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Good to know. I've never done much proper fine finishing, and my knowledge of sanding is pretty basic as a result (which feels quite embarrassing considering how long I've been making things out of wood for my job).
Realistically I shouldn't be dropping £300 on a sander right now, but the prospect of buying something, only to need something different in a year or twos time is always on my mind. I've never really regretted buying expensive tools, and I've always cursed myself when I've cheaped out. That being said, buying a Makita sander for £100 isn't going to be a waste.
CSB I know. I'm shit at buying tools, too indecisive!
Nef-
It's a whole different ball game. I've really only dipped my toes in the water. I was asked to refinish a veneered dining table and that was a pretty steep learning curve. When you look at French polishing there are lots of new materials and techniques that most joiners or carpenters might not be focussed on.
When you use an random orbital sander on wood you create a million little scratches running across the grain. Impossible to get rid of at a very fine level even with a very fine grade of sandpaper. You end up sanding with the grain and using something called grain filler before varnishing/oiling.
I am a bit crazy about this though, I once planed an entire bedroom floor and waxed it. You could slide from one end to the other in socks. That's when I learnt to handle a plane!
Airhead
I have the Festool one. It's a beast. Not sure about the others but it opens up the possibility of polishing stuff if you use felt or sheepskin pads. It's an aggressive sander which can remove a lot of material but it's heavy.
I use an LS130 (Linear sander) for wood that needs a stained or varnish finish. Otherwise I can never get rid of the damage from random orbit sanders. I think it's important to go with the grain for that kind of finishing.
If you are not going to polish paint finishes it might not be worth having the rotary function.
Thought I should clarify that you can also polish paint finishes in the really fine grits with specialised pads 1000,4000 grit etc. The Felt and sheepskin pads are useful for finishing with polish or polishing the car etc.