Thomas skrev:

One camera is enough for me :-). But the choice is indeed rather
limited.

When the 7d was relased I was a bit turned down by the though of
investing the price in a 6 mpixel camera. So I waited for a potential 9d
with 8 for a while but realized it was going to be a longshot. Started
searching for used RD-175 just to have something digital but the price
people were asking for that piece of slow, first gen dslr put me off. I
hope it was collectors that actually bought them.

But I'm getting a bit tired of waiting for a new 7d now.

Absolutely, I have the 500si super, which is certainly a nice camera,
but has a very lightweight build. Luckily, the 5d I have now is of much
better build quality than the 500si. So unless you need a vertical grip
(which is only available for the 7d), you should actually be fine with
the 5d.

I love the vertical grip of my 700si. not sure if I need it that bad but
it was a charm to be able to use AA batteries and have the controls on
the flipside.

The A100 is a nice upgrade for the pixel count, but it comes at
slightly more noise and with the ugly SONY logo. I agree with you that
the price is a bit high. There is some speculation that Sony is going
to launch a better camera early next year, which would probably let the
price of the A100 drop a bit.

They possibly saved the Minolta heritage. That alone should be worth
living with that Logo

But if Sony is planning on a 7d -replacement next year it's not going to
make me buying a camera now any easier. But I do have a slightly used
a100 on hand for US$815. But I'm afraid the noise will annoy me. My
greatest Minolta Moments was with ISO 50 Agfa Ultra and ISO 25 Kodak
Royal Gold (You are truly truly missed!) - So I'm a bit picky.

If you to low light shots, the 5d and 7d might have a slight edge
because of the lower noise. In just about any other aspect, the A100
should have the edge. But only you know whether that is worth the
additional money.

The worst thing is that if sony is planning on releasing a new camera,
they better tell me if they're going to use the same sensor but with
better build (as the 5d is vs the 7d) or use another sensor with
possibly less noise. I wouldn't mind paying the inital price of the 7d
for a 7d replacement.

But I do also have high hopes for the Carl Zeiss Vario-Sonnar T* DT
16-80 F3.5-4.5 - But that is not out for another 3 months either. I
really need something to replace my trusty old Minolta 24-50mm f4 lense
as standard zoom (because that'll be 36-75mm, which isn't exactly as
wide as I like it. But few lenses I've tried have come close to beeing
as linear and as sharp on the wide end as that one) - or is it anyone
really good i've missed?