Sony has just announced a new range of protective accessories for photographers. I say photographers, but I don’t mean serious ones when it comes to these accessories. On a typical day, you might read a press release like this and then move on. But today is different. That’s due to the fact that Sony has decided that these rain covers and soft lens cases should burn a hole in your wallet. Because you’re only ever going to shell out for these unless you’re a Sony fanboy
Camera brands often release really overpriced accessories. Although this isn’t a traditional practice, it has become quite common lately. Nikon sells their ASC series of hotshoe covers for around 30 USD, even though the plastic ones come free with the camera. Canon tried to charge sixty-five dollars for a tiny bracket that seemed lighter than a packet of chewing gum. Almost every accessory from Leica is pricey. However, at least some of those items had a certain visual charm. They may have leaned more toward fashion than function, but they made your camera look good in some ways. Not like these accessories by Sony, which I could easily find on Alibaba if I searched hard enough, for probably a tenth of the price, in the same finish.
No matter how you try to spin it, a rain cover is just that – a rain cover. Charging almost $200 for one is a bold philosophical statement. It is essentially Sony saying, ‘What if we sold a glorified tarpaulin with a clear window and made it seem like it was the best protection you could get for your camera gear?’ Almost like they went – ‘what if we genuinely believed photographers would see this and go – yes, this is the thing missing from my creative journey. Perhaps for the price, the rain cover should include a secondary LCD screen that mirrors your camera’s EVF? And a 1-year free subscription to a rescue service anywhere in the world you use it.
This announcement is actually giving me the same energy as Balenciaga’s famous ‘IKEA bag clone’ that sold for over $2,000. It’s the same uncanny feeling of misplaced luxury branding, where you stare at an overpriced object and your brain simply refuses to match the price tag with the product, because you know what it should really be sold for.
Sony’s Lens Soft Carrying Case series is not any better. It starts at over USD 220 for what is basically just padded sleeves for your telephoto lens. At these prices – $249.99 USD / CA$349.99 (LTL), $239.99 USD / CA$339.99 (LTM), and $229.99 USD / CA$319.99 (LTS) – you would think these cases are bulletproof too. But no. These are just cases. They zip. They unzip. That’s the whole feature set.
What makes this product line even more absurd is that accessory brands have been making excellent rain covers and soft lens cases for years. Think Tank, Lowepro, MindShift, and even generic brands on Aliexpress sell these items for a fraction of the cost. In some cases, those third-party versions are better designed. They often offer more adjustability, more access points, and less guilt about using them in public. What good is an expensive camera accessory if I worry more about damaging it than the camera gear it protects?
Fanboys – This Is For You
Sony is charging exorbitant prices for items that have never truly been considered luxury goods. Photographers do buy rain covers, but hardly at this price. Accessories like these act as insurance policies. Nobody has ever shown up on a shoot excited about the costly rain sleeve attached to their valuable telephoto lens.
And yet, someone will buy this. Someone always does. The loyal customers, the diehards, the fans who would buy a Sony-branded rubber band if the marketing said it improved the focus throw on your lens’ manual focus ring.. Gear like this is designed for those who will defend the price in online forums and tell you that if you don’t like it, you simply don’t understand Sony’s vision for their customers. Brand loyalty is often overrated. These are corporations. They do not implicitly love us back. But they do know that fanboys will buy almost anything if it matches their camera. That loyalty fuels accessories like this. It’s the economics of emotions.
At the end of the day, if you want rain protection, you can buy a reliable third-party rain cover or even a generic one on Aliexpress that costs much less and does the job. If you need a soft case for your lens, almost every camera store sells them for a fraction of the price. You don’t need to spend a lot of money to keep dust off your lens while you’re outdoors. But if you want to part with your hard-earned money just to feel like you belong to an elite group of fans, go ahead and add that rain cover to your shopping cart. It’s available in black or white for $189.99
Images seen in this article are screenshots from the Sony news page
