I recently purchased a new Sony HVR-A1U professional HD cam recorder and right from the box it didn't work properly. The LCD viewer would flash on and off and the audio would only record when it felt like it.

Being that is was brand new I sent it back to Sony to see what was going on with it. A month later they told me it was $1,700 to repair it because water damage isn't covered under warranty. Even after explaining the camera was brand new they insisted the electronic board inside had corrosion on it and I was out of luck.

Not giving up there I contacted the head of Sony marketing where she investigated the matter. It seems that Sony has a lot of issues with their equipment being shipped to the states in container ships which leads to a lot of corrosion on the circuit board. However it is Sony's corp. position to deny repairs under warranty for this defect. They offered me a new camera for $1,600 (their wholesale price) but still refused to replace it under warranty. I have also talked to several other people who sought repairs on their Sony cams and were also told water damage was not covered even though the cams never came close to water.

Has anyone else on here expirenced this issue with Sony equipment? Has anyone had to send a camera in for repair in the past? I am wondering what brand is the best when it comes to honoring warranties and not getting the run around.

Thanks

Doug