carsten_kraut2 Posted June 1, 2011 Share Posted June 1, 2011 <p><strong>My A850 was stolen a couple of weeks ago and was getting prices to replace - but my normal supplier said it was no longer available????? Surely not, I thought - its only been out a few years and Sony are supposed to be expanding their range, not shrinking it! Anyway, a quick google search revealed:</strong><br> <strong> </strong><br> <strong>Softpedia: Even though Sony hasn't made an official announcement at this point in time, it seems like the </strong><strong>Japanese company has discontinued its flagship Alpha A850 DSLR camera which uses a 35mm full frame sensor.</strong><br /><br />B&H Photo has posted a <a rel="nofollow" href="http://www.bhphotovideo.com/c/product/646525-REG/Sony_DSLRA850_Alpha_DSLR_A850_Full.html" target="_blank">notice</a> in its listing for the A850 DSLR which reads “this item has been discontinued by the manufacturer and is no longer available.”<br /><br />Furthermore, <a rel="nofollow" href="http://www.electronista.com/articles/11/05/26/could.sony.be.exiting.the.high.end.dslr.market/" target="_blank">Electronista</a> reports that the high-end Sony <strong><a href="http://news.softpedia.com/news/Panasonic-Makes-Official-the-Lumix-DMC-G3-Micro-Four-Thirds-Camera-199962.shtml" target="_blank">camera</a></strong> can no longer be purchased from the SonyStyle website as this is listed as an “out of stock” item.<br /><br />The Alpha A850 was released in September, 2009, and it was Sony's second full frame DSLR to be introduced after the A900.<br /><br />The two cameras are closely related as they both share the same 24.6-megapixel CMOS sensor and feature pretty much the same specifications, outside of the burst rate speed and viewfinder coverage.<br /><br />Sony's Alpha A850 was also the cheapest full-frame 35mm camera available on the market as its retail price (body only) was set at $1,999.99.<br /><br />The other contenders to this title are the Nikon D700 and A850's bigger brother, the Alpha A900, and these models are available for $2699.<br /><br />Both DSLRs were introduced at about the same point in time, but are completely different as far as performance is concerned, since the <strong><a href="http://news.softpedia.com/news/Sony-Notebooks-to-Offer-Thunderbolt-Support-via-USB-Port-200981.shtml" target="_blank">Sony</a></strong> model features a higher resolution sensor, while the Nikon has better noise reduction.<br /><br />Sony's decision to remove the A850 from its lineup, without first announcing any successor, fuels the rumors which stated that the Japanese company wants to retire from the high-end <strong><a href="http://news.softpedia.com/news/Nikon-Makes-Official-the-D5100-DSLR-Kit-Version-Priced-at-900-193172.shtml" target="_blank">DSLR</a></strong> camera market.<br /><br />Last year, Sony has also discontinued the Alpha A900 in several international markets, including Asia. <br /><br />The Sony Alpha A850 full frame DSLR is still available from a few online retailers, but no one knows how long existing stocks will last. <br /><br /></p> Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
ellis_vener_photography Posted June 1, 2011 Share Posted June 1, 2011 <p>The Nikon that uses a comparable CMPS imaging system (they are not completely identical due to the differences in imaging train (nikon EXPEED processing vs. Sony's) is the D3x not the D700. The D3X is approx 24.6Mp, the D700 is 12mp. </p> Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
ellis_vener_photography Posted June 1, 2011 Share Posted June 1, 2011 <p>"CMPS" = typo. I meant to write CMOS.</p> Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
paul_de_ley Posted June 1, 2011 Share Posted June 1, 2011 <p>Commiserations on getting robbed Carsten - did you list the serial number with police and on sites like dyxum? There aren't all that many a850s around, so while the odds of recovering a stolen one are undoubtedly small they're probably not absolutely zero.</p> <p>J&R still has the a850 listed as in stock, both on their own website and through their Buy.com account (and if I remember correctly they sell through amazon as well). They may be your best bet for buying a "straight" replacement as new, rather than a switch to other models/brands.</p> <p>FWIW, the a900 and a700 went through very similar paths: discontinued well before there was a clear successor about to roll out & hit the shelves. Sony is perhaps doing this to avoid getting stuck with leftovers, and these days there are so many channels for finding clearance/refurbs/grey market items that more adventurous buyers & opportunity hunters are probably not going to run short for a while longer of chances to find new or like new a850s offered through places like ebay/amazon/keh/dyxum etc.</p> Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
rickeselgroth Posted June 1, 2011 Share Posted June 1, 2011 <p>I just want to the sonystyle website and no A850's only A900's left. I cant wait too see what Sony rolls out as a replacement.</p> Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
emaxxman Posted June 1, 2011 Share Posted June 1, 2011 <p>As an original Minolta Maxxum 7 (then Konica Minolta 7D) user, I'm just not happy with what Sony has done with the pricing of the line. New lenses, etc. are ridiculous expensive. I just took a look at gettng a wired remote release. $59 at Amazon!!!! I vaguely remember it being ~$30 when it was branded as a Minolta. Ended up buying used at keh.com for $6.<br> With that all said, I really hope that Sony doesn't drop the SLR line. They have made some great advances in body features (although, I still prefer the knob layout of the 7D). Switching to Canon or Nikon would be financially painful.</p> Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
ilkka Posted June 1, 2011 Share Posted June 1, 2011 <p>Last week in Japan, there seemed to be no A850s available but several places had A900 available new. The 850 was a bit of a strange introduction for Sony, coming so soon after the A900 and offering almost the same specs at even lower price. Maybe they keep the A900 for a while and introduce a fixed mirror successor to the A850 (an A880?). 25-30Mp at 10 fps?</p> Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
carsten_kraut2 Posted June 2, 2011 Author Share Posted June 2, 2011 <p>Insurance company came through today - will buy me a brand new A900. Yay!<br> Would, however, prefer that Sony don't give up on the high-end DSLR market altogether. Although it would be some years before that became an issue. </p> Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
parv Posted June 2, 2011 Share Posted June 2, 2011 Carsten, Sony giving up on SLR depends on if you consider pellicle mirror cameras as a SLR or not. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
ilkka Posted June 2, 2011 Share Posted June 2, 2011 <p>Pellicle mirror camera is SLR because it has one lens and reflex viewing through that lens. There is nothing to consider, it is a fact.</p> Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
tom_montemarano Posted June 4, 2011 Share Posted June 4, 2011 <p><a href="../photodb/user?user_id=502110">Ilkka</a> wrote:</p> <p>"Pellicle mirror camera is SLR because it has one lens and reflex viewing through that lens. There is nothing to consider, it is a fact."<br> But the Sony SLT does not use reflex viewing. The mirror is only for the PDAF sensors.</p> <p>tom</p> <p> </p> Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
leslie_cheung Posted June 5, 2011 Share Posted June 5, 2011 <p>So are sony FF currently going up or down in value? The new FF, whatever it is won't be coming until mid 2012 at the least, right?</p> Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
paul_de_ley Posted June 6, 2011 Share Posted June 6, 2011 <p>Not much change as far as I can see, at least in the US market. Used or new, the supply is probably limited enough that demand will keep prices up until (whenever?) Sony releases a new FF model.</p> Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
leslie_cheung Posted June 7, 2011 Share Posted June 7, 2011 <p>Same here, Paul. Haven't seen a big enough sway either way...</p> Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
bebu_lamar Posted June 11, 2011 Share Posted June 11, 2011 <p>My local sony outlet store has an A850 for $1600.</p> Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
carsten_kraut2 Posted June 14, 2011 Author Share Posted June 14, 2011 <p>Curious..... Today I looked at the website where I bought my A850 (Australian website, sourcing their cameras from Hong Kong), and they are listing it again under 'New' i.e. NEW! Sony Alpha A850 Body Only Digital SLR<br> This was certainly not the case a few weeks ago, when I first looked at options to replace the stolen A850. <br> Have they just sourced some more remaining stock? Have Sony resumed some production? Or have the disasters in Japan simply disrupted production for a time? </p> Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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