Sony Nex 5 versus Sony Alpha A500, which takes better pics in simple shoot modes?

I like taking photographs of people and street life around Egypt and especially the Red sea and mountain shots. However, I'm not a professional. I have bought the NEX 5 but not used it once yet. However my friend has just returned from a Middle East holiday and used the Sony A500 and her pictures are stunning, also she has never used a digital camera before and she said she never adjusted the lens but just point and shoot. Does anyone own both these cameras or have knowledge to tell me if the Sony A500 picture quality any different to shots taken with a NEX 5 dual lens camera.
I want to have the perfect camera for my next trip as at present I take loads of different cameras and security at Egypt look at me as though I'm daft as I put the cameras on the belt at the Airport. I own IXUS 960, IXUS 1000, Sony W380, NIKON d200, Nex 5, Sony P200, Olympus E410 (nice) and Canon G9, but I find changing settings complicated so I want to take just 1 camera to captivate the beauty of Egypt and be a memory of my holidays. Again, I repeat, I'm thinking of buying Sony A500. Any respectable opinions appreciated

What Nikon Camera is Similar?

I tried out the Canon EOS 5D Mark II and loved it. I use Nikon and have all nikon Equipment. What is the closest I can get to the Mark II camera in Nikon cameras available? I know there have been similar questions about this and I have seen the D7000, D3S and the D700 compared but none of them seem that similar.

Nikon D1 custom settings

I have a D1 with I think the original 1.03 firmware. The shutter and aperture command dial are swapped.
What do I have to do to get the back dial back to being used for the shutter, then the front dial by the lens for the aperture?

Is a Nikon D90's body differnt from a D3, 000's?

I'm thinking of buying a new body for my camera i have the D3, 000 and wanted to get the D90 body is there a different in the bodies? Like are the pictures better?

Nikon d300s: Is it worth the extra $200 over D7000?

It has a 12mp DX sensor, so obviously quality will be a tad better (as well as 14-bit RAW).
But is it worth paying 200 more dollars over the Nikon D7000?

Is the Nikon D300s still a relevant camera?

I'm interested in possibly buying a Nikon D300s and have been for some while now. I know the D7000 is cheaper and arguably better depending on who you talk to, but I personally don't like the D7000 as it feels a little to amateurish for me (personal opinion) in size and settings. I prefer cameras with purely manual settings such as the D300s, and bulkier camera bodies.

I have heard so many rumors of a D400 to be released to replace the D300s but nothing has materialized so far and I'm running out of patience

I want to know what you guys think about the D300s. Can it still compete? If you have one or have used one what do you think?

Flashing green light on nikon d300 camera?

I left my camera on overnight and when i recharged battery, flashing green light on back of camera comes on (cf light?) tried to reset but can't do anything with functions… Any suggestions?

What does the 7000 mean in D7000? Or in any Nikon SLR camera?

I've been trying to google it, but I'm just having no luck figuring out what those numbers mean.

Ex. D90, D7000, D3S

I'm looking to buy a camera?

I'm looking to get a camera
-I'm a beginner in Photography
-I like taking pictures of things outside mostly at sunset or sunrise
-like taking pictures of nature
-prefer Nikon or cannon
-budget of about $600-7
-like color
-Durable
-changeable lenses would be good

*I think it would be really cool if I got a camera that was able to catch lightning, if I got a tripod that is. Also, something durable and not very fragile

Tell me what advise you've got for me, trying to use very simple terms. I'm not an expert and I want this to be a learning experience and photography is a passion and a hobby that I love.

Added (1). I'm looking to buy the Nikon d300

Want to get good noise reduction on my Nikon D200. New camera or tweak the images?

I have a Nikon D200 digital camera; I think the manufacturing date is 2005 or 2006, which is ancient history in terms of DSLRs. This model is known for having high noise. I have really good noise reduction software that seems to take care of it (maybe with some image softening). If I get one of the new generation Nikons that generate less noise, would I get much better results than using my workflow method with my D200, using noise reduction software when needed?