Over the years I've tested software and the companies behind that software.  I've tested products and I've learned that if someone has something to sell you they are usually willing to lie to you about it.  The worse the product or service is the more they lie.  If you figure them out the quicker they are to loose their temper and blame the customer.

This is a warnings page of companies that do things they shouldn't do and you should be aware of that before you do business with them.

Sonic Cameras
soniccameras.com sells cameras and camera equipment.  The prices they advertise are way below wholesale.  Ever heard the saying if it sounds to good to be true it probably is?  This is the case with Sonic Cameras on line.

This company lists a camera at less than half the cost of the camera.  Usually hardware like this, best dealer price is half of retail.  Let's say you are buying a new HDR-SR12 Sony video camera.  Let's say that camera lists at $1,399.  Half that will be around $700.  Sonic lists this camera right now around $599 (below half).  If this were for real the only way they could do this is to buy cameras literally by the boat load.  Even then they wouldn't make a dime on the sale of that camera at this price in which case they would go out of business fairly soon.  What's the deal?  The deal is their misrepresentation of the products they sell.

When you buy this camera or any Sony camera it comes with certain necessities like a battery, battery charger and cables.  You assume they are selling you the package just like Sony would, in the box complete but the truth is this company doesn't do that.  They list individual items out of the box.  Once you think you have everything you need on your order there's one thing you won't have and that's the $200 battery charger!

So up until this point you think you are still getting $200 off what you would get at the store.  The next thing they do is send you a conformation message to your Email address.  This conformation message does not give you a list of the things you are getting.  All reputable businesses will send you an invoice style list in your conformation Email.  Sonic Cameras will not do this because they do not want you to know they are scamming you.

You read the message and see the phone number to call to confirm the order.  You call and they start trying to run the bill up even higher by pushing other items at you that you either don't want or things you thought came with the camera.  Then they tell you "don't you want the battery charger?"  "You must have the $200 battery charger!"

So I said "they come with a battery charger" and the guy says "Ours don't."  All the red flags went up at that moment as I know all Sony cameras come with a battery charger from Sony.  So I told the guy I know they do and even so I've got a battery charger that will charge the camera.  He insisted that I don't, but the truth is I did and do.  In fact now I have two of them.

When I told him this he insisted the battery charger for this camera was different from the other Sony cameras using the same battery.  He lied!  I knew he was lying but now I have proof he was lying.

Here's a list of the things Sonic lied about.

Q>  I asked if this camera could use an older Handycam light on the hot shoe.
A> Yes it can.
T> 
No it can't! The new HDR-SR cameras use a digital hot shoe and older lights will not work on these cameras.  They lied or didn't know their product well enough to sell it.

Q> Is the battery charger different?
A> Yes it is different than HDR-SR11
T>
No it isn't. In fact the same charger that charges most of the NP Sony batteries is the same.

They say they have 100% customer satisfaction and this is also false advertising.

They advertise very high prices on other lenses such as their wide angle and telephoto telling you these expensive lenses are in titanium but they aren't.  The trick is they have good lenses and cheap ones.  When you buy their packages they throw in all kinds of cool sounding cheap things like cheap plastic lenses.  When you see their high prices on the metal and glass lenses you get the idea you are getting a fantastic deal when you buy the package.  These are carnival trinkets people, their worthless.  The other thing is you can go to your local video store and by the good metal and glass lens attachments for under $100.  For example.  Sonic lists one telephoto lens at $599.  You can buy the same lens at your video store for around $60-$70.

Another thing you should know is the lens threads in the camera are very delicate.  You don't want a lens attachment that's stronger than the threads on your camera.  Some people tend to over tighten these things and ruin their camera threads.  It's better to run the lens than the camera.

When it became clear to their sale's person "Robert" that I knew more about cameras and these products than he knew he became angry and told me that my order was canceled.  For which I thanked him.  I would have regretted buying anything from SonicCameras.com for the rest of my life.