Professional Minolta Photojournlist back in love again!

First of all I am one of the last holdouts in the digital world. I own a Sony Mavica for general digital work (2mega pix) and have been patiently waiting for Minolta to come to their senses.
I own lots of Minolta AF glass, all the cables flashes and just about everything made. I still use my 800si camera for the important shots, but now with the new addition things are changing.
My test of the Minolta 7D has so far included shooting in the rain, out in the woods, under the worst possible lighting, portrait, and in general places no camera should go.
How did the camera perform? Excellent in just about every situation. Extremely easy to change settings on the run but I am having to learn how to adjust the flash settings.
Lots of knobs and a pretty color screen and the best part is that this feels exactly like the 800si I own and use now.
I did but a one gigabyte card to give me complete freedom in the field and an extra battery which I've yet to use. Seems like the battery life is about the same as the ones in regular cameras or at least close.