OK now to hear from the Sony side. I have the F707 and I truly love it. I would trade it for a D1X if I have the money however. Also I like the new 35mm CCD's in the newer DSLR's. An advantage to the D100 is that it should use most of your Nikon lenses and that is VERY important to me. Having gone from a Pentax K1000 that I had years ago to nothing for years (a brief time with a point and shoot Olympus digi) then to the Sony and a Nikon N6006 I have to say that for the Prosumer type camera the Sony rocks. Like Michelle I want to give you a list of pros and a list of cons as well to the F77 series. Pros: 1. Price 2. 5 MP 3. Is consider High-End Consumer/Prosumer Level camera 4. Manual Mode, Aperture Priority mode, or Shutter Priority Mode as well as full Auto. Oh and you can take 15 sec. Video too. 5. 5 Optical Zoom (plus 2 digital but I never use it) 6. Although it is odd looking it is very comfortable to use and I find it more natural than my traditionally shaped Nikon 7. The Zeiss lens is outstanding in its construction and focus. 8. Durable. I have banged it, dropped it at hockey games, had it slide off the seat in the car. It still works perfectly. Cons: 1. Memory Sticks are expensive and only go up to 512meg. However i do find the transfer rate when downloading rather fast. 2. Somewhat slow write time so in order to take 3 fast shots you have to set the camera to "Burst" Mode. 3. In the 707 there is an issue with Reds being a bit blown out. I am told this is not an issue with the 717 but I don't have first hand knowledge there. 4. Fixed Lens. I love the versatility I have with my Nikon simply with the changing of the lenses. If I could use the body of the Sony with my Nikor interchangeable lenses, I would be happier than a pig in sht. There are far more pros than cons. To be honest for me, these are the only cons at all and I can work around all of them except the fixed lens with little effort. I truly love my F707. I have attached a link to my web site, which is 95% shot taken with my Sony. The other 5% are from my Olympus. You be the judge of the quality of shot. I can get the same sharpness, color and clarity when printing too. Would I re-purchase another Sony? Not if I had the chance to buy a full body D-SLR. The flexibility, range of focus with multiple lenses and the ability to control every aspect of the shot and output with a digital darkroom (and lack of dealing with chemicals) just can't be beat. Photoshop is a must have in order to complete your setup like Misha said, but once you have the tools you need you will be unstoppable! On a side note, I looked at the Minolta too and it felt too toy like to me. I like a heavy camera that is solid and durable. I can't say the D-Image isn't durable because I don't know, But I do know that I have made other shooters cringe when I have dropped my Sony and it just keeps going! i like the feel and weight of the Sony and my Nikon, both are built like tanks. Magick Michael