Can Sony DSLR compete with Canon?

Just rambling.

I was messing around with my Father in Law's old Minolta Maxxum 7000 (one of the first AF technology) and 25 year old AF Minolta lenses on my buddie's Sony A55 body. AF works beautifully which gave me some smirk. Decided to do some research on what happened to Minolta. Well, Minolta had to pay Honeywell $127 million in a patent infringement lawsuit in the 80's. Evidently Norman Stauffer, an engineer for Honeywell had some key patents on Auto Focus technology from the early and mid 70's in which Honeywell waited until Minolta Maxxum was launched and had a sizable sale in the US before they filed a lawsuit. Minolta lost and had to pay. I don't know that bankrupted Minolta but you didn't hear much about them in the 90's.

2005 Sony acquires Minolta and all that good Auto Focus technology. Honeywell patent has long been expired. I personally think Sony A55 must be a fantastic little camera. But further reading taught me that Nikon buys sensors from Sony... Wow I didn't know.

Granted, Sony lens line up can't compete with Canon or Nikon, at least not right now.

I really don't know much about Sony's DSLR bodies and performance other than A55 winning the Camera of the year in 2010..I think. Can Sony compete in the DSLR market against Nikon and Canon? I hope so.

Oh and thanks Honeywell for nothing other than a few Honeywell Pentax and leeching off other companies with the AF patents. Strong Minolta could have made the DSLR market more interesting today.

Just a little musing.

My last P&S camera was a Minolta Dimage Z1, it was a great camera.

Interesting that Nikon buys their sensors from Sony. Hopefully Sony can compete, the more competition, the better it is for consumers.

Yeah..look at Nikon's D3X FF sensor.. 24.5 mp.. and Sony's A900 FF 24.6 mp must share a same sensor.. And Nikon 5100 16.2mp and Sony A55's 16.2mp sensors must be the same..

And Sony's new Translucent mirror for live view is a fascinating technology.

Wait.. do those Zeiss lenses auto focus on Sony???

To answer the question..."Can Sony DSLR compete with Canon?"

I doubt it...
That horse has well and truly bolted with Nikon following.
No point shutting the gate now.

A more relevant question would be...
Can they find a niche market and cater to it. Maybe.

I don't know...I would be tempted if A900 replacement had 1080P 30fps HD video..and couple it with a few Zeiss lenses, it wouldn't be a bad set up.

rxjohn wrote in post #12505693
Wait.. do those Zeiss lenses auto focus on Sony???

Zeiss makes a line of alpha-mount specific lenses that do autofocus on Sony/Minolta bodies.

Project22a wrote in post #12505774
Zeiss makes a line of alpha-mount specific lenses that do autofocus on Sony/Minolta bodies.

I saw that. Makes it more intriguing.

rxjohn wrote in post #12505627
Just rambling.

Just a little musing.

I certainly think so. Sony has some of the most interesting/innovative DSLRs out right now, as well as the best sensor tech. I'm betting the A77 and SLT full-frame A900 replacement will be phenomenal.

Nothing wrong with their lens lineup outside of the super-telephoto range (and maybe tilt-shifts?). They also don't have the pro support system in place yet. If you're a pro, probably not the system to be on, but for everyone else they're great. They're also the only mount that's more adaptable than EOS.

They definitely have the technological lead to compete with an established player like Canon, they just need to capitalize on it.

LMAO...here's a little chat I had with a Sony Specialist just now.

Sp1207 wrote in post #12505861
I certainly think so. Sony has some of the most interesting/innovative DSLRs out right now, as well as the best sensor tech. I'm betting the A77 and SLT full-frame A900 replacement will be phenomenal.

Nothing wrong with their lens lineup outside of the super-telephoto range (and maybe tilt-shifts?). They also don't have the pro support system in place yet. If you're a pro, probably not the system to be on, but for everyone else they're great. They're also the only mount that's more adaptable than EOS.

They definitely have the technological lead to compete with an established player like Canon, they just need to capitalize on it.

I'm definitely interested. My lens line up matches well with Sony/Zeiss combo.. including all primes and zooms. Auto Focus Zeiss sounds fascinating...especial​ly if there will be A950.

I just ordered a 60D and my lady just ordered a Sony A55... so we'll see once they both get here I have to admit all the features of the A55 gave me pause. I've seen some incredible videos on vimeo that were done using the A55 as well as stunning photos on flickr. It's priced well too. There does seem to be way more accessories, lens options, etc for canon though.

samefly wrote in post #12505954
I just ordered a 60D and my lady just ordered a Sony A55... so we'll see once they both get here I have to admit all the features of the A55 gave me pause. I've seen some incredible videos on vimeo that were done using the A55 as well as stunning photos on flickr. It's priced well too. There does seem to be way more accessories, lens options, etc for canon though.

More ways for Canon to suck you dry!

Heck..I would only need 70-200, 85-400, 24-70, 50mm 1.4, & 85mm...that's 2 Zeiss lenses and 3 Sony lenses.

get the beercan and have a cheap but decent zoom for Sony, $150 or less.

cameraperson wrote in post #12506245
get the beercan and have a cheap but decent zoom for Sony, $150 or less.

I already have it. I kept my father in law's Minolta Maxxum 7000 with a beer can (70-210mm f4.0) and a 50mm f1.7 lens. I had it since 1990 when he passed away. I got a great use out of the camera until early 2000's when I bought a small Sony Cybershot P&S for a whopping $700.. which was like 3.2 mp or something..

Tell you what.. I put batteries in the Maxxum today and fired up a couple of shots with those lenses. Talk about loud!