Mark In Dallas

"Sony is making money off sensors. If they hold them back (for their own use), Nikon, Pentax, Fuji and others will leave them." Maybe, but their tech might be so much more advanced than the competition the companies are at their mercy. Samsung, who appears to make a fabulous sensor in the NX1, is really the only competitor I see, perhaps toshiba or panasonic. And to comment on Samsung sensor manufacturing and Sony, Samsung still uses Sony sensors in their Galaxy s6 phone. As does Apple... Which is another point, even if sony semi conductor stopped selling APS-C and FF sensors to other companies, they most likely will still be profitable as the majority of their revenue and profitability comes from mobile phones. So they could really care less about losing Nikon, Pentax, Olympus, Fuji. (possibly) "I have heard about that great sony sensor for months now. Still don't know, what makes it that great." If it is basically an APS-C version of the sensor in the A7rII, it will be awesome. -Back Side Illuminated -Way faster read out -Phase detect sensors over almost the entire sensor "About the CFA: personally I'd like to know, who's manufacturing it. If you compare different color channels (of different cameras) they are significantly different - no chance all those come from the same manufacturer. " They do, only so many companies in the world have the ability to make sensors. Kinda like Intel and AMD, not really any other major processor players. Now, what you overlay on top of the sensor (x-trans) and how you integrate that sensor into your camera, and what you do with the data it produces, and how you process that information, there is your variability. I imagine Fuji sends the color array to sony to lay over the sensor during manufacturing. It is just really interesting, in the past few years the embargo was the other way around. Nikon would come out with their newest camera using the latest Sony sensor, and then a few months later, Sony would release their camera using the same sensor. Then they seemed to come out at the same time. Now sony is throwing their weight around... It seems.

I guess I just look at it as X amount of people will be purchasing a camera for Christmas, with Y choices. The a7000 will be the latest generation of that glass of small interchangeable enthusiast cameras, and probably the best on the market at the time, at that price point. If no one else has a new generation sensor, they wont really have a compelling camera to release. The a7000 will probably compete with a x-e3, if that comes out, or similar generation. X-T20 maybe? And I am not arguing they make more money from selling sensors, however, if they can sell roughly the same amount of sensors, possibly a bit less, and also make their struggling camera division profitable/more profitable for the biggest season in a cyclical market, why not? As long as you don't burn too many bridges so companies source the sensors from another company. However, Sony might believe they have such a lead in sensor tech, other companies have no other options. A reason why Canon is hellbent on manufacturing their own sensors. And as far as their camera division struggling, I believe the A7Rii is going to be a huge hit, and allow them to do this. Maybe why it was the a7ii and a7rii were released so quickly. Those are not typically "Christmas gifts for the spouse" and will be purchased if there is a need... typically. Where as the a7000 is a great gift to the misses. I would be interested to know what all goes into the x-trans sensor other than the overlay and back end software. I am sure it is quite a bit more. Thanks!

Something that crossed my mind as I read that Sony is forcing camera companies that source their sensors from Sony to wait 6 months after Sony releases their camera using that same sensor. It was originally rumored that Sony would release the a7000 with the newest Sony sensor in the first have of this year. If that had happened all the other camera makers would have had a new camera in time for the Christmas Holiday season. With Sony delaying the camera, and thus, the sensor, it really puts companies like Fuji and Nikon (And anyone else who is using that sensor) in a bind for the holiday shopping rush. I wonder if this is a bit of a power play for Sony, and if it is, will it cause other companies to source silicon from places like Samsung and Panasonic. Possibly that they are just holding the a7000 back on purpose. You got to think that a new camera release some time in October or November is a huge sales volume that Fuji/Nikon will no longer be able to capitalize on. Please let me know your thoughts.