b) I regularly read www.steves-digicams.com website. Over the years, =
I've
noticed a few cameras (not SLRs) which claim to have over 10X zoom =
lenses.
These sound great until I read the technical specifications. The =
exposure times
are often poor and they don't seem to offer the picture quality found =
using
SLRs. Are they really inferior? If so, is it possible to get an SLR =
with such a
great zoom. I don't really know where to look for SLR lenses but my =
research
indicates that such a lens would cost almost as much as the camera. Is =
this
correct?

The Panasonic FZ20 offers a 12X image stabilized optical zoom that's =
fast i.e. f2.8 across the full zoom range. The image stabilizer feature =
helps with the slower shutter speeds of low light shots. The camera =
also has an autofocus assist lamp and a hot shoe for external flash. =
Read about it and check out user opinions at www.dpreview.com