I would like to add my .02 to this discussion.
I had a fairly decent Minolta Lens system and recently moved from fim to DSLR. We looked hard at the Minolta Offerings but the deal breaker was the purchase of their assets by SONY. We made the hard choice of giving up the Minolta Lens system (soon to be sony?) in favor of starting over with a time tested system that continues to be supported and backwards compatible (Nikkor). We also gave a lot of thought to the Canons. However, the deciding factor was the Nikkor Lens systems and the wonderful offerings even on the low end models.
I will build my lens collection and then worry about what bodies I want to move into later. Nikkon simply does not leave their users hung out to dry. Sony on the other hand is famous for that (as is canon to some extent).
Sony makes some decent products, some junk, and honestly some very high end stuff. Their CCDS are in just about everything. I am not going to argue image quality or even admit to knowing anything about the new SONY offerings.
The problem is that SONY has one of the absolute worst customer service records of ANY large electronics compmay. They are a "buyer beware, we hope you read the fine print" type of company that offers NOTHING in the way of problem resolution. The only way they EVER admit a problem is AFTER losing a Class Action. Their factory support and maintenance program is one of the most expensive on the planet (reminiscent of the late packard bell) and they simply refuse to change.
In my short life I have had to deal with the CEOs office of several large companies to get satisfaction after other channels have failed to yield desirable results. Each time I have been able to resolve the issue at that level and walked away more than satisfied.
On the other hand 4 seperate issues with sony "lemons" (2 with me, 1 with a client, and one with a family member) have resulted in exactly 0 consesions for any type of resolution from SONY. After talking to a few attorneys, this is par for the course with SONY.
Let me put this bluntly, the PCG series of laptops had major design flaws that have rendered almost every one sold a boat anchor within 2 years of purchase. After several conversations with the assistant to the CEO I was told that for $1100 they would fix the laptop (to put in a $75 invertert board). The conversations bordered on being contemptuous and rude. Not once has SONY ever offered an apology or any type of resolution.
Issue number two involved over 3 dozen SONY CCTV cameras.They begain failing a month before the warrenty period was up and a few were replaced. EVERY camera in the lot failed, but SONY refused to replace them due to the fact that the warranty period expired. It turns out that bad solder joints were to blame. Once again, SONY refused to offer anything but their going repair rate and recited the fine print, even though it was a manufacturing defect. Again this was escalated to the office of the CEO and the answer was the same. I could go on...
Thats enough for me to steer far clear of their products forever. (anybody want a $2000 sony viao boat anchor or a few dozen top of the line CCTV cameras, they would make good drag anchors!)
Just my .02.... sorry for the rant.
