Prosumer" is a word often used about cameras (or other gear) that is targetted for sale to people on the border line between being consumers and professional users.
Prosumer-level cameras are the cameras that were designed with the serious amatuer in mind. Reading this site implies that you have a deeper interest in photography, and if your budget can allow for it, you will find that these cameras will allow you to do some really amazing things!
-personally, if I had only one camera with a non-interchangeable lens, I would choose a lens range of 28-140mm over a 38-380mm as it is far more versatile (as long as you are not into wildlife photography) and wide angle images usually create much better visual impact than long telephotos and you can always crop an image to digitally zoom in but you can never "zoom out".
-in general, the larger the sensor size (in mm, not the megapixels), the lower the noise at high ISO for the same number of megapixels and the narrower the depth of field & thus more pleasant portraits, but the larger the physical size of the lens that is needed.
-in general, the larger the optical zoom range, the more versatile it is but the poorer the image quality is over the whole range, hence for best image quality, settle for a 28-140mm zoom rather than a 35-430mm zoom.
-it also helps if the telephoto end has a fast f-ratio such as f/3.5 as a minimum to make low light photography accessible (eg. for available light portraits).
Although they sometimes look similar to consumer cameras, prosumer (professional-consumer) equipment is packed full of features that serious photographers will love. Prosumer cameras usually have better lenses, higher detail, and much more control over exposure than their cheaper consumer cousins. Medium to high price range
From $500 to over $1000 USD
Compact
It's amazing how much technology is in a prosumer camera. The fact that the camera is totally self-contained (lens, flash, etc) is a big selling point.
High Quality/Resolution
Both the lenses and the digital CCD offer sharp images with great quality. Newer cameras can easily shoot for print publication.
Feature Packed
If anything, there are too many features crammed into the average prosumer camera. For the enthusiast photographer, this kind of camera is deal because it allows much room to grow.
Recommended Cameras
Canon Digital Rebel XT
Canon EOS 30D
Canon PowerShot A430
Canon Powershot A520
Canon Powershot A610
Canon Powershot A620
Canon Powershot S2 IS
Canon Powershot S5 IS
Canon Powershot S80
Canon Powershot SD450
Canon Powershot SD550
Canon PowerShot SD600
Canon PowerShot SD630
Kodak EasyShare C300
Kodak EasyShare C330
Kodak EasyShare DX 4530
Kodak EasyShare V550
Kodak EasyShare Z730
Kodak Easyshare Z740
Nikon Coolpix S1
Nikon D40X
Nikon D50
Olympus E20
Sony Cybershot DSC T9
Sony Cybershot DSCH1
Sony Cybershot DSCN1
Sony Cybershot DSCS90
Sony Cybershot DSCW50
