Sony to make DSLRs with Konica Minolta

We've got to hand it to Sony—they've really been pretty well with others as of late. Well, that or they see a hole gone unfilled in their broad spectrum of consumer electronics, and fill it as quickly as possible. Their latest is no big surprise: DSLRs. While Sony has some of the nicest digital cameras around, they've got nothin' in the way of single-lens reflex, so they've worked a partnership on DSLRs with Konica Minolta (who just released their latest Maxxum 5D last week). Their new devices will use lens mounts compatible with KM's Maxxum/Dynax system, but no word on who's taking over the bodies (and whether they'll be using MemoryStick), or whether it'll be a Sony Konica Minolta device.

[kxs @ Dec 19th 2005 1:02AM]

this is soo cool. its taken minolta a long time to get into the DSLR biz but now they are hitting on all cylinders. only question now is whether to get the Dynax 5 or hold on to see what comes out of this..

[Eric @ Dec 19th 2005 1:02AM]

I'm sure that Canon and Nikon are shaking in their boots. Minolta were the first to the party with autofocus SLRs, but they can't make a dent in the serious photogrpahy space with the likes of Canon and Nikon beating them into the ground. Too bad. Minolta just doesn't get the industrial design thing.

[Brian @ Dec 19th 2005 1:02AM]

Or the lens design thing.

[ByeLaw @ Dec 19th 2005 1:02AM]

What language is used for this entry, because it can't be English... can it?

[Guido @ Dec 19th 2005 1:02AM]

Sony Konica Minolta, heh. Wait till they take this DSLR technology to cellphones. Give me a Sony Ericsson Konica Minolta phone with a Carl Zeiss lens! Look! Lots of names!

[Joobot @ Dec 19th 2005 1:02AM]

Haha. I cam to this site to get info on next-gen game consoles and on the front there was Konica Minolta. Immediately I think of my dad because he works as a sales representitive in Konica Minolta, but with coppiers and faxes and printers and what not. So I called him and he said he had never heard about it.

[Raffi @ Dec 19th 2005 1:02AM]

Hah well I guess if they somehow manage to pull something interesting out of their asses I'd be thankful, because that will give Nikon another shove to come up with a newer and better affordable camera. As long as theres competition, I will buy my Nikon products with a hefty smile and a few extra bucks in my pocket.

[Dave @ Dec 19th 2005 1:02AM]

Sony makes the 12.4 MP CMOS sensor used in the Nikon D2X; a chip that compares favourably to Canon's 16 MP CMOS. I wonder if Nikon will look for a new supplier if Sony starts competing against them.

[Valter Jacinto @ Dec 19th 2005 1:02AM]

Wow ! Sony Konica Minolta... What a Fantastic Team !!!
I will wait until they develop a new great SLR - Light Weighted, 2.5" LCD, Lithium ion battery, Body Stylish Camera in many colors: Black, White, Orange, Blue and Green. Absolutely Fantastic !

[nomadicalloy @ Dec 19th 2005 1:02AM]

good combination sony and minolta. hope they make good dent on nikon/canon monopoly.

[BK @ Dec 19th 2005 1:02AM]

I think Sony should've gone to Olympus (with their four-thirds system) like Panasonic did. It would have been a better way to compete since the 4/3 system allow for building a smaller camera, which is one front Sony is better in--miniaturization.

[j @ Dec 19th 2005 1:02AM]

A Sony Ericsson doesn't make a Sony or an Ericsson. A Konica Minolta Sony doesn't make any brand device. A Panasonic with a huge Leica lens doesn't make a real defined brand. My old Panasonic tv is filled up with Mitsubishi Electric parts and a screen by one of those rare France companies. Your HP/Dell uses Samsung drams...the cheapy supermarket no-brand camera's uses the same body, electronics, lenses and user interfaces as that expensive so called Casio camera. Seems like we're heading into some kind of greatest brandhits.

Question for the future: what car are you driving? Ah...a Daewoo Maybach Nokia edition, or: what are you wearing? A Levi's/G star Raw Special Edition.

Seems like we're being fooled by brands/namebatching.

[Bollocks Mate @ Dec 19th 2005 1:02AM]

Hey BK -

Why would they go to 4/3?
We're all about to convert to 16/9 widescreen TVs in Hi-Def? Going to 4/3 would make no sense since that would be obsolete in a couple of years....

So what we would like to see is the Next-Gen DSLR with 16x9 framing to fit the Hi-Def screens. Since 4x3 will be out of fashion in a couple of years, if Sony and KM were smart enough, they should step it forward and move on to the next phase in photographic framing sizes and streamline it with the TVs.......

[hal9000 @ Dec 19th 2005 1:02AM]

i dont think the four thirds thing has anything to do with 4 by 3 or 16 by 9 as used in tv and broadcasts
http://www.four-thirds.org/en/about.html