Torger,
We know sensors are at the center of the design. However:
- Leica have managed in the past to get a custom size made just for them (Leica S2 and maybe M), and they now have a perfectly usable range of cameras made with a sensor that is not Sony.
- The Phase One sensors that Sensor +are another such custom design, in fact more custom in a way because the cells are different, not just the size.
So while THIS camera design is built around the sensor, another company could have a camera design AND THEN a sensor, if MF went a bit more mainstream, or if the company makes so much money from a camera's custom features that they can afford a custom sensor - which in fact is exactly what was the case with Phase One, and exactly is happening with RED - and maybe ARRI?
What is implicit in this interview is that the current generation of Sony sensors do not really support tech lenses anymore. Or else the lenses for the X1D could have been much more compact. Which is why I believe we will see some competition pop up with some different sensor, and I think Sony will in the end adopt a different architecture because a wish for compact lenses is shared across its camera sensor customer base now that mirrors are disappearing.
I think it is nice to see european manufacturers cooperating with the japanese industry - eg. Phase One, Leica, Zeiss, giving the customer the best combination of functional tech, product design, and user ergonomics ... and quality-controlled production.
Last not least, I wish Hassy had kept Zeiss as a lens manufacturer because the old Hassy lenses had a really nice look to them. Image look is as important as camera body look.
Edmund
It's always interesting when Ove talks, as he's not the marketing type of guy. He talks like an engineer, so you get to know what tradeoffs they've done, what they would have liked to have but couldn't have etc.
There are a few things we already sort of knew but it's interesting to hear directly, for example that the sensor is extremely central to what cameras they can make, and as a small company they have only limited control over what they can get. All those fantasies of strange sensor formats floating around in the forums are just that, fantasies. If you want the best sensors, which is Sony these days, the format and features are decided by the collective need of many manufacturers. So phase detect will not happen until Sony produces a medium format sensor that has phase detect, and that will probably not happen until more than one manufacturer needs it. I'm pretty sure the next sensor generation in 44x33 will have it, less likely that the next 54x41mm sensor will.
The current mirrorless format is locked to 44x33, a tradeoff to keep the size compact, and it's a wise tradeoff. Full-frame mirrorless will happen sooner or later, but probably not until it feels so mature that it can replace the SLRs also for the conservative studio shooters.