In the mid-1990s Sony was at a turning point. While Sony was a powerful name in consumer electronics, it was less well-known among professionals for optics and photography, and wanted to rectify this situation. The company therefore sought a strong and reputable partner in the high-end market and an expert in optics that could help them improve quality in the booming camcorder segment. For ZEISS – which can look back on more than 165 years of experience in optics and lens manufacturing – the situation was the exact opposite. Although its lenses enjoyed an excellent reputation among professional photographers, ZEISS was virtually unknown in the wider consumer market.
So the two companies joined up their core competencies — electronics from Sony and optics from ZEISS. In 1995 Sony and ZEISS entered into a partnership that continues to be rewarding to this day. By bringing optics’ experts on board who already had an excellent reputation in the market, Sony strengthened its own reputation among professional photographers. And thanks to Sony’s expertise and know-how in consumer electronics, ZEISS gained access to the much broader market of ambitious amateur photographers and cinematographers.
The first joint product, in 1996, was the Handycam® CCD-TR555. Norio Ohga, Sony’s President at the time, was convinced that better optical features were the key to increasing the Handycam’s appeal. Dr. Winfried Scherle – then head of the Camera Lenses division and today head of the Consumer Optics business group at ZEISS – praises the benefits of the partnership for both partners.
“Combining Sony‘s technical expertise in consumer electronics and its access to the end-consumer market with ZEISS’s expertise in optics and lens development has made us a very strong team.”
Other jointly developed products followed: the Distagon for the DSC-F55K Cyber-Shot® (1999), the first interchangeable lenses with A-mount for the α DSLR cameras (2006) and the first interchangeable lenses with E-mount for α mirrorless cameras (2011) are just a few of the milestones.
In total, more than 185 million products carrying a common Sony/ZEISS brand have been sold since the partnership began nearly 20 years ago. Having “ZEISS” in the brand is one of the top five sales arguments for purchasing Sony/ZEISS products, and therefore an important distinguishing feature compared to competitors. According to Shigeki Ishizuka, Executive Vice President and Head of Imaging Products and Solution Sector at Sony, it is only natural that Sony will continue this close partnership.
“We’ve learned a lot during 19 years of joint development with ZEISS. The knowledge we’ve gained has contributed significantly to developing Sony’s know-how in optical design and lens manufacturing. Together with ZEISS, we want to give our customers the ultimate photography experience, both now and in the future.”
In short, the partnership is a clear success.
This blog was adapted from the article originally posted here: http://bit.ly/1T7kwKP
