Ask Camcorders

I need some advice on choosing my next digital camera. Right now I own a Sony point and shoot, and while it takes good pictures, down the road after I move I’m ready to upgrade to something better, especially since I have a nice powerful MacBook Pro that’s capable of doing more.

I’m also realizing that I may not be able to get one device that “does all”. I may have to purchase a combination of devices to get exactly what I need. Below I will post my needs, as well as the choices of camera types I’m looking at (although I’m not sure about model numbers AT ALL. ANY help would be MUCH APPRECIATED!).

My photography needs are as follows: I need something that will take excellent photography, especially in terms of scenery. I want a camera with excellent picture quality. I also need something that shoots HD video. Not sure if I can get this in a camera or if I should invest in a separate video camera for this feature. RAW shooting would be a nice plus, but it wouldn’t be required if I can find one that shoots in JPEG at as good of quality. I’d like something smaller and lighter so it’d be easy to carry, but if quality would be better, than I’d settle for bigger (like a DSLR. I could even go a combo route and get both a point and shoot and DSLR). Removable lenses is something that would be nice, but again, not required. I’d also like to be able to geotag my shots, and this could be done either in camera or with a separate card that does the geotagging. I wouldn’t care either way how it works.
Here’s what I have to choose from. I would like to know which one (or combination of these) would be ideal for me. As for brands I’m considering Nikon on a digital camera, and if I went with a video camera probably a Panasonic since Apple and Macworld have given them good ratings. DEFINITELY NOT SONY:

Compact Point and Shoot (similar to what I have now, only more updated with all the new features)

Advanced Point and Shoot (larger, probably higher quality pictures, just without the manual controls of a DSLR, some offer RAW)

DSLR (larger, manual controls, high picture quality, removable lenses, RAW shooting, not compact)

If I needed a video camera, here are my choices:

HD Camcorder-Tapeless/AVCHD (I would need something that’s not too large so that I could take it on trips. I want tapeless since it’s becoming the new standard and it’s easier to manage, AVCHD format since my Mac handles it well, definitely shooting in full HD)

HD Camcorder-Flip Mini Style (the small, compact, flip mini-style camcorders. They shoot in full HD, but I’m just not sure if they’d do the job for weather reports or not)

Now onto software. Currently I use iLife ‘09 for my photo/video editing on my Mac. iPhoto and iMovie are great for cataloging and editing my photos and videos, but I probably could use a little more. Here’s my choices in photo/video software. Any I purchase would be the Mac version. Any suggestions here would be appreciated.

Photo Editors:
Photoshop Elements (good for editing point and shoot and non-RAW photos)

Photoshop CS Extended (the advanced version of Photoshop for Mac. I’d get a deep student discount)

Adobe Lightroom (another pro photo editor from Adobe. It’s had good reviews)

Aperture (Apple’s pro photo editor. It’s had excellent reviews. Not sure if I would need that alone or combined with an Adobe package)

Video Editors:

Final Cut Express (pro video editor, step up from iMovie, not sure if its worth it or if I should save my money for a student license for Final Cut Studio, WHICH IS PRICEY)

Adobe Premier (Adobe’s video editor)

Any help, advice, or suggestions would be much appreciated!