Barry, this is directed to you since you are one of the few who has actually had intimate contact with this camera. I have ordered a 500 with the Canon 16x (w/o 2x because it's lighter and I handhold - and I'm old) and the Dionic 90 batteries, all from Ables.

First: How's the viewfinder? It's a 1.5" B&W 4x3, which seems pathetic somehow - but it is a CRT. Were you satisfied with it? Or do I need to spring for one of the available 900 finders? (another 2 grand - ouch - I'd rather spend it on more cards).

Second: Why do these things use so much power (2-3 hours on a D90) when there are no moving parts?.. Do they get excessively hot? (That's where power usually goes) - I realize that in your Beta testing location you would have welcomed some warmth - but not always... May sound like a stupid question, but I am curious.

(Edit/added an hour or so later) Also, I notice that there are only two (2) user-set WB presets, but apparently no 3200k or 5600k built in presets or filters.. Is that the case?

First: How's the viewfinder? It's a 1.5" B&W 4x3, which seems pathetic somehow - but it is a CRT. Were you satisfied with it?
Not really. It's better than an LCD, but it's a standard-def CRT; I believe it's the same one used on the XDCAM-HD cams. It's fair to middlin'. A true HD viewfinder would obviously be better but a lot more expensive.

However, with the focus assist I found it completely acceptable. It's not like the VF on the HDX900, no, but with the focus assist it does an adequate job. And hey, it's free, so definitely try it out before you decide.

Second: Why do these things use so much power (2-3 hours on a D90) when there are no moving parts?.. Do they get excessively hot? (That's where power usually goes)
I wouldn't say "excessively" hot, but yeah it does get warm. And remember, everything in the cam is working 6x as hard as it used to in SD; you're shoveling around a 2-million-pixel frame through the DSP and that means it's six times as much as our old standard-def processors had to work.

(Edit/added an hour or so later) Also, I notice that there are only two (2) user-set WB presets, but apparently no 3200k or 5600k built in presets or filters.. Is that the case?
You can set the white balance preset in the menu and assign it to one of the switches, so yes you do have one-button press access to 3200k or 5600k.