Dear Sony,
Over the past 20 years I think I've bought at least 18 Sony camcorders, some for organizations I worked for but most for my own underwater filmmaking. The very first camcorder I used to document wildlife was back in 1984 when Jean-Michel Cousteau handed me a Sony Hi-8 camcorder and asked me to film a segment for a two hour documentary he and his father were doing about the SoCal Channel Islands.
For the first 10 years or so of my independent underwater filming, I used Sony camcorders in a single housing thanks to the standardization of your LANC communications protocol. These ranged from a Hi-8 model to an HD model. Then you changed. When I bought my current camcorder, the Sony HDR-CX550V, I had to buy an entirely new housing for it. Your old LANC protocol had been changed. Well, I liked the new rig so I was pretty happy with it. When I bought the housing (a L&M Stingray G2), it was advertised as the housing to accommodate all future Sony camcorders.
Unfortunately you apparently decided that constant change, rather than stability, was in order and the LANC protocol/connectors became even more proprietary. My Stingray G2 was discontinued about a year after its introduction because of this change. It will not accommodate even next years models of Sony camcorders. Thank you, Sony, for making my new purchases obsolete within about a year.
Fortunately I was able to get my old Stingray G2 housing repaired by L&M and even found a brand new one available and bought it as a back-up. It was the ONLY one I could find new anywhere I looked in the USA. I even bought a used Sony CX550V so I'd have total backup.
However, this will probably be the last time I buy a Sony product. I'll be looking for forward compatibility in the future. I want standardization (even if it is proprietary) so that camcorders from my new source will work in my housings again through future models. You won my heart when you continued the LANC protocol/connector unchanged... but you've lost my allegiance now that that is a thing of the past.
Your formerly very loyal customer,
Dr. Bill
Over the past 20 years I think I've bought at least 18 Sony camcorders, some for organizations I worked for but most for my own underwater filmmaking. The very first camcorder I used to document wildlife was back in 1984 when Jean-Michel Cousteau handed me a Sony Hi-8 camcorder and asked me to film a segment for a two hour documentary he and his father were doing about the SoCal Channel Islands.
For the first 10 years or so of my independent underwater filming, I used Sony camcorders in a single housing thanks to the standardization of your LANC communications protocol. These ranged from a Hi-8 model to an HD model. Then you changed. When I bought my current camcorder, the Sony HDR-CX550V, I had to buy an entirely new housing for it. Your old LANC protocol had been changed. Well, I liked the new rig so I was pretty happy with it. When I bought the housing (a L&M Stingray G2), it was advertised as the housing to accommodate all future Sony camcorders.
Unfortunately you apparently decided that constant change, rather than stability, was in order and the LANC protocol/connectors became even more proprietary. My Stingray G2 was discontinued about a year after its introduction because of this change. It will not accommodate even next years models of Sony camcorders. Thank you, Sony, for making my new purchases obsolete within about a year.
Fortunately I was able to get my old Stingray G2 housing repaired by L&M and even found a brand new one available and bought it as a back-up. It was the ONLY one I could find new anywhere I looked in the USA. I even bought a used Sony CX550V so I'd have total backup.
However, this will probably be the last time I buy a Sony product. I'll be looking for forward compatibility in the future. I want standardization (even if it is proprietary) so that camcorders from my new source will work in my housings again through future models. You won my heart when you continued the LANC protocol/connector unchanged... but you've lost my allegiance now that that is a thing of the past.
Your formerly very loyal customer,
Dr. Bill