I don't get how people can say there's a better camera than the a33/a35 below $700...

Yes I shoot Sony so what I have to say is not garbage. It's not bitching because I don't like the PS3 or my walkman broke 25 years ago or I'm still pissed about Betamax. These are the real concerns I have as a Sony shooter. These concerns would not be present if/when I switch to Canikon. I am not confident that Sony will suddenly start supporting pro/serious amateur level users. Currently I'm not invested enough in any system to be tied to it. Before I make that investment I want to be confident that the company will be there with the offering tools I'll be looking for in 5-10 years.

Sony does not offer the tools I'm looking for in photography and with the track record of development in the last few years I'm not confident they will.

Sony makes some fine cameras. Some of the lenses from CZ are amazing, frankly those lenses are why I hesitate to jump ship. We'll see, rumor has it that Sony will again have a FF camera to their line up and that some of the Minolta legacy G lenses will be updated. I wish Sony the best of luck, but Canikon offer the tools I'm looking for right now and I'm confident either of them will continue to offer those tools in 5-10 years.

 

Here is a Blog entry from Kurt Munger that expresses a lot of my irritation with Sony far better than I can.
Sony’s cameras and lenses by the numbers | Photo Jottings
Kurt has always been a great resource for Sony/Minolta users. He's far from a Sony hater which should be obvious from one look at his page.
Sony alpha DSLR, SLT and NEX lens and camera reviews

 

All he said is Sony doesn't offer full blown pro level bodies. And they don't. 850 and 900 were still only mid range bodies. And it is good to know when you start to invest more and more on lenses that a flagship body is waiting for you at some point.

 

what an educated response...

 

Educated response, or personal opinion?

I'd side with personal opinion, like the rest of this thread.

 

I have an A290 which EVERYONE despises and I love it .
I have an A35 which MANY PEOPLE denigrate , guess what ? I love it .
... but then , I also have 4/3rds Leica Digilux 3 / Panasonic L1 ' boxes ' with minimal pixels , and I would never part with either .

There were always more competent cameras available at the price point , but they suit ME .

Which is sufficient .

 

It's more about the quality of light you are using than anything anyways....

 

I agree with all but would add there are some like me who don't like a camera with advanced features that will never be used. When I was looking to go full frame the bottom line for me was image quality. I am quite satisfied with my a850 and I am in no hurry to see Sony rush a camera to market. It seems Olympus has a new camera every month and Olympus faithful sell out and upgrade constantly. Sony shooters are patient and can get by just fine without upgrading every year. As far as the flash issue there are plenty of wireless options that fit my Sony camera and have never give buying flash products a second thought. I can count on my hands the times I have used a pop up flash. Pop up flashes are only good enough to get by and as far as using the pop up for firing other flashes the range there is a problem. Most good photographer are going to be using a pocket wizard.
But yes Sony has a low end target market. As far as the EVFer I disagree with you on that one. It is a wonderful invention and works better than I thought it would when they first hit the market.

 

I highly respect your opinions Cosmonaut.