Black Friday is here and there are some great savings to be made on Sony cameras. We’ve taken some of the work out of hunting down a bargain by finding the prices for you on the most popular Sony CSCs and Sony compact cameras. Keep your eyes on this page for the best Sony camera deals during this year’s Black Friday sales.
DON’T MISS: Black Friday Camera Deals
Known as Black Friday, this day-after-Thanksgiving event kicks off the holiday retail season with merchants offering the lowest prices of the year on nearly every product imaginable, including cameras.
Both US and UK retailers participate in these Black Friday sales, often extending sale dates to well before and after Black Friday itself. The shopping can be intense, but it’s definitely your best bet for snagging that new Sony mirrorless camera at a great bargain.
Of course, it can be a bit wearisome to wade through the sea of Black Friday ads, especially if you’re not even sure which Sony CSC you want in the first place.
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Sony’s most sought-after
The Sony brand is a worldwide leader in film, music and electronics. It’s nudged Nikon into third place to be the second largest camera manufacturer in the world and the largest manufacturer of image sensors for digital cameras.
Sony is a corporation with feelers in nearly everything, and as a result it’s developed a first-rate reputation for innovation and originality, especially when it comes to modernizing industry standards.
With the acquisition of Konica Minolta in 2006, Sony began to consolidate its camera line under the ‘alpha’ brand. Its mirrorless cameras have been especially popular, whether it’s the casual shooter’s α5000 and the α5100, the advanced amateur’s α6000, a6300 and a6500 or the professional-grade a9, α7, α7 II, α7S, α7S II, α7R, α7R II and a7R III.
Ranging from $449 for the low-tier entry-level series to $4,500 for the top-tier pro-grade line, Sony hits competitive price points with this very capable selection of interchangeable lens mirrorless cameras.
Entry-level cameras
The α5000 boasts the title of the world’s most lightweight interchangeable lens camera, and at $449 (with 16-50mm kit lens), it’s also one of the most affordable.
Its Exmor sensor, Bionz X processor and high sensitivity combine to produce highly detailed, colourful images with minimal noise even in low lighting. The α5000 also allows you to share your photos and video easily with Wi-Fi capabilities.
Just eight months after the α5000 hit the market, Sony introduced the α5100. At $599 (with 16-50mm kit lens) it’s just $150 more than the α5000 but with a lot more kick.
The resolution is better and the 204-point Hybrid AF system features 179 phase detection points in addition to the α5000’s standard 25 contrast detection points.
The α5100 also has a higher ISO range than the α5000, much better continuous shooting performance and a touchscreen LCD. Overall, compared to the α5000, you’re getting a lot more with the α5100 for just a small bump in price.
During last year’s Black Friday sales, the α5000 was advertised on B&H Photo’s website at a $50 markdown of $398 (with kit lens). The α5100 featured a bigger $150 markdown at just $348 (body only) and $498 with a 16-50mm kit lens.
With the α5000 and α5100 still being Sony’s only two entry-level mirrorless cameras, expect to see comparable savings during this year’s Black Friday sales.
Enthusiast-level Sony Cameras
Graduate to Sony’s advanced amateur line and you’ll be comparing the α6000, α6300 and a6500.
The α6000 hit the market hard in 2014 with features such as “the world’s fastest autofocus” with 204 points, 11 fps continuous shooting with tracking AF and a sensor that covers a much larger area of the frame than its NEX-6 predecessor.
It’s an extremely well-liked camera – one of the top best-selling mirrorless cameras of all time, in fact – so Sony offered some great deals on it during last year’s Black Friday sales. Savings were in the neighbourhood of $150 on just the body, with kit deals ranging from $548-$699 on B&H Photo and Adorama’s websites.
Even with the introduction of the α6300 and a6500 this year, Sony has kept the α6000 in production simply due to its popularity, so expect to see some fantastic savings on it (including kits and accessory bundles) during this year’s Black Friday season.
The α6300 boasts several upgrades to the α6000, including an even faster 594-point Hybrid AF system (the highest amount available on any interchangeable lens camera), a sturdier body, a newly developed sensor with improved light collection and faster readout speed, higher ISO, the same viewfinder found in Sony’s pro-level range of CSCs and 4K video recording.
While the α6300 does cost $450 more than the α6000, its impressive features justify the price tag. The α6000 is so popular because of its price, but you’ll likely be able to snag a α6300 body for a price that’s not far off the α6000 if you can wait until Black Friday to make your purchase.
The α6500 improves upon a6300 with stabilisation built-in and faster processing for greater burst depth.
Sony full-frame cameras
The Sony professional-grade α7, α7 II, α7S, α7S II, α7R, a7RII, a7R III and α9 are all full-frame mirrorless cameras, with the α7 and α7R being introduced together in 2013. At just $1099, the α7 comes in at $800 lower than the α7R.
The α7R features a higher resolution sensor (36.4 MP vs 24.3 MP), but lacks the α7’s quick Hybrid phase and contrast AF system and has a slightly slower burst rate (4 fps vs 5 fps).
The α7S was introduced shortly after the α7 and α7R, with its α7S II successor not far behind. The α7S comes in at $2199 with features such as a 35mm full-frame 12.2 MP CMOS sensor, a whopping ISO sensitivity of 409600 and 4K video capture.
Its successor, the α7S II, comes in at $800 more, but offers internal 4K video recording, more formatting options in HD, better low light performance with less noise and a small increase in dynamic range.
Both the α7S and α7S II will probably be marked down this Black Friday, although you may have to dig through some of the more dedicated camera retailers to find them (e.g., Adorama, B&H Photo, London Camera Exchange, etc.).
The α7R II debuted two years after the α7R with an improved high-resolution 42.4 MP sensor, a 424-point Hybrid AF system, in-body five-axis image stabilisation and higher extended ISO. It thrilled reviewers hitting the mark with huge images, loads of detail, minimal noise and fast performance.
Like other cameras in this price range, the α7R II didn’t see too much in the way of markdowns during the 2016 Black Friday sales but that could change now the a9 and A7R III have been introduced.
SEE MORE: Hands-on Sony Alpha 99 Mark II review
Black Friday Sony retailers
With the advent of Cyber Monday, there really isn’t a need to endure the crowds this sale season. While its name refers to the sales that happen online on the Monday after Thanksgiving, Cyber Monday has started to merge with Black Friday for an epic days-long event.
This means that those deals that were once only found in the stores can now be found at the same time from the same retailers online.
No more enduring frenzied crowds and heavy traffic, simply visit the following major Sony retailers’ websites: Amazon, Adorama, B&H Photo and Best Buy for US shoppers, and Amazon UK, John Lewis, London Camera Exchange, Wex, Currys PC World, Camera World and Argos for UK shoppers.
Make sure to keep an eye out for these merchants’ advertisements at least one week prior to Black Friday sales. They tend to release sale prices and deals ahead of time so you’ll have ample opportunity to compare offers.
Once you’ve found the best deal, go ahead and create your shopping account for that website and save your favorite Sony camera in a wish list or shopping cart. Small steps like these will streamline your checkout process to help ensure you won’t be faced with sold-out items.
You can also avoid this problem by starting your online shopping early on Black Friday, just like you would if you were shopping in a store. Remember, there’s only so many Sony cameras to go around!
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