Actually, Sony&s new compact cine camera, the FX5, was supposed to be released on August 18, but multiple sources are now reporting that it will not be shipped until early September at the earliest. The supply issue appears to be international: dealers in Germany, the Netherlands, and the USA have informed pre-order customers that there will be delivery delays and that shipments can be expected from early to mid-September at the earliest.
Sony FX5
There is speculation about the reasons for this: Officially, Sony had already warned potential buyers in Japan at the end of July that supply bottlenecks could occur due to high demand exceeding forecasts - but according to new information from emails sent by specialist retailers to their customers, there are likely more fundamental problems - after all, increased demand would only delay some deliveries and not all of them.
For example, an email from foto Erhard mentions that "...a final quality adjustment is being made prior to shipping the new FX5 to ensure that the product meets the manufacturer&s high quality standards," which is causing the delay. However, the exact nature of these problems is not detailed.
It is speculated that the real reason for the delay could be an earthquake that occurred on July 28 near Sony&s main image sensor production facility, the Kumamoto Technology Center of Sony Semiconductor Solutions Corporation in Kumamoto Prefecture. Production of all sensors - around 4 million a day - was halted for about a week, resumed in stages starting August 4, and is only now reaching full capacity in mid-August. This would also affect the manufacturing of the new Exmor RS CMOS sensor in the FX5 and would explain the delayed delivery of the FX5 - but of course it could also be another problem with one of the FX5&s components that was recognized late and now needs to be fixed before the camera goes to end customers. In any case, it is to be hoped that Sony&s quality check goes satisfactorily and the FX5 can be shipped soon - many users are already eagerly awaiting it.
Sony FX5
The Sony FX5 has already been in our editorial office for testing - here is our
Sony FX5 sensor test, rolling shutter and dynamics - finally the perfect cine camera? and Practical test of the Sony FX5 - the better FX6? 5K Open Gate, Sony RAW, Stacked 16.6 MP Sensor, EVF....
