Sony recently said that, while they could develop a f/1.0 lens, they won’t because there isn’t any demand for one in the market.
Sony’s firing back
In October, an executive at Lecia claimed Sony’s E-mount is too small to support more extreme optical designs. Essentially, the company was saying the E-mount wasn’t built for full-frame lenses. Sony responded to the claim by saying they could create an f/1.0 lens if they wanted to, but they won’t be because there isn’t demand for one.
Diameter “doesn’t matter”
It was Senior General Manager at Sony Kenji Tanaka that claimed Sony could make the lens, but won’t. He expressed his thoughts in an interview with Amateur Photographer:
“The diameter of a lens doesn’t matter,” Tanaka tells Amateur Photographer. “Honestly speaking, it is very difficult to create a small size mount. But the quality of our new 400mm f/2.8 is better than the competitors. That means the diameter of the mount is not critical for our foremost lenses.”
While he admitted it is tougher to work with a smaller mount, he believes Sony could produce more exotic lenses if the demand was there. He went on to say the key quote that Sony could produce those kinds of lenses, but it would be a foolish business move if the company did.
“Yes we could, but there is no market demand,” Tanaka said. “Maybe some demand exists for an f/1.2, but an f/1.0? Technically we could produce an f/1.0, but it would not make business sense.”
Would you purchase an f/1.0 lens?
Does Sony have a point here? Is there no demand for a f/1.0 lens or are they falsely speaking for the market? Let us know! Would you get a f/1.0 lens from Sony?
