Re: Well...
Sony bought the Minolta/KonicaMinolta operation more or less outright, some of the imaging/scanning IP did not come with the deal but stayed with the KM photocopier/scanning side, it took Sony several generations of SLR bodies to advance to where KM got to (some say they still aren’t there yet) with the last bodies produced (KM 5d + KM 7d) under their own engineering efforts. The first two Sony DSLR's A100 + A700 (sans the above IP) were both children of KM efforts re badged as Sonys.
Did you know KM did contract lens element production work for Zeiss and Leica :-) I met a bloke once who had a 100-F2... he allowed me to fondle it for a moment.
Biting the hand that feeds IT
