I am not sure what you mean by compact lenses getting bigger...you mean more zoom range? The Oly SP-550 UZ has the best so far, though Panasonic is a leader in compact zoom cameras as well. Digital zoom will never be a good thing unless they come up with some new trick. Better to bring the image into Photoshop and upsize it there, or with a fractal program. Now Gradient has got me wondering which of my cameras has a plastic lens! ;']

Kort Kramer - Kramer Kreations