TOKYO – Sony, which has rarely been the first choice among professional sports photographers, has a new weapon it uses against Canon and Nikon as it struggles to gain a larger segment of the high-end camera market.
Its mirrorless image has a big advantage because it does not make the sometimes annoying slow motion reflex (SLR) cameras of the shutter known, but it is able to offer high quality images.
Nikon and Canon have divided the market for high-end cameras almost evenly, but if the Tokyo Olympics are any indication, Sony is growing its presence in this segment with its Alpha-free camera.
Some of the Olympic and Paralympic photographers were surprised to look around and see that 20% to 30% of the cameras capturing the action were Sonys. The company’s gear was especially noticeable during Paralympic events like the sound-dependent goal ball.
Sony first installed a professional service stand at the main press center during the Olympics. (Photo by Takaki Kasiwabara)
SLR cameras make a remarkable sound when fired because of their mechanical blinds. This can annoy them, especially when shooting in environments that require silence, such as in the middle of a golf swing or at the start of a track race.
Mirrored cameras have no mechanical blinds. They continuously transmit an image to the photographer who, electronically and silently, takes photos without clicking on the revealing shutter.
Initially, Sony’s mirrorless camera was aimed at beginners. But the company had bigger ambitions and sent engineers to sporting events around the world to gather feedback from professionals. This review helped Sony improve Alpha’s image quality, continuous shooting performance, data processing speed, and other features.
“Right now,” said Masaaki Oshima, deputy director of Sony’s camera division, “Alpha’s performance is not nearly inferior to single-lens reflex cameras.”
Sony in 2020 worked with photographers for the Associated Press. This year he has been working with PA Media photographers in the UK and Ireland. Both agencies are making constant use of Alpha.
“I can take pictures even in quiet moments,” said Kazuyuki Ogawa, a freelance photographer who specializes in parasports, “and even when there’s a lot of movement the camera automatically focuses on the person. There are a lot of photos. that he could not take without the Alpha. “
The outlook for the digital camera market is not bright. With the spread of smartphones, the market has shrunk to 20% of its maximum size and Sony camera sales have remained around 400 billion yen ($ 3.6 billion) during the last years.
Now, however, the prices of mirrorless cameras are rising, making it easier to reap continuous benefits. Canon and Nikon also take the market without mirrors. Canon lent some of its models yet to launch photographers at the Tokyo Olympics.
Some photographers at the opening ceremony used Sony’s mirrorless camera, a gadget initially intended for beginners. (Photo by Hirofumi Yamamoto)
While Sony’s Alpha was circling the pits of Olympic photographers, some of the company’s other imaging crews were busy making big decisions.
In the 55th minute of a men’s soccer match without a semifinal between Japan and Spain, the Japanese Maya Yoshida seemed to unjustly overthrow the Spaniard Mikel Merino, who was going after a cross near the Japanese goal. Yoshida was whistled for a foul and was shown a yellow card; Spain received a penalty.
But the golden opportunity for the Spanish team to advance did not come. Instead, the official crew gathered around an off-field playback monitor that showed Merino was quite attacked and accidentally kicked Yoshida, causing him to fall.
Sony provided the technology that helped officials reverse their call that day. In fact, Sony’s video analysis system helped officials make the right call at about ten events, including tennis and athletics.
The system comes from Hawkeye Innovations, a British company that Sony acquired in 2011.
In this semi-final football match, which Spain won 1-0, approximately 10 high-performance Hawkeye cameras were placed around the field. One of his tasks was to instantly determine when or if the ball crossed the goal line.
In the United States, all major league baseball stadiums since 2020 have used Hawkeye equipment to measure the speed of the pitchers ’fastball and other metrics. In each of the 30 MLB stadiums, 12 cameras follow the ball, bat and players. They even record the skeletal movements of athletes in 3D, allowing measurements such as the height of a pitcher’s elbow when he releases the ball.
“We want to develop new data analysis and visualization tools to help athletes improve their competitiveness and increase the ways fans enjoy sports,” said Taro Yamamoto, vice president of Hawkeye Asia Pacific