SONY Focus Group Interview 2019

Today I attended the SONY Focus Group Interview (FGI) 2019, by invitation of SONY Malaysia, specifically for users of SONY α9, α7RIII and α7RII, as well as SONY's GM lenses to share our experiences.  Unlike last year where the FGI was carried out at the SONY Centre @ The Curve, this time around, the interview was carried out at TGI Friday's at The Curve, Mutiara Damansara.  ​I had the opportunity of meeting people from different backgrounds and photography genre and was really honored to have met Yamasaki-san, the new marketing GM for SONY Malaysia at the end of the FGI session.

The FGI was facilitated by Moses Wong throughout the two-hour session.  Among the highlights and areas of concerns raised by the participants are:

1. The GM lenses are by far, the sharpest lenses for the SONY α9 and α7 series cameras;
2. The high pricing strategy and availability for the GM lenses. Some participants have to wait for months before they can get a hold on their GM lens;
3. Unavailability of the PlayMemories Camera Apps on the latest SONY α9, α7RIII and α7III.  Bring them back!;
4. Lack of SONY Workshops for Landscape (travelling, cityscape, scenery, seascape, night photography) as currently, most of the workshops were on portraiture and macro photography;
5. Weather-sealing and robustness of the SONY α9 and α7 series cameras;
6. Inconsistency issues on the LCD panel between SONY α7RIII and SONY α7III; 
7. Competitors playing catch up with their latest offerings on their mirrorless cameras and the corresponding lenses;
8. Propose for a strategy for participants, who attended SONY Workshops, to purchase cameras and lenses at a discounted price;
9. SONY Service Centre has been improving over the years. Now, relatively much better then Nikon and Canon Service Centres;
10. The proposed introduction of SONY Professional Services (similar to NPS and CPS) is welcomed;
11. SONY Malaysia to consider loan units for those who send their cameras or lenses for repair; and
12. Perhaps the future FGI can start at 7:30pm to make way for Muslim participants to perform their Maghrib prayers.

No group photo this year, probably due to the number of participants.  Hope SONY Malaysia will listen to us for the upcoming firmware updates as well as workshops.  Looking for more collaboration from SONY Malaysia in the future.

Thank you.

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