I'm looking at the panasonic for my wife. The DMC with the8 megapixelIt looks like a great camera. She wants sit in other stands and "photo-hunt" while I'm elsewhere bowhunting. Put it on a tripod and with the digital zoom and a 1.7x teleconverter you can really get in close, 12x(optical) times4x(digital) times 1.7x(teleconverter) = 81x zoom. I wouldnt use the digital zoom unless it's rock solid on a tripod though, but that still leaves 20x. Also, the high megapixels will let you blow the pictures up. My wifes really into photography so I know she'll get into it.