For me, the most important feature is lens quality. I am not so interested in megapixels; if the lens is poor, what use is having 5 megapixels?

After consulting with a friend of mine who is a professional photographer I chose the Panasonic FZ-2 as it features a Leica lens. For all intents and purposes, the FZ-2 is a Leica camera as Panasonic manufactures these camera's for Leica. 80% to 85% of the camera are identical -- the Leica has those extra's which double to triple the price.

Since it is an SLR type camera, the transition for me has been quite easy and the camera does take some very nice photo's. In many Japanese pro-photog circles, the FZ-2 is considered to be amongst, if not, the best of the digital camera's for amateur's. Best part, the camera is not terribly expensive.