Sony’s difficulties as a result of the global chip shortage just became more serious, as the manufacturer has just announced that it is suspending its production of the a7C and the a6600.
Sony writes on its Japanese website that "parts procurement is delayed due to the effects of global semiconductor shortages.” It goes on to explain that orders from distributors and via its Sony store will not be possible for specific models.
Last month, the company announced that it would no longer manufacture the a7 II, black versions of the a6100, and all versions of the a6400. As older cameras, the impact did not seem too severe. However, a few weeks ago, it added the popular ZV-E10 to this list, and Sony has just announced that the a7C, its entry-level full frame camera released in September 2020, and the a6600, its flagship APS-C camera released in September 2019, are now included.
As noted by Digital Camera Info and reported by Petapixel, the chip shortage seems to have hit Sony much harder than its competitors, potentially putting a dramatic dent in sales in October and November. Will Sony be forced to halt production of other cameras in the coming months? Let us know your thoughts in the comments below.
It's going to get worse; potentially a lot worse.
It's not getting better for sure. Now because of Omicron businesses are reducing capacities again. I ordered one particular Sony lens from two different places in Oct and still got nothing.
Out of all the camera companies you would expect these lot to be on top of the game with this and not struggling. Very strange.
When the pandemic hit, consumers of ICs increased order volume to mitigate risk. As IC production volumes can not easily be increased, it's had a cascade effect.
If this were a story about Nikon, the comments section would be filled with doom-and-gloomers predicting the end.
Day ain't over yet. Just wait for Nikon to announce that the Z9 will be in short-supply and that only working NPS pros will be allocated a copy. This backlog will make the wait for the new D850 look like a walk in the park. And you thought getting a new Rolex was a pain.
I only hope Nikon can roll out the Z9 without any recalls down the road.
When the Z7ii came out, I heard horror predictions about availability and waiting lists. From the time I decided to buy one last spring until I had it in my hands was about 3 or 4 days. It has been bullet-proof as Nikons generally are.