News

While the coronavirus pandemic has been quietly devastating the dive travel industry, emptying people’s savings accounts, and causing general misery, it has also been playing havoc with supply chains around the world, contributing to a global semiconductor shortage that is further threatening businesses—from car companies to medical device manufacturers to smartphone makers.

The latest victim is Sony Japan, which has posted an apology on its website telling consumers that it “will suspend the acceptance of orders from our distributors and customers at the Sony store for certain models with tight supply.” The company cites delays in “parts procurement” due to the effects of global semiconductor shortages.

The affected products are the a6400, a6100 (black only), a7 II, PXW-Z190 (pro 4K camcorder), and ECM-B1M (shotgun mic). Released in 2019, the a6100 and a6400 are popular models among underwater photographers, while the a7 II was announced back in 2014 but is still a current product that is preferred by people who want a highly capable full-frame camera but aren’t bothered about having the latest model.   

It seems that orders taken through November 19th, 2021 can be delivered, but may suffer delays. Sony doesn’t say when it expects to resume accepting orders but assures consumers they will be informed when it happens.