable models and the lack of models available on the lower end.

Mercedes has higher prices across the board for comparable models than Lexus (which are made by Toyota Motor Corporation), and Mercedes does not offer low end models like Toyota. By the (dubious) logic of your assumptions, professional drivers must be driving most of the Mercedes cars on the road.

Anecdotes ≠ data. Assumptions ≠ data. However, anecdotes and assumptions are often used by people trying to convince others that their opinions are facts.

 

[P-visie]

You are making my point for me.

For inflation they take a basket of goods (Food, Housing, Transportation, medical, electronics, etc.) and assign a weight to each item based on how much the average person purcfhase that item as a precentage of theri budget and then looks at the prices difference of all of those items along with the weight to generate a top line number.

So the prices of individual goods going up is what causes inflation not the other way around. It's like me saying Housing is costing more and you say well actual no housing is just going up because inflation. No Housing IS going up and that IS what is being recorded as inflation.

Here is the recent BLS report breaking down all the compenents of inflation:
https://www.bls.gov/news.release/pdf/cpi.pdf

On page 13 you see the price increase of photographic equipment which is 5.7% year over year from Sep 2024 to Sep 2025. So the BLS is saying the retail price of photographic equipment is up 5.7% The weighted average of photographic equpment was .020 as this is not a category people spend a decent percentage of their income on.

When you factor ALL the items to their approriate wight factor the BLS calcuated top line inflation at 3% Not only are camera prices increasing, they are increasing faster than the weighted average of what most people buy.

Meanwhile smartphones decreased almost 15%.

The comparison for the R5 with R5Mk II prices is for inflation in the 2020-2024 period. The BLS number you state is for 2024-2025, so, like the rest of your “arguments” it is completely irrelevant.
You remind me of a quote from Harry S. Truman: “If you can't convince them, confuse them”.

 

[ThomasTH]

Seems like the Sony A7 V has an impressive dynamic range:

Photographic Dynamic Range versus ISO Setting

www.photonstophotos.net

 

[CJaurelius]

Mercedes has higher prices across the board for comparable models than Lexus (which are made by Toyota Motor Corporation), and Mercedes does not offer low end models like Toyota. By the (dubious) logic of your assumptions, professional drivers must be driving most of the Mercedes cars on the road.

But you would agree that under the scenario you outlined the typical Mercedes buyer is paying more for their vehichle correct? I'm making an assumption that people who pay more for a camera are more likely to not be a hobbyist. You don't have to agree, its just my assumption.

Anecdotes ≠ data. Assumptions ≠ data. However, anecdotes and assumptions are often used by people trying to convince others that their opinions are facts.

I'm not trying to convince anyone that my opinions are facts. As a former analyst I take the data I do have available and use that to make assumptions for future strategies. If Sony statred making a bunch of entry level cameras a year from now I wiould be like "Oh wow, I got that wrong".

 

[roby17269]

I'm making an assumption that people who pay more for a camera are more likely to not be a hobbyist. You don't have to agree, its just my assumption.

This does not make much sense to me: in my experience, hobbyists are the ones that tend to have the best equipment, even more than pros: pros need to justify the "investment" and therefore look closely to costs v benefits of every piece of gear, and often rent rather than own, or are loaned gear by manufacturers (often the case in fashion photography)... hobbyists do not have to do that.

 

[CJaurelius]

Here is an analysis from Modor Intellegence on the global digital camera market:

Signaling that the market size is expanding faster than many adjacent imaging categories. Manufacturers have repositioned hardware as purpose-built tools for professionals and creators, allowing average selling prices to climb even as unit volumes trail smartphone adoption. Asia-Pacific’s prominence, Canon’s 22-year lens leadership, and creator-economy dynamics collectively illustrate how premium hardware, AI-powered features, and social-media workflows drive the digital camera market forward. Competitive intensity now centers on computational autofocus and live-stream integration rather than price alone, while supply-chain shocks from semiconductor shortages and 24–46% U.S. tariffs have nudged retail prices 20–40% higher across leading brands. China’s 213% surge in compact-camera shipments, the tourism rebound, and the proliferation of full-frame sensors underscore how the digital camera market is successfully reframing its value proposition as complementary to mobile photography.
Source: https://www.mordorintelligence.com/industry-reports/digital-camera-market

The Japanese market is moving toward a higher mix of premium cameras as the Chinese start to compete at the bottom. Sony may be dong it the most aggressively but Canon is moving that way as well. Nikon is trying but has had to aggresively price come of their recent cameras in order to try and claw back market share from Canon/Nikon. Panasonic is similar to Nikon as they just don't have much market share. And Fuji is all in on making thier products premium lifestyle choices.

 

[CJaurelius]

This does not make much sense to me: in my experience, hobbyists are the ones that tend to have the best equipment, even more than pros: pros need to justify the "investment" and therefore look closely to costs v benefits of every piece of gear, and often rent rather than own, or are loaned gear by manufacturers (often the case in fashion photography)... hobbyists do not have to do that.

From the global digital market report:

By End User: Content Creators Emerge as Growth Engine

Content creators posted a 6.8% CAGR and are reshaping the digital camera market size trajectory by demanding livestream-ready features at consumer-friendly prices. Professional photographers still generate the bulk of high-ticket body and lens sales, but creators deliver volume and social visibility.

Source: https://www.mordorintelligence.com/industry-reports/digital-camera-market

Sure you'll have the occassional hobbyis that can afford a Hasseblad or Leica. But the vast majority of non professional's just don't have the income to spend on a $2500+ camera body and $2000 lens. Expecially when for the most part they don't have the skill to take advantage of the more expensive equipment.

Meanwhile if you are a professional, having precapture can be the differnce between getting the shot or not. Who cares if you spend $3000 more for a camera body you are going to use for 3+ years? One good paid job justifies the cost.