[stoppingdown]

I recall this path with Nikon a few years ago (circa D5000): they didn't offer lossless compression at a certain point, but after a few complains they did with new models. For what I recall - which might be wrong - the kind of loss was different, the kind that eventually introduces banding, not those of strange artefacts in high-contrasted areas.

 

For what I've read, it really sounds as Sony has problems in implementing lossless compression in their older BIONZ... which it's rather silly, and suggests that they deliberately went for lossy compression, clearly erroneously predicting the results and the reaction of customers.