Note: Keep in mind, when I say "best" what I'm really talking about is image quality (which I'm also taking lenses HIGHLY into consideration), color processing, etc., etc. I do know that personal preference plays a big if not the biggest role in deciding which camera is
"best". c: Thanks for your help!!

Hi! I've been practicing photography for six years now, most primarily fashion photography, and I plan on going to school for it later this year. Currently, I use an Olympus E500, which is a nice little camera, but has its own share of disadvantages, especially for what I want to do.

Image quality, and the ability to come out with large prints, is a big thing I am considering. I am also taking lenses into HUGE consideration, as well as the opportunities each brand offers.

I have been looking so far at the Nikon D90 (was looking also at the D300 but I think I've decided it's a little too much for me...), the Canon EOS 50D, and, finally, as recommended to me by a professional who does a little work in this field, the Sony a850. I discussed this option with another working professional in an entirely different setting who agreed that would probably be the best set-up I could get, especially for my dollar. For starters, Sony does offer a few technical things that I could really use, such as their patented slaving external flashes to work in a similar way to strobes, their rotating hotshoe flashes, and the a850 has a really cool, very simplistic, straight-forward set-up, which would be ideal, since I don't really want to deal with all the crap I won't ever be using. cx

However, I recently got into an argument with a couple people who have been pushing for me to go with Nikon, although I'm not really sure who I should listen to, since I'm pretty certain the people giving me the advice are NOT professionals, and in some areas, I'm not one-hundred percent positive that they know exactly what they're talking about. However, everyone's opinion is valid, especially when they've worked hands-on with the equipment. I know very little about Sony since their SLR line literally just came out, and that is also something that scares me a little.

I just need something with good color, the ability to do huge resolution photos, preferably full frame (which is another thing that I was told: that the Sony a850 is about as close to a medium-format camera as I can get without it actually being medium-format, which would be ideal... I need a camera I can take to school with me and use for quite a while before progressing to the next step), and good image quality. xDD I bet this is what everyone's looking for, though...

Here's what the arguers have said about my being interested in Sony:
(Keeping in mind that for the time being, I *am* doing small-scale...)

"Sounds like you might want to get some new advisers. The Sony might not be a bad camera to do small-scale fashion work (at least no worse than any other consumer dSLR), but the vast majority of pro fashion photographers shoot MF."

"Another problem with Sony,they arent that popular. It may be not a problem for some ppl, but lets say in my country you wont find reliable source to buy those glasses, and ofc, price is much higher."

"I think a used Canon 5D ($1500 for EX+) is IMHO the best "deal" in full frame 35mm digital currently available."

Anyway, if anyone could shed a little light onto the subject, it would be GREATLY appreciated... after all, as we all know, dSLRs aren't exactly the cheapest things on the market, and I'd really like to get as many opinions as I can before I go out and buy another.