Another factor is price, if the Panasonic FZ-30 cost $1600 as rumoured i saw in another thread, can also forget abt it. Get a entry level dSLR better. Got Nikon D50, Pentax *ist DL, Canon 350D, Olympus E-300 etc all around $1600+ for the starter kit set with 1 lense. Oly E-300 gives another lense somemore...