I can't believe this is not sumped!
When I was buying, last month, I had to become an expert and now that info is out of date.
I like the camera. I got it because it feels like a slr camera in your hands, and has a viewfinder along with the lcd. 10x optical zoom is nice, and it macros nice. You can do a lot with it. It is easy to use and will do almost everything auto for you, or you can adjust basically everyting.
Downsides, they don't make it anymore (the new version has a telescoping lens and some other features that are different - I did not like it at all), and they don't make an underwater housing for it.
RR