My 3 megapixel Olympus camera is about to bite the dust. I'm looking for something that's going to be a reasonably big step up, but I don't want to lug around a complete DSLR.

Things I want: A decent lens, with at least 10x optical zoom, but also a good macro mode, and reasonably usable in low-light. RAW format. Real-time histograms. The ability to save my settings. I like the idea of image stabilization, because I hate lugging around a tripod. Really, really good colors (this is why the Olympus SP550 isn't on the list).

My two front-runners:

Panasonic Lumix DMC-FZ18K or the Panasonic DMC-FZ50

I don't really care about 10 versus 8 mp. I don't print pictures that big - certainly never more then 8x10, and my 3mp did that just fine. I like the idea of the manual focus ring on the 50. Either of them will require that I buy all new memory cards. They both use custom rechargeable batteries - I suspect that's more bad then good.

Suggestions, anyone?

Tags: camera
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