Photography - Old Hobby

Between my sister Chitchi and my friend Brian M., they both convinced me to restart an old hobby.. photography.  My intent was to get a DSLR that is capable of taking HD videos in addition to still pictures.  After a couple of weeks of looking, handling, and comparing of 3 candidates (Canon T2i, Nikon D3100, and Sony A55) I settled for the Sony.  This camera takes amazing videos (the camera uses what's called Phase Recognition which allows it to focus continuously on the subject and its surroundings) and because Sony had bought out Minolta, I have access and able to use more lenses.  My sister and friend are both 'purists' and will only buy Canon products for their cameras.  Me?  I don't feel the same as they do and can use other lenses.  I'm more concerned on the outcome of the picture than the equipment that produced them.  Now all I have to do is re-acquaint myself to the technical aspects of the hobby..