Sony shocked the videogame and consumer tech industries last week by announcing that physical disc production for new PlayStation games would end in January 2028. Cue an almighty furore from gamers and proponents of physical media alike – and an ominous note for camera users.
I joined the growing number of gamers cancelling their PS Plus Subscription in what I’m sure will amount to a vain attempt at telling the tech giant that a digital-only future isn’t appealing to everyone. And that train of thought brought me right back around to the camera industry.
Specifically, how the compact camera, which most manufacturers had all but abandoned, came back with a vengeance. Film, reduced to being the preserve of a few darkroom nerds, was thrust back into the fore. As well as instant cameras, camcorders and Y2K-style point-and-shoots, all brought back from the brink in surprising circumstances.
Don’t get me wrong, it’s important to remember that when we talk about these resurrections, they rarely compare with the popularity of the technology in question’s heyday.
I’m well aware that the way photography journos (like myself) bang on about film, if you lived under a rock, you’d be forgiven for assuming that every person and their dog was carrying around a film camera. Which just isn’t the case.
However, it is interesting to me that Sony is choosing to abandon discs at a time when physical media is enjoying something of a resurgence. For example, last year 4K Blu-Ray sales actually increased and vinyl sales exceeded $1 billion.
And we all know that the camera industry is seeing a similar appetite for aging tech, with retro-cool compacts regularly topping Japanese sales charts and the rise and rise of Fujifilm’s Instax, an instant camera brand.
Forging ahead and forgetting the past
As upset and angry as I am that the videogame industry may never be the same again, I’m well aware that however surprising the timing is, it’s not at all unlike Sony to commit to a big decision like this.
Sony isn’t what I’d call a retrospective company. It doesn’t tend to linger upon its past successes, choosing instead to forge ahead. Once again, its camera division is a great microcosm of that ethos.
Sony was the first camera manufacturer to release a full-frame compact camera in the Sony RX1. It was also the first to commit to full-frame mirrorless cameras, when it launched the Sony A7 and Sony A7R in 2013. It wasn’t until Canon and Nikon launched their respective full-frame offerings nearly five years later that the coveted Alpha series had any true competition.
The Sony A9 debuted the world’s first blackout-free shooting. The Sony A9 III was built around the world’s first full-frame consumer global shutter sensor. Sony also pioneered animal autofocus and of course, it’s a well-known fact that the tech giant manufactures the lion’s share of the world’s camera sensors.
And yet, it rarely looks back. You could argue that it doesn’t have the same imaging heritage to dip into as many of the other camera companies, but I still question whether it’d ever go the retro route anyway.
Historically, Sony hasn’t always got it right (remember Betamax or cameras that recorded onto floppy discs?) but it’s certainly not afraid to make big decisions. Even if this latest big decision involves axing a technology that it codeveloped. History suggests that Sony knows what it’s doing, but that doesn’t mean I have to like it.
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Check out the best Sony cameras. If you're a throwback type, here are the best film cameras and the best retro cameras that do a good cosplay of them. And for updates on what's happening in the industry, here's the latest camera news.
