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Sony Alpha 700 vs Canon 40D?

I am trying to purchase a DSLR camera for my wife this Christmas and have narrowed down the models to either the Sony Alpha 700 or the Canon 40D. From what I have read online so far, I've found 5 good points about the Sony vs only 2 good points about the Canon.

Sony's good point: (1) Accepts both MemoryStick and Compact Flash (2) 3" LCD has 922K pixels vs Canon's 230K (3) Image Stabilization is built into the body allowing the lens to be cheaper (4) 12.2Megapixel on Sony vs 10.1 on Canon (5) Sony uses a 11pt auto focus vs Canon's 9pt auto focus

Canon's good point: (1) High-speed continuous photos at 6.5 frames per second vs Sony's 5fps (2) Canon has "Live View" allowing photographer to take images via the LCD vs Sony does not.

Pricing issue aside, would someone with knowledge of either the Sony Alpha700 or the Canon 40D please provide feedback.

Thank you

Twotruths says...
The idea that the "40D is more higher-end" is a tad bit misleading and misinformed.

Both cameras have their pros and cons, and the 40D certainly does not have more "complex features and controls".

The user interface on the A700 is better designed and more ergonomically friendly, in particular it is also faster and more efficient. That does not make it "less higher-end", it means it is BETTER.

Canon has only just added a wireless flash controller, requring you buy the specific flash which it works with, whereas Sony & Minolta have always had wireless flash built into all of their dSLRs (plus several Minolta film SLRs) and flashes.

The 40D has a burst speed of up to 6.5fps (for 1/60sec shutter speeds or above), however the Sony A700 supports UDMA memory cards. Even with a 133x speed memory card it is twice as quick at storing pictures to your memory card, and with any of the 266x or 300x speed cards it is three to four times faster than the 40D.

That means, if you are shooting a few RAW or a lot of JPEGs then the 40D will stop dead, whilst the A700 will keep shooting.

The A700 has light weatherproofing over all the controls and compartment doors, whereas the 40D only has (even lighter) weatherproofing over the compartment doors NOT the controls.

The 40D has liveview, except that you can only autofocus with the live view switched off, and you have to guess when you have a focus lock because the camera does not return to liveview mode once lock is obtained.

The A700 has anti-shake (Super SteadyShot), giving you image stabilisation for all lenses you use. This includes all prime lenses, second hand lenses, and third-party lenses. They have even improved the shutter/mirror mechanism, and used a high quality shutter release button (far better than on the 40D) in order to reduce shake caused whenever you take a photo.

The 40D and A700 both have impressive vertical grips available. The 40D's one has wireless, whereas the one for the A700 is better designed as an actual vertical grip. (It's controls mirror properly the controls on the camera's horizontal grip, and the grip is better built and more ergonomic to use.)

The A700 has a AF illuminator built in, whilst the 40D relies on a flash pulse to autofocus in lowlight.

The A700 has Dynamic Range Optimisation, four times the resolution on the LCD, has a HDMI port for on-the-spot demonstrations of your photos, and has a wireless remote included in the box. The 40D has interchangeable focus screens.

As for a higher-end Pro dSLR, the Sony one is due out at early next year (probably to be announced at PMA 2008).