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..........SONY screwed you.

"The employees of the Sony company would like to thank you for the earned interest made on your advanced pay.

Have to go now.... It's time for the company barbecue. Have a nice day ! "

;-)

Ron
 
there are problems of any kind. The U.S. is a good testing ground for being a dud or not with minimum customer backlash as one could get back most of their money. This could be one consideration but could be true only to some market segments/areas. I am in the U.S. and pre-ordered (but not from Sonystyle to save some bucks) and I am still waitimng for update. Meanwhile I still have my KM 5D and Pana FZ4 to keep me company : ).
cheers,
gil
--
**************
I blindly capture images only when I am blindfolded : ).
http://art4less.smugmug.com
 
I have asked Sony for an immediate refund and have requested a return authorization number for the lens. Have to wait until tomorrow for both of them to reply.

That lens is a bit hard to come by over here right now and that is why I ordered it as soon as I thought I had a firm delivery date.

Guess I'll have to make do with the R1/H1 combo.

--
Busch

Take the scenic route! Life is too short to do otherwise.

http://www.pbase.com/busch
 
Hi,

I ordered from a place called computeruniverse.net , they had the A100 body for 820.- € but bumped it up to 900.- € (after too many people ordered, I guess....)- they still expect delivery on the 21st- keeping fingers crossed...

On a different note: where is the Fiss area? Coming from Austria I haven't heard of it yet.
best,
Bernd
 
Well, I hope you get your A100 but I would not bet on it!

Fiis is in Tirol not too far from Landeck and Imst.

--
Busch

Take the scenic route! Life is too short to do otherwise.

http://www.pbase.com/busch
 
Is not there somebody in the neighborhood of Busch who can lend him a 5D or 7D, so he can test the lens? - I live in Germany, a bit too far away.

Would not this be a solution for you Busch? Of course the 5D/7D are not the same as the A100, but you might be able to avoid sending the lens back and then starting to shop for it again?
--
Ádám
 
I think I'll just sit back and relax and see what Photokina brings.

--
Busch

Take the scenic route! Life is too short to do otherwise.

http://www.pbase.com/busch
 
I have had one of the first advance orders in with one of the first pro dealers to take on a preorder of Alpha 100s (Calumet). They in turn shipped me 5000 leaflets which go out in our former-Minolta-club-magazine Photoworld today (you can download a pdf of the entire Photoworld edition at photoclubalpha.com)

Just phoned for an update - and if anything I'm a preferred customer, long standing clienty of Calumet as well as a publisher with whom they spend money in turn - and they have no explanation at all for the delay, just the information that the camera will not now be released here for two weeks.

Sony told me that they planned to include a Europe-based registration system with the Alpha, integrated to track every stage of the camera's sale - the warranty is linked to the serial number is linked to the outlet, to the import route, to the end user, to optional club membership etc. They should be able to spot grey imports, counterfeits, used cameras resold as new 'with cards' and all the usual scams because each item will have a record almost as reliable as a motor vehicle with its service history and ownership. What they are doing reminds me a lot of Mercedes, who by using some very advanced data capture and controlling their new and used outlets as closely as possible are now able to offer a Europe-wide 30-year warranty with A-series cars from new and make it transferrable with the car, provided it goes back into their dealer system for resale.

Not suggesting for one moment that Sony plan a 30-year warranty with roadside recovery :-) but many critics have picked out their after-sales service as a weakness, and I would suggest they are determined to make after-sales support second to none in Europe.

Maybe a delay of 2 weeks is needed to get all the documents of the right type and language into the product boxes, and ensure the computers are ready to accept the first data. I did ask about this at my last meeting with Sony in the UK - whether all this would be ready in the first batch of cameras - and was told (provisionally) that Sony would ship first, and then catch up with the early adopters later, once all the new documents and systems were ready.

Doesn't stop me being frustrated that the camera will arrive too late for much important work and miss two magazine deadlines, but 2 weeks delay in the launch to get a superior sales support infrastructure up and running might be worth it.

David
 
David Kilpatrick said:
Maybe a delay of 2 weeks is needed to get all the documents of the
right type and language into the product boxes, and ensure the
computers are ready to accept the first data. I did ask about this
at my last meeting with Sony in the UK - whether all this would be
ready in the first batch of cameras - and was told (provisionally)
that Sony would ship first, and then catch up with the early
adopters later, once all the new documents and systems were ready.
Click to expand...
Of course it could be anything. But I suspect problems with their manufacturing processes are a more likely source of the delay than issues with the distribution system. The sensor seems to be built on technology that is not new to Sony. So sensor yields don't seem likely to be the problem. But it would not be that surprising if they were having some difficulties getting their camera production facilities scaled up.
--
David Jacobson
http://www.pbase.com/dnjake
 
s_grins said:
When you got a camera, rent this lens for a day or two to make sure
you like both camera and lens.
Click to expand...
Wonderful theory. However, many of us do NOT have even the
slightest remote chance of ever finding a place that rents lenses...
especially a Minolta lens.

Where I am, the closest place that may rent one is Vancouver, BC,
which is 100 km away... and I would have no clue as to where to
start looking. NO ONE in Canada carries new Minolta stuff unless it
is old new stock.

However, there was someone on the Pentax SLR forum who
posted some pictures for it... he was using, I think, a Nikon...
so I guess he was cross posting. The results were encouraging.
However, on going back, I have had a bugger of a time to try
to find the link. Others were interested in this lens and I tried
to backtrack... unfortunately I am using Opera as a browser at the
moment (testing it, really), and it seems to delete old URL's. I
think I had it set too low or something, otherwise I would be
able to share the pictures with you. The guy also had some
impressive macro shots... and I would have loved to see them
again.

It sounds like it is a good lens... I have seen a couple of test
here on the web. I posted the links on another thread...
something about "which lens should I get", or some such
thing.

If you want the tests, do a web search... that was how I got
them. I put in the full name of the lens and got quite a few
hits.

--
Gil
Sardis, BC
Canada
 
Just got my A100 today, just walking in the "sony style store" Berlin, Germany. Picked one went to the cashier, no preorder. Ther were several boxes (set w/ 17-70mm lens) left. So obviously it#s available. Although another shop told my "mass delivery" will start only beginning of august. "Body only" packages will come even later....
 
Now I'm REALLY upset! Obviously Sony Germany has no idea what the heck is going and why.

Oh well, hope you enjoy the new cam. Please let me know what you think of it.

--
Busch

Take the scenic route! Life is too short to do otherwise.

http://www.pbase.com/busch
 
AAK said:
Isn't that new no-lead edict from the EU now in effect?
No such thing is the US, so Sony may be held up on lead-free
circuit boards. I heard there was a major shortage industry-wide...
Click to expand...
The cameras are already fully compliant. Japan has been aware of this for some time, and only a few special products are now affected.

David
 
Well. I think it's due to marketing efforts: They have to show it in the shops first, although I can really understand you're upset because you actually preordered it. I experienced it a couple of times, those "flagship stores" get new items pretty early (not only sony, not only electronics or optics).

Interestingly enough there were also all currently available lenses and accessoiries. Even the lenses to come were there as "placeholders": little grey sacks in the actual size and shape of the lenses. All in all it looked to me, as if they got a ready-made shop-bundle of stuff for display in public.

About the camera: the 18-70 isn't a WOW lens, I'm waiting for some better glass. But playing around with it last night I'm impressed of SSS like everybody else is: Never thought it's possible to get pretty usable pictures at 1/4s! Noise is there, but as it's my first DSLR I cannot judge it, actually it's better than a 10MP scan from a ISO1600 CN-Film, so I don't worry about that.
 
Hi David,
David Kilpatrick said:
Sony told me that they planned to include a Europe-based
registration system with the Alpha, integrated to track every stage
of the camera's sale - the warranty is linked to the serial number
is linked to the outlet, to the import route, to the end user, to
optional club membership etc. They should be able to spot grey
imports, counterfeits, used cameras resold as new 'with cards' and
all the usual scams because each item will have a record almost as
reliable as a motor vehicle with its service history and ownership.
Click to expand...
This is such a good (but hardly new) management idea i have to ask why Sony haven't done this long before for other products. Especially when it comes to managing support issues over grey imports. Not that i agree with warranty restrictions in principle, but when they're not providing an inefficient currency hedge, knowing where your goods have been bought and delivered is important to scale service in the right places.

Hmm, yes, used cameras ought to be able to come with a manufacturer's "FSH".
David Kilpatrick said:
What they are doing reminds me a lot of Mercedes, who by using some
very advanced data capture and controlling their new and used
outlets as closely as possible are now able to offer a Europe-wide
30-year warranty with A-series cars from new and make it
transferrable with the car, provided it goes back into their dealer
system for resale.
Click to expand...
Hmm, yes, but what MB have been doing recently on a broader scale is more reminiscent of the worst aspects of the M > KM decline.
David Kilpatrick said:
Not suggesting for one moment that Sony plan a 30-year warranty
with roadside recovery :-) but many critics have picked out their
after-sales service as a weakness, and I would suggest they are
determined to make after-sales support second to none in Europe.
Click to expand...
Well, Dell bundle 3 year NBD parts and service worldwide on 2 grand laptops. That would be nice of Sony :)

I think the missing link will always be authorized service centers, of which there are many for C & N, who - usually being dealers - see a closer relationship between customer and repair, and can often be persuaded to run very fast turnarounds. That'll take a while to build up, naturally.
David Kilpatrick said:
Maybe a delay of 2 weeks is needed to get all the documents of the
right type and language into the product boxes, and ensure the
computers are ready to accept the first data. I did ask about this
at my last meeting with Sony in the UK - whether all this would be
ready in the first batch of cameras - and was told (provisionally)
that Sony would ship first, and then catch up with the early
adopters later, once all the new documents and systems were ready.
Click to expand...
So it's not the documents, nor the data systems, that are holding up initial shipment.

Begs the question: what is their weekly manufacture and for how long have they run the lines before release day? Maybe simply not enough inventory at this stage. Nothing new there. Getting a D2X was a PITA even several months after release day.
David Kilpatrick said:
Doesn't stop me being frustrated that the camera will arrive too
late for much important work and miss two magazine deadlines, but 2
weeks delay in the launch to get a superior sales support
infrastructure up and running might be worth it.
Click to expand...
But then here's the rub - the support infrastructure likely doesn't matter in the first two weeks of camera ownership, at least not for real early adopters. A 2 week delay to deal with teething problems is acceptable, that's what everyone has to deal with with a brand new back. However, holding someone's money for no explained reason for an extra two weeks (should they have prepaid) is pretty questionable behavior in my books. Bad indeed if anyone on pre - pay has had a "confirmed" delivery date restated.

2 weeks delay. Sounds like Nikon will have their stalking horse formally announced just about then, whilst Sony prospects not already on the list might stall. Sony out - marketed by Nikon? The shame :)

cheers!
  • kirbs
--
=====================
Bring Back The Mind Of Minolta !
=====================
 
Hi,
StefB said:
Well. I think it's due to marketing efforts: They have to show it
in the shops first,
Click to expand...
According to Alexa (which is an extrapolated sample of a fairly narrow interest base you must remember), this website hovers around the top 500 most visited sites on the internet, and given the choice i'd get members of this site their cameras first :)
StefB said:
All in all it looked to me, as if they got a ready-made
shop-bundle of stuff for display in public.
Click to expand...
Makes sense. Nice to have big homogeneous window / cabinet displays.
StefB said:
Never thought it's possible to get
pretty usable pictures at 1/4s!
Click to expand...
I can't find a link now but Ron Reznick posted some stunning long Tv handhelds with a D2X and a Nikkor 28/1.4 late last year. Most were about 1/10s but there was a 1/4s IIRC in one thread. That's without any SSS/IS/VR/OS or whatever. Wide angle lenses help a lot, but so does great technique and giving up coffee!

cheers!
  • kirbs
--
=====================
Bring Back The Mind Of Minolta !
=====================
 
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