Good all-around camera

My selection criteria were these: 1. zoom ratio, 2. SD card, 3. viewfinder, 4. price, 5. hot shoe.

I have a compact Panasonic that has been satisfactory so I began with Panasonic in my search. The FZ10 met all five of my criteria.

The primary use of this camera is for taking roadracing motorcycle pictures. There the image stabilization is helpful, but the electronic viewfinder is a disappointment. The refresh rate is too slow to follow a fast-moving object. Another weakness is that it tends to overexpose. I must pre-focus on an area that gives the correct exposure and lock that setting. Otherwise, the FZ10 is an excellent picture-taker with enough features to entertain me for a long time.