Text: Owen
It has been 15 years since the launch of the Micro 4/3 system. Its mirrorless design was quite unconventional at the time, and the lightweight system attracted many people to use the Micro 4/3 model as a shooting tool when smartphones were not yet popular. It also made Panasonic The hot sales of the GF (Girlfriend) series and Olympus PEN series of mirrorless cameras have prompted other camera manufacturers to produce their own mirrorless camera systems, and Sony’s E-mount has to be mentioned as a great threat to the Micro 4/3 system. Mirrorless.
▲Sony finally rejected the invitation of the Micro 4/3 camp and developed the E-mount system by itself. After more than ten years of hard work, it successfully created an image kingdom where “one adapter achieves infinite possibilities”.
In 2010, Sony started to develop the E-mount system in addition to the SLR A-mount at the time, and brought the first APS-C mirrorless cameras for NEX-5 and NEX-3, and it was Sony’s entry into the full film in 2013. The mirrorless market has brought important milestones. However, the Japanese financial media “Nikkei Business” recently published an exclusive interview with Sony Vice Chairman Shigeki Ishizuka. When Shigeki Ishizuka reviewed Sony’s development history in the digital camera market, he said that in 2008 he considered whether it would become a Member of the Micro 4/3 system.
Shortly after the establishment of the Micro 4/3 system in 2007, Shigeki Ishizuka said that the Micro 4/3 camp (basically only two main members of Olympus and Panasonic at the beginning of its establishment) invited Sony to join the Micro 4/3 camp. At that time, Sony did not immediately agree, and began to carry out internal research. At that time, there were two plans: (1) fully embrace Micro 4/3; (2) retain the assets and brand of the α system, miniaturize it, and turn to Micro 4/3 Mirrorless.
Shizuka Shizuka pointed out that there would be many problems when Sony joined the Micro 4/3 system. First of all, there were already two competitors, Olympus and Panasonic. Panasonic’s “inner fighting” is very fierce competition; secondly, joining the Micro 4/3 system also meant that Sony at that time had to give up the α system assets that had not long been taken over by Konica Minolta. After weighing the pros and cons, Shigeki Ishizuka believes that it is best for Sony to develop its own mirrorless system, which is the E-mount that has been around for nearly 13 years.
source:Digicam-info