It is true that Joe Average goes for a well known name nine times out of ten but for once I will defend Sony. I've used a lot of Sony video equipment, pro equipment mostly. I've worked in video and DVD since 2000 on and off. I'm a Sony trained DVD author and have used Sony cameras, SP Beta recorders, Digital Beta recorders, video and audio encoders etc. and I have found all of them bar none to be of exceptional quality.
That said, I hate the way they screwed Nintendo, Lik-Sang and most of all, the very customers they sell products to. Sony pro equipment often has custom connections and the leads cost, well to be honest, astronomical amounts of cash. If I was going to buy a camcorder today this would probably stop me handing my cash over to Sony.