Originally posted by philbaum The biggest reason: Sony would prefer Nikon to not be their sole external buyer because that gives Nikon a bigger leaverage on what they have to pay for their sensors. Having 2 external companies vie for their sensors allow them to pit one company against another for top prices. Its a healthier market for Sony. Would Nikon become so angry at Sony that they would leave Sony sensors because of Pentax? I don't think they will anytime soon. With the Japan tsunami disaster, there is enough problems on Nikon's plate without trying a risky departure from Sony. Besides, Sony sensors have helped Nikon fare quite well versus Canon, i think (don't know for sure)
In a pure capitalistic environment, i'm just saying it makes sense for Sony to sell sensors of any kind to Pentax.
While some of this is true analysis, a major factor in FF sensor availability is the fact that some of the raw design apparently comes from Nikon engineers, not just Sony. This may include some patent and licensing issues shared between the companies. So a purely competitive model does not apply to FF sensors. It does not for MF sensors either. Hasselblad, Mamiya/Phase One, and Pentax all have to custom design aspects of the process for their needs and technical integration. Like Leica with the M9 and lens compatibility (sensor micro-lenses).
It's just not as cut-and-dried as one might think. It's closer to some of the component-sharing in the auto industry where design exclusions are very common in third-party agreements.
Even Canon uses Sony sensors in its P&S line. Different segments have different supply positions. For Sony the issue for FF comes down to:
1) They could not break into the FF market in volume based on price alone. This despite having a considerably larger installed base from their Minolta inheritance than the Pentax legacy.
2) Their need to volume sell and co-engineer with Nikon.
3) The darn price of the FF sensor. At prices like what we see with all FF cameras, the market is limited and very inelastic. Once you start at the sensor you have to include almost all known advanced features to make for a competitive product vis-a-vis Canikon. And that's just to stay abreast on the camera body. Lenses are a whole different issue, especially for Pentax.
I fully expect that Pentax has had FF skunkworks for awhile, and may tease the faithful like they did with the 645D. I just don't see FF any time soon until we see what Nikon prices its new FF series at. If the new models expected veer towards commodity sensor pricing, then we can backtrack on Sony's fab capacity and cost structure. If prices for FF stay in the stratosphere, then Pentax FF is a long way away.