One of the features I think I'll like(tell me if I'm wrong) is the sony memory stick. I already own a Vaio R505 Laptop which comes with the stick drive standard...so no additional drive, card, or cables would be needed...

The fact that the camera uses memory sticks is not a good reason to buy it. Memory sticks are generally lower capacity and more expensive that compact flash.

If you have a laptop with a free PC card slot then all you need is a PC card adapter for the CF card. If you don't have a free slot then there are plenty of tiny USB card readers, so don't let that put you off.

N.B. I'm not saying that you shouldn't buy a camera that takes memory sticks, just that I wouldn't see taking memory sticks as an advantage over CF.