Sony rumors 2024
The Sony rumors are flying thick and fast. Even though the launch of the Sony A9 III and now Sony A1 II have squashed some of the most recent chatter, it has ignited all new rumors in other departments!
There's also a lot of movement in the world of vlogging cameras, too, which is increasingly becoming the noisiest area of the industry. And with the company doubling down on this category, the Sony rumors are super strong when it comes to content creation…
Sony A7 V
While little is known about the successor to 2021's Sony A7 IV, it seems to be accepted wisdom that the A7 V will no longer meet its planned 2024 release and will instead launch in Q1 2025 – which would mean before April.
I've also heard a lot of unsubstantiated talk that we're getting a resolution bump that would rival the 45MP of the Canon EOS R5 and Nikon Z8 – but, crucially, wouldn't be enough tocross the streams with the 50MP Sony A1 or 61MP Sony A7R V. It's been suggested recently that the camera will use Sony's new 44MP sensor, and there is persistent chatter that big addition will be AI-driven features.
Personally I can't see the A7 V jumping into 50MP territory, as that's not what the A7 series is all about. I think it's much more important for Sony to address the core functionality of the camera – such as improving the meager 10fps burst speed to bring it more in line with competitors, and hopefully getting rid of the crop in 4K 60p.
A slew of AI features – perhaps similar in tone to the upscaling we saw in the Canon EOS R1 and R5 Mark II and – would certainly be much more interesting to me than a resolution bump. And with AI being all the rage right now, Sony could do worse than market an "AI camera".
Sony A7S IV
The Sony A7S III was launched back in October 2020, meaning that the video-centric Alpha camera is long overdue a refresh (though arguably it's already had at least three, in the guide of the Sony FX3, Sony FX6 and Sony ZV-E1, all of which have the same sensor and all but the latter have much the same features).
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Good thing, then, that the long-awaited successor is currently rumored to release in 2024 – apparently later in the year, which would seem to sync nicely with the October launch of its predecessor.
Some extremely salt-worthy rumors have been whispered, including the omission of 8K (which would be unusual for Sony's video flagship) and the debut of a new dual-layer sensor. While there were initially some suggestions of a global shutter sensor, I've heard it suggested recently that the A7S IV could actually feature the same new partially stacked image sensor seen in the Nikon Z6 III.
This clever 24.5MP sensor is capable of internal full-frame 6K 60p RAW, full-frame 1080p 240p and APS-C 4K 120p. This would seem to make more sense than the previously rumored 40MP sensor, since keeping the resolution low would keep the low light and dynamic range performance high.
Sony FX3 II (instead of an A7S IV?)
It's long been rumored that another FX camera is on the way, and the current chat is that it's going to be the FX3 II. However, what's really interesting is the suggestion that we might actually get an FX3 II instead of an A7S IV rather than in addition to it.
Whether both cameras make it to market or not, it's very plausible that they share the same architecture – given that the FX3 and FX6 were in many ways rebodied A7S IIIs. Whether Sony decides to keep the A7S series alive or merge it with the content-come-cinema halfway house of the FX3 line will be very interesting.
Rumors from China suggest that the camera will have a 12MP global shutter sensor, which seems more than a little outlandish to me. When it comes to camera rumors, Chinese whispers are about as reliable as the stereotype – but given that Sony has thrown its weight behind global shutter tech, it's not out of the question.
Personally, the rumor that the A7S IV would feature the new partially stacked sensor seen in the Nikon Z6 III would make just as much sense for the new FX camera – and is where I would personally put my money.
Sony A6200
Originally expected to arrive in the summer, the Sony A6200 is said to possess the same excellent 26MP image sensor as the Sony A6700 – which has also been used in the ZV-E10 II.
My question is, does Sony – or the consumer, for that matter – really want or need both cameras, especially with the ZV camera as a third option?
New Sony RX1
If you've been waiting for an affordable alternative to the Leica Q3, you might be in luck. Sony Rumors has speculated that we could see Sony resurrect its full-frame compact camera line, with a new RX1 – which would be the first since 2016's RX1R II.
Compact cameras have been seeing a resurgence of late, thanks to the likes of the Q3 and Fujifilm X100V, so it would be interesting to see what Sony brings to the party.
The Sony verdict
What we think: This looks to be a video-centric year in the form of new A7S, FX and ZV cameras, but could Sony also resurrect its full-frame compact to cash in on the current X100VI / Q3 / GR III craze?
More camera rumors: Canon rumors • Nikon rumors • Olympus rumors • Fuji rumors • Panasonic rumors • Sigma rumors • Hasselblad rumors • Leica rumors • Ricoh & Pentax rumors • GoPro rumors
