Have I been ripped off?

I've read all the replies to your original post, and I cannot see any "hate" in any of them.  But I do detect more than a little provocation in your original post.

None of us here, including those you mentioned who compared the SD1 images to Bayer 30meg images, work for Sigma, nor do we sell their products.  All you see here are opinions from users of Sigma products.

Those of us who enjoy what we get from our Sigmas will post those opinions here. You'll notice that the same can be said of any of the various product forums here at DPreview. You'll also notice that there are negative comments in the forums.  Which comments you choose to ignore, and which you choose to believe when making your buying decisions, is entirely up to you.

Before I make most buying decisions, I also check the various reviews of the product. I don't believe all of them, nor do I disbelieve all of them.  I do my best to use common sense when sifting through them before reaching a conclusion.  And if I make a bad decision, or simply one I am not satisfied with, I'll usually return the product.

But blaming the good reviews for my error, if there was an error, seems a bit odd to me, ... unless I had an agenda.

--
"I'm hooked on The Look"
"If they're not screaming at you to get out of the way, you're not close enough" - I thought this was original, but it's very close to what someone else said. Oh, well.
"Not to compete whole-heartedly, with a will to win, degrades the sport and insults the competition" - anonymous Olympic long-distance runner
"Mongo not know ... Mongo just pawn in game of life." - Mongo
http://www.ChuckLantz.com