Not saying you are 'against Sony' either. And thats fine that Sony DSLRs are not your cup of tea, totally cool that's your freedom. But making advise towards a purchase shouldn't have influence from personal nuance, but rather - technical actual detail. If someone advises me against buying Chevy, I'll ask why, and it should be something more than 'I jus don't like them'.

The A700 is close to target budget used at about $600, the A3/5 series are also close to budget, the A2 is under budget. The A8/9 yeah, not even close, that is true.

Its not good to disparage a brand, rather, to mention specific features and to specifically advise based on actual information.