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Sony now sits alongside Canon as one of the world’s largest mirrorless camera brands, but in recent years one key person has been strangely ignored: the hobbyist photographer. Well, that’s rumored to change in the coming months with the launch of a new APS-C camera.
The usually reliable Sony Alpha Rumors says that “a trusted source told me there will definitely be a new APS-C E-mount camera coming just before or at most early summer”. This means we should see the “new high-end model” arrive sometime before July.
While further details are scarce, there are apparently two possible contenders for this new model: a Sony A6700 (which would replace the aging Sony A6600) or a more expensive Sony A7000 which could effectively be a baby version of the Sony A1 flagship.
For photographers who have been waiting years for a Sony APS-C camera, either one would be great news. The last time Sony released a hobbyist-friendly camera aimed at photographers, rather than videographers, was in September 2019. That would mean a nearly four-year wait for Sony fans, during which many understandably scramble for the best mirrorless cameras will have jumped. from Canon or Fujifilm.
Sony has certainly been busy releasing new cameras over the past year – we’ve seen the Sony A7R V, Sony ZV-1F, Sony FX30 and Sony A7 IV, along with several new lenses for both full-frame and APS-C- cameras. But a new photocentric APS-C body with the latest autofocus, menus, image stabilization and battery technology was a glaring omission – until this year, it seems.
While these are just rumors at this stage, the reliable source and certainty of the claims suggest that random photographers with a collection of E-mount lenses – or hobby photographers looking for a new camera – should wait until the next few months and see what APS-C handles Sony ultimately delivers.
Analysis: The long wait is almost over
Cameras with APS-C sensors are traditionally favored by street photographers, landscape photographers or anyone who can’t justify the cost or overall weight of a full-frame camera. That makes the rumored Sony A6700 or A7000 a potentially exciting launch – so why has Sony waited so long?
While it may seem like an odd omission, it’s probably a practical response to big changes in the camera industry. As the best camera phones start to scale heights that just weren’t possible a few years ago, demand for lower-cost photocentric cameras has declined since the Sony A6600 launched in 2019.
Meanwhile, the huge growth area for camera manufacturers is providing the best YouTube cameras for the ever-expanding maker economy. That’s what Sony has focused on with the Sony FX30 (an APS-C video camera) and in particular with the ZV series of cameras for vloggers and video students.
The good news for photographers who prefer Sony, or already own E-mount lenses, is that Sony doesn’t seem to have abandoned them entirely. Instead, it looks like Sony has simply prioritized its video and full-frame models, meaning we could finally see the company’s class-leading autofocus (and other treats) coming to a photographer-friendly APS-C camera soon come.
