They do this so they can avoid the sort of problem that you see with patent disputes. The larger your patent holding (in the same field as another company B) the more likely it is if company A accuses company B of patent infringment that company B will search through their patent portfolio and find a interpretation of a company B patent that company A is infringing. Either at that point they decide to settle and cross-license or they go to court (usually if there are other strategic factors involved … see Apple vs Samsung).

For Sony and Nikon there are lots of patents and lots of fields to collide in: lens design; sensor design and technology; AF tech; VR/OSS tech, etc.

The step up from meere cross-licensing is an OEM relationship where you buy product from another company (using their tech) designed to your specs.

The next step is technology cooperation (which goes both ways) to develop tech that’s of interest to both companies with each contrinuting particular tech to the design which then may be more widley licensed or just used by the two companies involved.

Nikon clearly is working with Aptina too (Nikon 1) and is current shipping the D7000 with a Sony sensor and the P7100 (and probably the upcoming P7200 too). Some of the Nikon designed sensors may be a mix of Nikon tech (the basic design approach) and particular licensed Sony and Aptina tech. Without Nikon telling us we can’t know.

Another thing to keep in mind is dyes used in the Bayer filters are different across difference sensors and different manufacturers. You could take a straight OEM Sony sensor design and ask for your own (patented) dyes to be used in the filters. A perfect mix of tech.

But one thing seems clear: Sony are building the sensors camera designers want.

Yes, I’m thinking too hard about a single letter typo…

I don’t regret buying a D800E, although I would have loved an option to get the same sensor in a Canon 1 series body (I have a lot of Canon glass already). Unlikely that I’ll ever get the chance. Not like being able to choose whose film went into my SLR…

The reason I have not upgraded in all that time is because I’m waiting for a camera with 2 main things: A sensor with low noise at base ISO, and EFCS (electronic first curtain shutter). Both are needed for macro photo stacking because any noise is greatly amplified (even with filtering), and without EFCS the shutter mechanism bounces the camera so much at higher magnifications that there’s no way to get a sharp image. This is frustrating because Canon only use their own sensors which have too much patterned noise at base ISO, but have EFCS, and Nikon because they use the great Sony sensors, but do not have EFCS.

However, it looks like the Sony nex-5n has both a good sensor and EFCS. That’s why I’m looking into buying one: Because they put these 2 features that make better pictures into the same camera, which is more than anyone else has done in the better part of a decade.

Whilst Sony evidently feel they are onto a good thing with their SLT and NEX cameras, I’ve yet to be persuaded that they have a “killer app” that will win buyers over. This could be the Exmor sensors, but their semiconductors division seems happy to sell the “crown jewels” on to the highest bidder. Sony is currently struggling for direction and not in the best financial state. Whilst I am sure that they appreciate the income from sensor sales, I would implement a policy of “if you want a Sony sensor, you need a Sony camera” (remember the iPhone commercials on TV?). It’s unlikely that Sony will cut-off third-party manufacturers, as this is not the Japanese business culture.

Sony need to succeed in imaging, as they have stated that they are staking a large part of their future strategy upon growth in this area. Many people think that Kodak failed because they stuck their heads in the sand with regard to the digital revolution and failed to exploit their early lead. This is partly true, but selling digital sensors would never have been a big enough market to support a company the size of Kodak.

I think that Sony need to think carefully about their vertical position in the market, they need to be market leaders in cameras and camera phones, not just sensors. This means recreating the premium brand image that Sony used to enjoy in consumer electronics, but has now lost to Apple and others. I believe that taking back proprietary technology into their own product lines would help achieve this.

For comparison every new specification of MMC/SD has broken compatibility with older hosts.
And physically flimsy SD is inconveniently small to handle (don’t even want to think about handling it outside at winter) and small physical volume also prevents putting more memory chips in “RAID 0″ for lot faster read/write performance and capacity with same memory tech.

So I’m sure hoping Sony or someone else pushes XQD down the throats of average consumer dummies who don’t know a shit even if they fall on their faces into it when marketroids just tell them that it’s the latest fashion trend food!