I have Panasonic FZ20...very nice pics. Then I got a Konica-Minolta 5D SLR. Both cams hava anti-shake..built in so no special lens required...cool feature. My Minolta has a bigger CCD...much bigger than the Panasonic. This allows for larger censors that capture more light/greater tonal range/color...much better ;-) It is obvious when comparing similar photos...With SLR I have learned...a nice lens makes a big difference. I recently got a nice 100 mm Macro for the Minolta. Amazing how much sharper it is than kit zoom lens at equivelant focal length. Kit lens works well though...Many benifits of SLR...faster, many more accesories.....:-) I still don't know how to use my SLR as well as I would like to...but I realize it is very capable...and I do know enough that I feel comfortable recommending an slr as opposed to advanced compact.