14 DAY TRIAL // Even though Sony hasn't made an official announcement at this point in time, it seems like the Japanese company has discontinued its flagship Alpha A850 DSLR camera which uses a 35mm full frame sensor.
B&H Photo has posted a notice in its listing for the A850 DSLR which reads “this item has been discontinued by the manufacturer and is no longer available.”
Furthermore, Electronista reports that the high-end Sony camera can no longer be purchased from the SonyStyle website as this is listed as an “out of stock” item.
The Alpha A850 was released in September, 2009, and it was Sony's second full frame DSLR to be introduced after the A900.
The two cameras are closely related as they both share the same 24.6-megapixel CMOS sensor and feature pretty much the same specifications, outside of the burst rate speed and viewfinder coverage.
Sony's Alpha A850 was also the cheapest full-frame 35mm camera available on the market as its retail price (body only) was set at $1,999.99.
The other contenders to this title are the Nikon D700 and A850's bigger brother, the Alpha A900, and these models are available for $2699.
Both DSLRs were introduced at about the same point in time, but are completely different as far as performance is concerned, since the Sony model features a higher resolution sensor, while the Nikon has better noise reduction.
Sony's decision to remove the A850 from its lineup, without first announcing any successor, fuels the rumors which stated that the Japanese company wants to retire from the high-end DSLR camera market.
Last year, Sony has also discontinued the Alpha A900 in several international markets, including Asia.
The Sony Alpha A850 full frame DSLR is still available from a few online retailers, but no one knows how long existing stocks will last.