My quest was for a camera that could capture accurate colors of iris and roses. I saw my brother's pocket size Canon S230 (pocket size) was doing a better job on peach colored iris so I bought a Canon A95 (excel reviews, point and shoot but not pocket sized). I loved my old Olympus C3020 for reds and blues but figured it could die soon. Was I disappointed with my Canon! Did not do as good a job as my brother's on peach colors and not nearly as good as the Oly on reds, lavenders! The Oly did die after 7-8 years of service and the Canon croaked after only 3 years. I kicked myself for not spending more for a Panasonic (the many many iris pics taken with the DMC-FZ20 that I saw were consistently excellent). In desperation 2 years ago, before iris season, I bought a used $40 Sony W290. Quite good on all iris colors as Sony fans claimed, but there was a missing quality I can't define. Picked up a $100 used Canon G9 last year and I'm at last satisfied. Very good on iris and excellent on roses. So I've concluded that the model is quite as important as the maker. I like the Canon G series better than a friend's Canon EOS Rebel T2i DSLR --- tried it for a few weeks. Still itching to try a Panasonic. Good luck.

We have a Nikon D40X, which has been discontinued in favor of the D60. You know you can't beat a DSLR. Not only is the picture quality amazing at the fastest iso settings, there is absolutely no delay when you take a picture. As a matter of fact, if sports are important to you, 3 frames a second in continuous mode is what you'll want. It delivers. It's also nice to be able to change lenses. I look at it as upgradeable. There is a drawback, size. Because of the size and weight of the camera we actually just bought a compact to supplement. We use the compact for everyday type events and the Nikon for the bigger ones (as long as I'm the one carrying it around). Okay, why'd I tell you all that when your looking for a compact? Because our compact is an Olympus Stylus 1010 and the picture quality rivals the Nikon. Both are 10 megapixel cameras (actually the Olympus is 10.1). Of course we can do much more with the Nikon but the Olympus is much more convenient when traveling or just taking everyday shots. The Olympus cost us $400 with extended warranty, 2x 2gig xD memory chips, and bag. You can get a Nikon D60 for about $650 is you look hard enough. And D40X for a little less than that. Either one is under 4 digits. If you haven't already, take a look at the Olympus. Klaa2

Sorry to be late; didn't check in for a couple of days. Yes, the Panasonic makes extremely sharp photos, thanks, in part to the Leica lens. It offers two types of image stabilization, both optical (the best kind): 1. continuous and 2. at the moment of shutter let-off. Of my six non-DSLR cameras, the Panasonic DMC-TZ5 is the best one. Like most digital cameras, it has a wide range of shooting modes, most of which I never use. But they're there. It also shoots video, but I've never done it; I do know that it lets you zoom during video filming - I understand that many cameras will not zoom during video. As I said, the flash range is limited and the camera DOES NOT have an optical viewfinder. One other drawback - which you can overcome by careful "holding" - is that the flash is located below the shutter button, and it's natural to put your middle finger over it. You've got to get used to that. Panasonic has packed so much into this little camera that I don't think there was any other place to put the flash. And by-the-way, like most small digitals, it does not have a hot shoe for using an auxillary flash. If you'd like further info from me, go to My Page and email me directly. Javert

These kind of questions will start wars. I have the Canon XT, Olympus E500, Olympus E1. I enjoy all of the camera. I think the best bang for you buck is definately the E500. Best price for entry level camera and it comes with two kit lenses, and they are really good lenses. The colors are great, better than the XT in my opinion. Canon has better noise control in lower light, but that is okay with me. Another thing, Canon's aspect ratio is 3:2, Olympus is 4:3. 6x4 print: -- Canon - you use all 8MP with the ratio -- Olympus - you use just under 7Mp with that ratio Rusult- pretty much nothing, you can get a clear 6x4 print with 3 MP since its a small print. 5x7, 8x10 Prints: --Canon - you will lose about 2MP with these prints due to the ratio -- Olympus- better fits these print ratios, lose about .2MP on 5x7, lose about .8MP on 8x10. Results - when the picture is taken with proper technique it would be hard to notice a deference, but the more MP you can cram into the print the better (when using higher quality cameras and lenses, of course) Also, Olympus just announced two entry level models to be released this year - E410, E510- so the price of the E500 should be falling a bit. I migh tpick up a second body if the price is right. Just my opinions. ZJoe