Your First A-Mount Camera

If we'd asked this question back in 2006 I bet a huge majority would have answered Minolta or Konica-Minolta.

6 years on, how have things evolved? When Sony picked up the moribund mount they had to appeal to that small but loyal base of Minolta users, and at the same time build, build, build a new user-base of "Sony Natives".

Where do you fall? When did you first get involved in the mount? What were your reasons? And if you're a "Sony Native", was the Minolta heritage important to you?

We'd love to see your answers in poll form as well as a little history of your relationship to the mount in the thread itself. I'll start:

I bought my first SLR of any sort in 2008. It was a Sony alpha200. I chose it because the guy at the electronics store said "you can have access to more lenses with this camera because you can use all the old Minolta lenses of the last 25 years." I knew nothing about cameras but it sounded like a compelling argument. Plus the kit zoom went all the way out to 70mm instead of 55 for Canon and Nikon. 4.5 years and tens of thousands of images later (I retired the alpha200 in 2009 the day the 850 became available) I'm happy with the choice I made; I wouldn't, in fact, have it any other way...

A100, I sold it to a co-worker about two years ago.

A100 in 2006.

Bought a Minolta 7000i back in 1988 just after my first couple of proper paychecks.
Picked up a 700si and an 800si 2nd hand in later years.
Then there was the long wait for Minolta to go digital; Canon and Nikon were already selling DSLRs and everyone was jumping ship. I took the gamble instead and picked up a whole load of lenses very cheaply on ebay And was rewarded with the Konica-Minolta 7d later (and SSS with all my lenses ) and then Sony ever since culminating in my A900 which I love.

My dad bought a brand new Maxxum 7000i in the late 80's to photograph the family and childhood. And that camera has been part of the family ever since.

Today that 7000i is overshadowed by my own personal Maxxum 7 film body, my Sony a700 I bought in the summer of 2008, and my a55 I bought when it first came out.

I dream for a fullframe digital body someday, but the pricepoint is still too high right now (a99).

I never see myself changing systems just because a new body doesn't meet my expectations. People who do that waste so much energy.

In 2006 - KM 5D

Film 505si in the late 90s (sold), film Dynax 7 a couple of years later (still have it), 7D in 2006 (purchased used, still have it), A700 in 2011 (purchased used, still have it), A77 just arrived (purchased also used). Between the Dynax 7 and the 7D I went digital with the Dimage A1, first waiting for the Minolta DSLR and then waiting for the prices to drop.