sorry to spread negativity again, i'm hoping that if i repeat myself enough people will start listening.
when buying cameras, YOU AND ONLY YOU will be able to decide what you want to buy.
everytime i see a thread regarding what camera to buy, if it is asking about dslr, people will tell them buy mark III, d3. then others will tell them buy 350d, d40x, d80, secondhand d70. end up, NO ONE GAINS, other than the post count on everyone's counter going up.
when asking about prosumer, then people will just quarrel about pros and cons of the prosumer choices listed. then others will come in and say WHY NOT BUY DSLR, NOW CHEAP CHEAP, ignoring the fact that prosumers have pros (as well as cons) over dslrs. it's the same old story over and over again and i suppose, on my next birthday when i blow out the candles i will make a wish that clubsnappers learn this as a group eventually.
i could tell you the pros and cons of panny and sony in one shot from my viewpoint, is it going to be holistic? no! because what most people are pushing here is based on what they read on dpreview and imaging resource. do you think everyone has the time and money to actually try out both prosumers? absolutely not. in fact, i have already listed down the pros and cons of the 2 brands in terms of prosumer in my prosumer thread, which happens to be stickied and still relevant. i'm always wondering what the use of stickies are, but i think and tell myself, so long as a sticky has a chance of stopping someone from posting up YET ANOTHER THREAD on such matters, it has served its purpose.
UNLIKE LOTR, THERE IS NO ONE RING TO RULE THEM ALL. BUT, THERE IS A CAMERA THAT WILL WORK FOR YOU, BECAUSE YOU ARE WILLING TO ACCEPT THE COMPROMISES. and yes, every bloody camera has a compromise, even if you are paying $100,00000000 for it. as of today. 2000 years down the road? i won't be too sure then. but i am sure of this today.
so please, make use of sites like IMAGING RESOURCE, DPREVIEW. They are theoretically going to offer you a much more balanced view of the camera choices you are asking, and will not tell you to buy DSLR if you are asking about prosumers. Everyone just loves pushing their brands.Even I do it sometimes too. STANDARD ADVICE ONCE AGAIN : GO DOWN TO THE SHOPS AND FEEL THE CAMERA, THEY WILL NOT STOP YOU FROM TOUCHING CAMERAS. you can even bring your sd cards to shoot and all that. and review the shots at home, if the sample pictures from imaging resource and dpreview are not solid enough for you.
because asking here, frankly, imho, does not help. you will never ever get a solid answer, just a mixture of feedbacks which will confuse you further, and in some cases you end up from asking about a p&s to buying a dslr. which is really stupid, because it means that you have no idea what you are doing and what you want out of life/photography. which makes it really sad as well.
