Is the sony h7 enough?

New to the forum and to the photography world for the most part. I’ve been doing some research on the Sony H7 or 9 (not sure if the adjustable LCD is worth it) and believe its going to be my new camera. Just wanted to see if it truly is as good as I think it is. From what I’ve read and heard, there are no major flaws or complaints. My only concern is that I’ll make this purchase, slightly fewer than $400, and decide I truly would prefer an SLR. I messed around w/ a buddy’s Olympus SLR and like the functionality of the manual mode, mainly the f-stop and shutter speeds. Are these options with the H7, is there a manual mode?

Any thoughts or opinions are appreciated as I’d like to get a new camera very soon. I'm open to other options if anyone has one in mind. By the way, most of my pictures will be of my son, vehicles and still scenery. Thanks in advance.

Does anyone know if there is a manual mode at all on the H7?

There is a manual mode on the H7. I just bought the camera a month ago and I'm very impressed with it. Three things that I'm not impressed with though are: spare battery and memory cards for this camera are horrendously expensive. I dunno where you are but here in South Africa it's really out of whack. Canon batteries and SD cards are much, much cheaper. The Sony battery life seems to be much shorter than AA rechargables. I could shoot for days on end with my Canon S3 while Sony seems to last at most a day or two! Personally I'm still wondering if I shouldn't have rather taken the new Canon S5. Aw well, live and learn... In all fairness, the Sony H7 is otherwise an excellent camera. I'm not dissapointed that I purchased it.

There is a manual mode.