In not particularly surprising news, it looks like Sony’s A-mount is finally dead.
It’s been six years since Sony last released an A-mount camera and seven years since they last released an A-mount lens, and it looks like the unique DSLT (digital transparent single lens) line has finally arrived. releasing already. Sony Japan has listed all A-mount lenses as “discontinued”, and given the lack of development over the past few years, it seems safe to assume that the lineup is complete.
Even with the lack of development, this news is not particularly surprising. Sony is unlikely to continue to support two different mounts, and the technology that drives the DSLT design, while interesting, is essentially obsolete with the advent of on-sensor phase detection autofocus. Out. Prior to this, the use of a pellicle mirror (which is actually not translucent) in the DSLT design allowed the incident light to be split into two paths, one going to the phase-detection AF sensor and the other path. to the sensor, which also provides for the electronic viewfinder.
The disadvantage of this system compared to modern on-sensor phase detection systems, besides the increasing complexity, is the loss of about half of the light reaching the sensor, as some light must be used to auto focus. However, the A-mount series was quite common and became quite complicated near the end of its life. While Sony hasn’t made an official statement about its demise, it seems safe to assume this is the end. The A-mount dates back a lot to Sony, introduced by Minolta in 1985.
