Well, certainly some very insightful and varying opinions!

I would say that it all comes down to your level of expertise and comfort level behind a camera.

Art Smith, a friend of mine who is a D.P. and seasoned wildlife photographer for National Geographic, National Wildlife Federation and U.S. Forest Service, relies exclusively on the Canon XL1S because with it he is able to use his LEICA Modul telephoto zoom lens (s-w-e-e-e-e-t- lenses!) and the P+S Technik Mini35Digital adaptor.

Steve Garfield, also a friend of mine, shoots exclusively with the Canon GL2 and is capable of producing some very painterly nature images with the GL2's 20X Optical Flourite-coated "L" lens. Here are some examples: http://homepage.mac.com/stevegarfiel...ting-Cards.jpg

So again, different cameras for different folks!

(PSSSSSSSSST: Don't forget to take a nice, long and intimate demo at your local photovideo store with the new Canon Optura Xi. For those who require an extremely small and *low-profile* footprint while still maintaining a very high degree of image quality. http://canondv.com/opturaxi/f.html Check out the new 2.0 megapixel "16:9 High Resolution Mode"... now that's a whole lot of camera for the $1100 price range! Can't wait until Canon makes the Optura Xi demo footage available, unbelievable footage from a handycam.)

- don