Have had a Minolta DIMAGE 1500EX for just over a year. It produces far better photos than I ever got with my various film cameras - mind you, I'm a useless photographer.
It WAS about a grand when it first came to market but you can now get them for about 300 GBP. One thing though, invest in a larger CF card - the supplied 8 Mb card will only give you about 5 shots at best resolution.