After helping to become dominant without a mirror, Sony appears to have quietly stopped selling its A-mount digital SLR cameras. As first seen by SonyAlpha Rumors, the A68, A99 II and A77 II have been removed from Sony website and are listed as “not available” by camera specialists B&H photo video. Sony did not directly confirm the news, but Engadget has asked for comment.
It was pretty clear that Sony was no longer interested in making DSLRs (Sony’s term is DSLT due to the fixed translucent mirrors), as the last model announced was the 42 megapixel A99 II. back in 2016. The only announcement of the end was a adapter this would allow E-mount camera owners to use A-mount lenses.
Meanwhile, Sony has dramatically increased the functionality and number of mirrorless models, both in the full-frame and APS-C sensor categories. This resulted in models like the 61 megapixel A7R IV high-resolution model, 12 megapixels A7S III for video and hybrid, 50 megapixels A1 that does all well. At the same time, competitors like Canon have made great strides with mirrorless models like the EOS-R5, while also trim on DSLR products.
Sony A-mount digital SLRs (starting with 100), sprung from its acquisition of Konica Minolta, so it really feels like the end of an era. Fortunately, there’s a lot to look forward to over the next year, including the possible release of Sony’s A7 IV, as well as some exciting new cameras coming from Nikon, Cannon and others.
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