Kenji Tanaka, VP and Senior General Manager of Sony`s Business Unit 1, Digital Imaging Group, pictured at the Photokina trade show in Cologne, Germany last month.
At last month`s Photokina trade show in Cologne, Germany we made time to speak to senior executives from several major manufacturers, including Sony. In a broad-ranging conversation, Kenji Tanaka talked to us about competition in the full-frame mirrorless market, the value of APS-C, and future plans for the a7S lineup.
Is there a customer group that you feel you could reach more effectively?
There are many customers in the field of photography, and we want to create products for all of them. Recently, we launched products for sports photographers. That´s just one example. One by one, we want to expand.
What is Sony doing that´s unique?
We are the world´s largest manufacturer of image sensors, and have developed many unique sensors. Looking at the Alpha 9, the stacked CMOS sensor is a good example of both a unique and innovative product. These kinds of things are a strength compared to our competitors.
But the stacked image sensor in the Alpha 9 is kind of like the engine in a formula 1 car. If you only had the engine, the car wouldn´t work. You also need good tires, a good chassis, and a good driver to control the machine.
Our vision is [...] to expand the market
How do new competitive full-frame mirrorless cameras affect your planning?
I welcome the shift in the market. Our vision is not to move the customer [from DSLR to mirrorless], it is to expand the market.
I don´t know what the impact of [Canon and Nikon entering the full-frame mirrrorless market] will be but we remain focused on creating new customers. That is our priority. Honestly speaking, I don´t care about competitors, I care about the customers. If customers need more functionality, or more quality, we´ll try to do it.
The Sony a7 III is a high-performance full-frame mirrorless interchangeable le ...
|
