Sony is killing it, what's the next move from Panasonic/Olympus?

I'm sure many of you have seen the recent announcement from Sony about the A7r II, RX10 II, and RX100 IV. I must say that I'm really impressed with what Sony has been doing lately with their cameras, starting with the A7s.

The A7r II is a damn impressive camera:

• Internal 4K WITH IBIS! (Panasonic said they couldn't do it, but Sony found a way)
• 42MP BSI sensor
• 102,400 ISO
• On sensor PDAF that works with A-mount lenses AND Canon lenses (I haven't seen any videos yet, but all of the reports I've seen have said it's impressively quick), and delivers exceptional AF tracking
• Full Frame or Super 35mm 4K (oversampling in super 35 to eliminate any moire or aliasing)

Then when we look at the RX10 II / RX100 IV:

• Next-gen BSI 20MP 1" sensor
• Burst shooting up to 16 fps
• Max shutter speed of 1/32,000
• Can record 40x slo-mo at 960 fps!
• Anti-Distortion shutter to eliminate rolling shutter when using the e-shutter

Now I know that the FE mount is lacking in lenses, but they'll build the lens lineup up over time, similar to what was done with m43. They also offer some pretty good lenses as we speak (16-35 f/4, 24-70 f/4, 70-200 f/4), along with the fantastic (albeit expensive) prime lenses like the Zeiss 35 f/1.4, Zeiss Batis, etc.

The system is definitely expensive, but I think Sony is really gaining momentum with a lot of FF DSLR users from either Canon or Nikon.

I think this begs the question, what is the next "big" camera to come from Olympus or Panasonic (obviously the E-M1 II and GX8/GH5). But will they bring some truly "groundbreaking" features along with them? I certainly hope so, because Sony seems to really be pushing the envelope in the Point & Shoot, Bridge, and ILC camera markets.

 

I agree that the LX100 & FZ1000 do still have certain advantages over their Sony counterparts, but the advancements that Sony is making are pretty remarkable. 960 FPS in a consumer camera? Being able to eliminate rolling shutter with an electronic shutter? That's pretty impressive IMO.

 

4K with IBIS rated at 4.5 stops will definitely allow for far smoother video than previous options (short of hauling a big tripod and fluid head).

ISO 102,500 will allow you to take some crazy low light shots, and then scale the image down to minimize the noise to nothing. I watched a video review by Phillip Bloom, and the videos he was able to shoot at ISO 80,000 were remarkable. Yes, the 12MP sensor in the A7s is a whole different beast, but I bet the sensor in the A7R will still be damn impressive.

Also with the on-sensor PDAF, I'm guess that AF in 4K will actually be useful, something that sadly isn't the case for the GH4 where the AF in 4K mode is quite a bit slower compared to 1080.


So in short, yes I actually do believe that some of the new tech in the A7r II will allow people to create better photos/video. I personally don't need it for what I do, but for people out there who do I'm certain they'll love the advancement in tech. Either way, it's impressive what Sony has been doing lately, I don't think anyone can deny that.

 

It wouldn't turn 1s into 32s (that would only be 768 fps). It turns it in to 40s! Haha

I don't believe it uses any digital stabilization (like what the E-M5 II does), because it can shoot 4k using the entire sensor OR the super 35 crop that is oversampled. I think it relies on the mechanical IBIS to stabilize it, which is actually better because you could add any additional stabilization in post if needed.

As for the cost, yeah I don't know. But they have a joint venture with Olympus in m43, why not share the R&D expense so that the GH5 and E-M1 II both have IBIS with 4K, and the the consumers decide which camera they'd like to own?

 

True. The big "thing" for the GH4 was INTERNAL 4K (unlike the A7s which while it is a monster, requires another $2k to get a recording device, making it a rather large investment).

The GH4 was released early February of 2014. We're now 1 1/3 year down the road and the A7r II was just announced. It definitely is an amazing camera, if you can stomach the cost of the camera (2x the price of a GH4) and the lenses. Like you said, we'll see what the GH5/E-M1 II bring to the table when they're released (not that I'll buy them, I'm perfectly happy with 2 GH4's).