Why would you buy the A77ii if you feel A-mount might be dead? Personally, I don't think it is but that's just based on my observations and nothing more. SARS is reporting that come January the new A99ii will be announced with potentially a new 40+mp sensor. Of course, it was originally rumored to be announced this year. If I were in your shoes I would at least wait to see what January brings.
Again, the other option is to pick up an A6000 with an adaptor and at least test out the mirrorless options which would give you the fast AF and different focal length. You also seem to "be into" and appreciate older lenses - Emount would open up to you a whole new world of lenses. They won't be stabilized but I've gotten good results from my $50 Rokkor lens. When you must have stabilization you have the A99 to fall back on.
Just some food for thought.
If the A-mount is dead, I'd still get a few years of enjoyment out of the A77ii, without really having to spend more money.
-A6000 with adaptor would not give me really fast AF with my current lenses. (Would be about the same as my current camera). The A6000 only has the lightening AF when using native lenses.
-A6000 with adapter would cost me about $1,000.... and that's before any lenses.
- Loss of stabilization is a big deal for me. I have very unsteady hands, even with stabilization, I rarely can go much below 1/shutter speed. For example, my wife gets steady pics with her iPhone... I can't ever get a decent picture with my iPhone, just too unsteady.
- I appreciate older lenses as a means to an end --- Great performance at a discount. I still only use AF lenses. For example, the Minolta 100/2.8 Macro is optically the exact same lens as the current brand new Sony 100/2.8 macro -- So why pay $750 for the new lens, when you can get essentially the same lens for $300?
I know some users, such as yourself, take joy in the older manual lenses, not me. But for AF lenses, the E-mount doesn't really open doors.
So what are my options WITHOUT spending much money right now:
1 -- Sit and wait. Which is probably what I will do. If there ever is an A99ii that strikes my fancy, I can decide whether to spend money on upgrading at that point. Though I have almost ZERO interest in a 46mp A99ii. I want a 24mp A99ii with better ISO performance, and better AF.
2-- ADDing the A6000 + adapter + lenses would be costly. But I could sell off all or almost all my A-mount gear... probably for about $2500-$3000. Use that money to build a very very nice system around the A6000.
3-- Sell off A-mount, get $2500-$3000, invest in A7 starter set -- The A7 plus 1 or 2 native lenses. Downside-- I would lose the "completeness" of my current system, and would need to rely on lens based stabilization -- not in all lenses.
4-- Sell off A-mount, and start anew with Nikon D610, Nikon D750, Canon 6D... etc. Downside -- Could not replicate my complete current system without spending a ton (a stabilized 200/2.8????), and I would miss the EVF/live view.
Ugh, the full frame A-mount dSLT is the best system for me, wish Sony wasn't ignoring it.
Unfortunately, my predictions are more dire -- Come January, either we will see that the exciting new cameras are solely E-mount, no A-mount offerings. Or if there is an A-mount, it will be a single model -- 46mp, slow bulky camera, for $3000. I want a fast responsive 24mp camera.
