Check out Sony's new 8-megapixel Digicam, the Sony DSC-F828 (http://www.pcworld.com/news/article/0,aid,112018,00.asp). A preview can be found here (http://www.dpreview.com/articles/sonydscf828/).

It's supposed to be pretty nice, 8 MP and their new 4 color chip (RGBE). I can't wait to try one out.

damn...maybe i should wait for that to come out? hmmmm....

I'm looking forward to its movie mode capabilities.. It shoots 640x480 at 30 fps. The spec sheet on
http://www.dpreview.com/news/0308/03081502sonydscf828.asp

says the camera does MPEG-1. Hmmm. I've seen MPEG and MJPEG interchanged on digital camera spec sheets before.
No mention is made of the audio that is recorded with these movies. I don't see a jack for audio input.

MPEG-1 can be played on almost any computer. But at best it might have VHS quality, maybe worse because of the compression. I wouldn't expect any audio inputs on a still camera.

Well, I've been waiting for this particular camera since August, and now it appears the November release date is pushed back to January--damn.

Has anyone seen any actual images from the camera, or any new information on the release (or why it was delayed); or thoughts on the competition in the meantime (Minolta DiMAGE A1, for instance)?

I think it was someone on photo.net that posted some released images from the new Sony. I remember Sony had a few images up on one of their sites, can't recall. Yeah I know it's a "consumer" cam, but I think they tried packing too many pixels into that little chip. Noise is apparent even at slow ISO's, from the shots I have saw. But then again, I've been called "picky" at least a couple times. Hopefully if there is a noise issue, Sony can find a way to remedy it before they release it, unlike some other company <sneeze>Nikon</sneeze>.

For movie mode, the specs for the best movie mode do read 640x480 pixels at 30 fps, which exceeds MPEG-1 resolution.
But you're right, I'm not sure of the compression quality.
So, I doubt it's really MPEG1. Also, this higher end movie mode
needs the higher end flash card.

From the spec sheets:
640 x 480, 30 fps, no limit *
640 x 480, 16 fps, no limit
160 x 112, 8 fps, no limit
* Can only be used with MS Pro

Way before I ever had any interest in digital video I was into digital still photography. I worked my way up to a...at the time I bought it 2 years ago...a $2000 dollar Nikon D100. Not saying everyone should spend that much but I ask you to consider other digital cameras.

Sony DSC-F828 will be $1000

a "WAY" better camera...Canon EOS-10D can be bought for about $1300 right now and is rated as the one of the BEST prosumer digital SLRs out there. Not only is the Canon SLR much more universal but it can also be used in the simple point and shoot auto mode just as easily as the sony. Everything about the camera is going to better...true manual focus, MINIMUM shutter lag(the amount of time you wait between pictures), focus issues, camera start time, I could go on all day. If you want to go cheaper canon made a camera with the same 6 megapixel cmos sensor thats in the EOS-10d in a Rebel body style SLR that sells for a mere $899. Nikons D100 is now available for $1300 and I must say its an AMAZING camera. Nikon is also coming out with a digital slr that is pointed toward the money conscience buyer with a 6 megapixel slr D70 for around $7-800.
Now you saw the sony has 8 megapixel the canon has 6 sony is better. Not saying you don't know what it means, probably many of you on here know more than I do about still photography...but in case you don't. Basically, more megapixel allows you to "blow up" the picture. For example, with a 3inch by 3 inch photo, a 3 megapixel cam will look JUST as good as a 12 megapixel camera. Its when you start to blow the picture up when you notice artifacts/pixelating. Trust me, my 6 megapixel camera prints a 14x14 picture beautifully! Another thing about the 8 megapixel is its stuffed onto the small 2/3 sensor used with the older 5 megapixel camera raising question about the new chip.with this size chip and resolution the pixel pitch (distance between pixels) is just 2.7 µm, extremely small and raises questions of noise and sensitivity. so all I ask is that you research the new digital SLRs as they are sooooooo much better in every aspect and just as easy if not easier to learn still photography on than a point and shoot like the sony 828. thanks