I own the Sony a-230. I bought the camera about three years ago since I wanted to get into digital photography and did not want to have a point and shoot. I like the camera except for one very annoying point. Many times when I change lenses I get a message: "Lens not attached shutter locked". When this happens, I have to clean the mount and the pins in the body of the camera. I was told by the dealer that I should be more fastidious about cleaning the mounts. When I told the same dealer that I was still having the problem, he suggested that it would not be worth sending to Sony since the a230 is a "disposable item". I know that it is an entry level DSLR sold with kit lenses 18-55 and I bought the 70-300. Still, at around $500 for the camera and 18-55 lens, I don't consider them to be "disposables". I am interested in purchasing the A-77 and getting upgraded lenses; but there are many manufacturers that have competitive products. I do like the translucent mirror technology and the fps is pretty impressive. I am worried about the build quality, though, based on the experience I had with the a-230. The only reason I am still thinking Sony is that the a-77 is certainly not an entry level camera and I would hope that the build quality would be better. So, I'm not sure where to go from here. Hope this is information that you can use.