Sony Wanted To Get Canon And Nikon Off-Guard, Telling Them “Mirrorless is no big deal”

Interesting interview by Nikkei Business with Mr. Shigeki Ishizuka, a former Sony digital camera developer.

It seems, if nothing got lost in translation, that Sony endorsed a strategy consisting in telling Nikon and Canon (and others, the “SLR makers”) that “Mirrorless is not a big deal even in full size”. If I got it right, Sony wanted the “SLR makers” to not jump too early on the mirrorless bandwagon.

Mr. Shigeki Ishizuka:

In fact, I was calculating that I would let the top manufacturers of digital SLRs take the world by storm, saying, “Even full-frame mirrorless cameras are no big deal.” Externally, I dared not say once that I was going to be number one. In short, it is better to make people think that Sony has a low market share in interchangeable-lens cameras, and that it is an electronics manufacturer that has never understood cameras.

Sony played down mirrorless tech to be the first on the market? Did I get it right?

[via Digicame Info]