Four weeks ago at CES 2016, Sony unveiled a bevy of new products, including a 4K handycam (AX53), a new portable wireless speaker (h.ear go) and their “most beautiful 4K HDR TV.” But despite the notability of those products, it appears Sony has saved its best for last.
This morning, in an industrial space in Manhattan’s West Village, Sony unveiled one camera, three lenses and two teleconverters that are making it harder and harder to justify carrying around a big DSLR.
Sony started with the A6300, the impressive next-generation model of the highly acclaimed A6000 mirrorless camera, which Sony’s COO Michael Fasulo called the number-one-selling mirrorless camera over $600 on the market. The new A6300 boasts the the world’s fastest autofocus speed (an oft-claimed title, but we’re inclined to believe it this time) and the highest number of autofocus points (425 phase-detection points covering the entire frame) on any camera, ever. Additional specs include a newly developed 24.2MP CMOS Sensor, 11 fps shooting with continuous autofocus/auto-exposure and 4K recording in super 35mm format. Sony says it’ll be available for purchase in March, starting at $1,000.
Finally, Sony unveiled three new pro-focused E-mount lenses and two teleconverters (1.4x and 2x) that are compatible with the A6300 but are really aimed at the A7 series of full-frame mirrorless shooters. The three lenses, which fall in Sony’s new “G Master series,” are an 85mm f/1.4 for light and fast portraiture ($1,800, out in March), a 24-70mm f/2.8 for all-purpose shooting ($2,200, out in March) and the much-anticipated 70-200mm F2.8 OSS for just about anything else you can think of (price TBD, out in May). This exact trio (24-70 f/2.8, a fast 85, 70-200 f/2.8) forms the bedrock of many pro DSLR kits and should help remove any doubt that Sony’s mirrorless cameras didn’t have the lenses to back up their sensor performance. (They even made the 70-200 white to make the transition from Canon easier.)
