My panasonic fz50 is pretty darn handy when I'm not in the mood for carrying gear and getting sand/dust on the sensor is not a concern. I treat it like a cheap p+s and it treats me like a real photographer. Sure the sensor is a noise generating pixel stuffed p.o.s compared to an slr... but I keep it in good light and have 35-420mm equivalent reach, built in flash with hot shoe, 848 X 480 quicktime movies @ 30fps, all the manual setting options, quick auto focus, flip down swivel lcd panel, two modes of O.I.S. and Leica glass to capture whatever I want in raw format, or 10mp jpeg at 2.5 fps. Beat that in dSLR for less than six hundred bucks! It is only a bridge, though, and I have taken up the L1 for my more serious photographic pursuits.😉