Having used different 35mm film camera from Leicaflex and R4, to Contax G2, to Canon EOS DSLR, this is a nice comfortable small camera with almost all the features of the aforementioned cameras. I can use almost ALL my Leica lenses, as there are practically adapters for all the popular mounts (in manual modes only, of course). I don't miss my SLR anymore (okay, i still like my Leica!). In fact, with a full-size SLR lens, it actually feels comfortable with a hefty lens and the light camera body.
The 12MP imager is much sharper than the 8MP in the EOS I was used to; and i always like the warm and vibrant color balance/tone of the Lumix processor. The pop-up flash is neat, and you can tug it to point it upward with you finger for bounce-flash (actually I learned this from an Olympus tech at a demonstration of the EPL2!) The 3-inch LCD is big and bright but if you have vision issue, manual focusing can still be a problem (same with any camera without a diopter-corrected viewfinder); but the Lumix electronic viewfinder may be helpful. The touch-screen is sensitive and menu selections are fairly intuitive (but i think the Sony NEX is even better in that department). The mechanical button to the right of the screen is well laid out and back up almost all the touch screen functions. There is, however, a tendency (especially when holding the camera with a heavier lens) to unintentionally press some of the buttons with your palm and pull up menus which then you have to get rid off before shooting maybe a "lock-out" option to disable the mechanical buttons would be helpful (there is one to disable the touch screen, I think but the manual is pretty skimpy on the options (i haven't checked the CDs that came with the kit to see if there is a more detailed digital version yet).
The camera is solidly built and the battery life is good (so far). The kit zoom is decent and versatile. All-in-all, the camera kit is a solid buy, especially @$499!
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