An odd non-Canon information request

I thought this might go best in the general photo talk section.

I know jack-squat about Minolta cameras and thought that someone here would be able to enlighten me.

A friend of mine has an old Minolta film body and a collection of lenses. Would the lenses fit on the new Sony DSLR bodies (since Minolta no longer makes cameras and Sony took over)?

From what I remember Sony kept the old Minolta mount system. But I'm not 100% sure.

"When Sony acquired Konica Minolta's camera technologies in 2006, they chose the "α" brand name (already in use by Minolta in Asia) for their new "Sony α" digital SLR system. The Dynax/Maxxum/Alpha lens mount (which was retained from the old cameras) is now officially known as the "α mount system".[3]" from this wiki article

Edit: "As a result, virtually all Minolta AF lenses are supported on Sony DSLRs, and many Sony lenses should work on Minolta's film and digital SLRs." This article would help too.

As long as they are auto-focus lenses I think they will work. That's about the only reason I'd consider getting a Sony body.

jaybird wrote in post #7728717
I thought this might go best in the general photo talk section.

I know jack-squat about Minolta cameras and thought that someone here would be able to enlighten me.

A friend of mine has an old Minolta film body and a collection of lenses. Would the lenses fit on the new Sony DSLR bodies (since Minolta no longer makes cameras and Sony took over)?

OMG! A question I can answer since this is what I deal with.

Virtually any KM lens post 1985 should work. For a full list visit the link below. Should be the same for flashes etc.

Sony/KM Flash compatibility
Sony/KM Lens compatibility

Thanks guys! The friends in question are here with me in Kenya and will be heading back to Canada on vacation in about a month. I'll tell them to try out the Sony bodies. Personally, I'm not a big fan of Sony, but for what they will do with it (green box) it will be good enough. They are looking for an upgrade from their current PnS cameras while on safari.

As always, thanks for the quick and relevant responses! Man, I love this place.

Noooooooooo,
Sell the Minolta lenses to fund a new Canon.

Tee Why wrote in post #7732775
Noooooooooo,
Sell the Minolta lenses to fund a new Canon.

I disagree ... to a degree. Do what you need to and learn the mistake of siding with Sony lol.

jaybird wrote in post #7728888
Thanks guys! The friends in question are here with me in Kenya and will be heading back to Canada on vacation in about a month. I'll tell them to try out the Sony bodies. Personally, I'm not a big fan of Sony, but for what they will do with it (green box) it will be good enough. They are looking for an upgrade from their current PnS cameras while on safari.

As always, thanks for the quick and relevant responses! Man, I love this place.

before you do that, make sure the lenses are A mount (as mentioned above). if they are MC, or MD, don't bother.

i still have few Minolta film cameras and few lenses which are working with the Sony dSLRs.

Thanks guys. I've advised my friends. I think they will be back in Canada on a trip and may look at getting a Sony body for their lenses. They still have a year or two left here, so there is some worth to them getting a better camera for safari than a point and shoot.

I own an X700 that use an MD mount. I didn't have any lenses until I bought two off e-bay. A Minolta 50mm f2.0-22 and a Tamron 70-210mm f4.0-32 for $25 each. Takes GREAT photos with both lenses and I use my digital to get an idea of about how a film photo will look and am learning to take better pictures.