I have the DMC FZ10 - 5 mp - (besides my D200) and it delivers good photos.
I would be less concerned with the 18x zoom than the size of the sensor. I
think 6 or 7 mp is plenty - 8mp, and certainly 10 mp, on a chip that size
will produce a lot of noise.

As for the lens - you will probably have pincushion/barrel distortion, but
that is usually at both ends of the zoom range.

--
The smaller the fine print, the less you will like what it says.

Stan Beck From New Orleans to Brandon MS
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wrote in message
ups.com...
A new Panasonic digital camera just came out. It has an 18x optical
zoom, similar to Olympus SP-550UZ. I wonder how do they prize it in
comparison to the smaller FZ8 and the larger FZ50? Will FZ8 be slowly
pull out, or is this camera a new series?
I can't help wondering whether there will be a more close association
between Matsu****a (creator of Panasonic) and Olympus. Panasonic has
LC-1 DSLR and Olympus has E-volt 330, which looks similar and share
the four third lens system (Leica lens for Panasonic and Zuikor lens
for Olympus). Is FZ18 and SP550UZ a competition, or do they end up as
a partner?
Is pushing optical zoom 18x a little too far, e specially using a
small P&S sensor size? FZ8 is 7 MP, FZ50 is 10MP and FZ18 will be 8
MP. I am looking forward to hear some news about this camera as it
goes into the market. I also wonder if Panasonic will enter an entry
level DSLR soon.