How popular is each Sony line
Previously, we looked at which DSLR system has held its value best over time, and how fast the mirrorless market is growing. This time we explore the popular ranges of...
26/09/2021
Previously, we examined
which DSLR system has best retained its value over time
and how fast the mirrorless market is growing. This time, we're exploring Sony's popular full-frame mirrorless camera lines and seeing how they stack up against each other.
This story is part of
KEH Tilt-Shift Report
, where the company shares exclusive data and unique information on the latest trends in buying, trading and selling photo equipment.
The Tilt
The roots of Sony's Alpha line of cameras began with another manufacturer, Minolta. Without making it a full history lesson, Sony acquired the photography operations of Konica Minolta in 2006, and with it, what became the A-mount.
The A-mount was used on Sony's line of DSLRs, while a newer mount, the E-mount, was developed for mirrorless cameras. The NEX-3 & NEX-5 cropped sensor, both released in May 2010, were the first Sony mirrorless cameras to use the new mount, and it would take Sony another three years of development to create their first full-frame bodies. , destined to revolutionize the industry.< /p>
These were the Sony a7 and a7R, introduced at the same time in October 2013, followed by the a7S six months later in April 2014. These three lines became the backbone of Sony's full-frame strategy: the a7 being the base model for general use, the a7R being the high resolution model for landscape and portrait photographers, and the a7S being the high sensitivity model for low light and videography use.
A few years later, in 2017, Sony launched the a9 range, aimed at sports photographers and high-performance photojournalists. More recently, in 2020, the entry-level a7C line was introduced, featuring a more compact body and vlogger-friendly features. And finally, in January 2021, the a1 was released, becoming the flagship of the Alpha series of cameras.
By developing these lines of full-frame mirrorless cameras, Sony achieved huge success, and they've eaten away much of the market share from Canon and Nikon, who have been slower to move away from their ranges of DSLRs and to fully dive into the world of mirrorless.
Four of the six Alpha camera lines have been updated with several different variants over the years, which include the a7 II, a7 III, a7R II, a7R III, a7R IV, a7S II, a7S III and a9 II.
Now that it's been almost 8 years since the release of the first generation of Alpha full-frame mirrorless cameras, let's take a look at how these lines compare in terms of sales and which have held their value better over time.
Change
First, let me start by saying that we didn't include the new a1 and a7C lineages in our research because there just isn't enough data to extract from.
Not enough used copies have passed through our doors yet, so we'll have to revisit this topic at some point in the future to get a better idea of how these lines fit together. Based on their prolific production schedule, I'm sure Sony will have released eight more cameras by then, but we'll have to see.
What we have is a lot of data for the a7, a7R, a7S and a9 series, so we'll focus on those today.
Let's first look at the units sold by range over time.
As you can see, the a7 and a7R lines are way ahead of the a7S and a9 camera lines. The basic a7 range has taken our top spot 4 out of 6 years in the ranking of Sony's best-selling full-frame mirrorless camera bodies.
In 2017 and 2018, thanks in large part to the massive popularity of the a7R III, the high-resolution line took the top spot.
But if we look at pure dollars, it's a slightly different story.
The a7R and a9 lines, thanks to their higher sticker prices actually bring in a bigger share of sales, even though fewer units are sold. Not too surprising, given that there's a jump in price between the basic a7 range and the more premium a7R, a7S and a9.
Next, let's look at how the different ranges compare in terms of average purchase price.
Here we see that the a7, a7R and a7S lines are quite stable, while the a9 series has dropped significantly since the first model was released in 2017. And if we look at our average selling prices, it's a similar story.
Overall, most lines held consistent values in the used market, with the exception of the a9, which fell from its original price. This makes sense, as more and more features from the a9 and a9 II (like the advanced AF system and video capabilities) have found their way to the a7 III, a7R III & IV and a7S III — the a9 line has been somewhat cannibalized by the cheaper a7 line.
But value is not always a good indicator of desirability. For that, let's look at the average time on the shelf.
As we can see here there is some variation, and this is mainly due to the popularity of individual models in these camera ranges over time. p>
For the first year of the first generation, the a7S spent less time on our shelves than the other two ranges, meaning that on average it sold out faster than the a7 and a7R.
But as more and more cameras came out, the tides changed.
In 2019, the a7S line became obsolete, and that didn't change until the release of the a7S III in summer 2020, after long delays. Currently, the a9 series is the best-selling, because the a1 has probably exceeded this line a little.
The a7 base line is by far the most consistent, spending less time aging on our shelves over the years. The lower price certainly helps here, and it's always been a good all-around camera in every iteration, which makes it very desirable.
About the Author:
Luca Eandi is a Brooklyn Street Photographer, Creative Director of
KEH-Camera
and human person certified by the board of directors. He recently published
“Signs of Japan”,
a long-term photographic project documenting illustrated Japanese traffic signs in the Tokyo area. He publishes his daily work of street photography on his
instagram profile
. This article was also published
here
.
Picture credits:
Photo courtesy of KEH.
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