Thanx for the comments regarding my comment on the photographer vs. the camera issue.... Jim- You brought up a very good & valid point about the shutter lag. In many cases it's true. However one doesn't have to spend more than $1000 to avoid that. A Canon Rebel XT (with lens) is just instantaneous for that price ($1000)and it's an 8mpix. Also there are other Digital SLR's that provide good performance in that area for less.

As for the printing of something poster size & "needing mondo megapixels"... I see many 20x30 posters being done where I work & being done on 6mpix cameras. Yes, when you scrutinize up close they may not be as sharp, BUT when you are back far enough to enjoy the whole image- it looks sharp at that distance. Remember- the viewer is usually standing back at least a few feet and cannot see a slight loss of sharpness at that point. By the way- One of the better poster size images I have seen came from a Nikon Coolpix 7900!

Also- to address TwoPynt's question- the majority of what is selling are the compacts, especially the ones that have the large screens on them. People seem to like the ease of use & carrying of them. The 3x optical zooms are starting to be more expanded (5x & 10x on some) on some newer models which is a HUGE plus. However, the models like the Canon S2 are very strong sellers and I've even had a couple that took that route (because of the convenience) over an SLR.

I might also add that this is one of the better threads that I have seen in this forum!!