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Anonymous
I used a friend's prosumer super-zoom (Sony DSC-H1) two weeks ago, and I was actually pretty impressed. It had a few features that actually beat anything in my own camera bag (FE2, F100, D40). It had great image stabilization, something that only comes with specific, individual lenses on an SLR. It had movie mode, which is sometimes fun just for shits and giggles. It had a 432mm lens; the closest I had was my 80-200. The biggest benefit was definitely portability, though. As much power as interchangeable lenses give you, you also have to physically take them everywhere you go. I could carry that little Sony essentially in my pocket; it wasn't some 3-4 pound brick hanging off my neck like the F100.
Prosumers suck because: limited aperture. they all only go to f/8. Big problem if you want depth of field. Myself, I never shoot past f/8 anyway, but it could be a big consideration. They also have wimpy wide angle options; most don't zoom out past 36mm, unless you want to go buy a cheapo wide angle adapter that'll work about 3 times worse than a dedicated lens.
prosumers rock because: lots of great options already built in, portability, low price that stays low (a $600 D40 turns expensive real fast after flash, more lenses, etc.), and an overall simplified approach to taking pictures. I also don't see anything here on /p/ that couldn't have been taken with a prosumer camera.
If I were to buy a prosumer, I would get something with a flash hotshoe (the Canon Powershot S3 has one) to really open up your options for lighting. I would also definitely get something with mechanical image stablization (avoid "digital IS", that just means the camera bumps up the ISO to get a faster shutter speed). The Fuji doesn't have either of these, so look for something that does. They'll make a big difference in the long run.
oh, and food for thought. Ken rockwell ftw. http://kenrockwell.com/tech/150-vs-5000-dollar-camera.htm
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