Panasonic Lumix DMC-FZ8 Digital Camera

I was on the verge of buying a DSLR (Nikon D40) and I'm glad I did not. For about half the $$$ I got a digital camera that has a wide focal range (12x) and the focal range can be increased if you lower the mega pixels of the picture. The autofocus is excellent and the image stability is awesome. The only draw back to the camera is the amount of noise the images have once you pass ISO setting over 400. It's not the best low light camera either. But, almost all digital cameras have the same issues - so, I'm not worried about it. Overall - lowering the noise reduction to low gives you excellent picture quality with very little distortion and color fluctuations. I highly recommend this camera. It has tons of manual controls for more professional photographers and also a simple mode for beginners!