I think both of you make some good points here. Much of what you say is present in my own thinking.
There's an anecdote I repeat endlessly on my blog about an interview my nephew and I had with Sony at a show earlier this year. (If you've read it before, then just ignore this post)
They were targeting what they saw as enthusiasts / professionals and doing fairly in depth interviews with them. This was one to one, lasted about 20 minutes and didn't involve sharing any email adresses, phone no's etc. All our responses were recorded in full, it wasn't just tick boxes.
There were some questions about whether we would like some gadgety type features built into a NEX camera, all very like mobile phone features. We of course said we didn't, and the interviewer that that was by far the most common response. We gave a series of what you might describe as enthusiast / pro responses like, "The a55 is a great idea, but it needs to be housed in a better body" "NEX IQ is great but it needs a viewfinder and some more "traditional" type features. etc. etc. You can probably guess the rest. My nephew talked about video mainly as that is his speciality.
I talked to the interviewer and he said that they were getting almost universal agreement as to what this "market" wanted, and that all my responses had been echoed again and again. All this feedback was going to be sent back to SONY HQ. The upshot of all this was that the a77 was almost exactly everything I wanted, the NEX-7 was announced and the other additions to the NEX system, particularly the viewfinder and fast primes was again something that I went on about at great length. As I said I was far from unique in my responses and it seems a lot of others had the same "wants list"
Now this may mean nothing, just some PR exercise, or it may be significant. However, as a long time visitor to trade shows, customer at various long established photographic chains, both mass market and pro, this is the only time I've ever got to talk directly to a camera manufacturer and have my views recorded. (Accurately and in some depth)
All of us I'm sure, have seen over the years post after post on the internet talking about a CSC that (I'm summarising here) is more "pro-like", has a viewfinder built-in, is a bit more traditionally minded and styled and a bit less gadget-driven. I'm not saying that this is what everybody wants, but I don't think that anyone would deny that there is a fairly vociferous group of people who want this.
A common response is that the people who want these kind of features are a tiny minority and the mass-market point and shooters are what really matters to manufacturers. Well, am I being naive in thinking that Sony don't seem to share that view? The NEX-7 is surely an attempt at a "serious" CSC, and by the general murmerings of approval on the forums it seems to be addressing many of the concerns of this enthusiast/hobbyist/serious/pro lobby, call it what you will.
While I'm not saying that these issues, and this "type" of photographer are ignored completely by other companies, they are not, my current reading of whats going on seems to point me in the direction of the orange a, as the most likely to take account of my/our concerns. I am indeed one of those retro fanboy/brought up on film/viewfinder loving/nouveau traditionalist (did I just make that up?)/gadget suspicious photographers who embrace technology but are concerned that this isn't at the expense of many of the "old school" ways of working that still deliver the goods.
This may be me getting it wrong, but the proof is I guess in how closely a companies offerings match up with my "wish list". At the moment its Sony. While I'm not convinced by the aesthetics of what they offer (I still think the NEX is pretty ugly) they come closest to what I want, and I think to what a lot of others want also.
And you may think that this is grossly mistaken, but I have this impression that they do listen, and they are prepared to change direction. There's a rumour circulating that they have torn up their lens "road map" and are going to be looking to make some pancake primes. Good news for all us retro fanboy/brought up on film/viewfinder loving....etc. etc.
But two larger things stand out for me, based on my desire to have, if possible, one system. First, while the 7 is larger than an EP3 or GX1, even with the larger Sony lenses the overall set is lighter and less bulky than a DSLR, yet offers the IQ I desire. Second, there is the VF.
I have been consistent in my desire for a broadly rangefinder shaped camera with built-in VF, extensive manual controls and IQ that allows me to stay with one system. The Nex 7 ticks the boxes so far. I don't regard it as the latest and greatest must have camera - I haven't purchased a new camera in two years. I do regard it as a camera that answers some key desires.
Maybe Sony is later to the still photography game than other makers, but I don't believe that necessarily penalizes them. Any company that can make the sensors, ICs, display panels small and large, firmware, bodies and lenses really should be taken seriously. With some of their later designs it does seem that they are reaching out more and more to "serious" enthusiasts and working professionals. I would expect we'll still see them around in the years to come.
A thought: I wouldn't be surprised if the user community is leading the manufacturers rather than the other way around, or at least has been for a while. Surely Sony must originally been surprised at how popular their platform had become with users of alternative glass, even if they contemplated it during the design. I wonder if the design was just one of those happy accidents.
If anything the huge interest in compact cameras, and in alt glass on compact cameras, must absolutely have convinced makers that they have lots of market opportunity to go after so the future can only get better all-around for photographers seeking small, portable, high quality systems. What a great time to be a photographer!
