Let's try again. I will try and keep it simple. If you are looking at jpegs at 1600 ISO or higher on the Comparometer, then Sony is slightly better at a higher sharpness level than both the Nikon and Canon cameras I was comparing. Nevertheless photos from all 3: Canon, Nikon and Sony were lousy, but Sony gives me the option of eliminating noise at very high ISO using twilight mode. Noiseware Professional would further reduce noise. Bottom line however is that I would not use any DSLR above 800 ISO unless absolutely necessary and I seldom have any need to do so.
As to speed, Sony has the fastest burst speed at 24 megapixels. It can still shoot slower than 12 frames per second and be faster than any other DSLR at a full 24 megapixels. Not all photographers will need or use this speed but it is available. However, only fanboys of the other brands rather than users will complain about it.
The Sony A77 produces the best HD video so far with full time, continuous phase detection autofocus and stereo sound. Anyone who integrates stills and video, like I do, finds this feature very useful.
As to what you call toy features, I consider to be useful tools. In camera panorama is high quality at 49 megapixels and it is used frequently in real estate virtual tours and in church wedding shots, web site advertising etc. Simulated tiltshift, enhanced dynamic range, HDR etc. are all very useful for creative photographers.
Minolta produced sturdy, excellently designed, cameras with lenses that tested out as better than Nikon at the time. I got a lot of successful use out of a variety of Minolta cameras so they more than paid for themselves, irrespective of marketting or the company.
Sony has deep pockets and sells one heck of a lot of digital cameras. They were certainly successful with the Sony Betacam which certainly was the standard for television production at one point. Again however, irrespective of the company, the A77 has less plastic than the Nikon D3x, is more feature rich and has a better price point.
One photography writer said that more "professional" cameras are bought by professionals, as in doctors, lawyers, executives etc. then are bought by professional photographers. Serious pros are in it to make money rather than spend money.
skieur