CMoore, I am in agreement with almost everything you wrote. The sole exception is I would prefer the SRT-101 over the 202. The reason being that almost all 101s have a mirror lock-up function, whereas the 202 does not. I'm not all that acquainted with the various XG models, but I do know that some of them will not meter in manual mode, making them almost worthless to me. I wouldn't give it to a photography student, however. Not doing them any favors.
The X-570 is the real sleeper among the X-series ranks. It may not have the X-700's program mode, but it is a real pleasure to use in manual and is a better camera than the X-700 in that regard.. It is for similar reasons that the A-series Canons are not as effective in manual mode as the X-570. With Canon, choices are slim. The old FTb and origina F-1, New F-1, and the rather obscure AT-1 are the only FD Canons that have fully coupled meters like the X-570.
I would probably be more enthusiastic about Minolta and my X-570 and XD-11 if I had a larger collection of Minolta lenses, but I don't yet. I have a large collection of Tamron lenses, which makes up for the shortfall by a significant amount..Like you, I cut my teeth on A-series Canons and I've subsequently accumulated a rather large collection of FD glass. And even though I prefer using my F-1s and FTbs over my A-1 and AE-1P, I will not sell my A-series Canons because of their historical significance and importance.
