I'M LOOKIN TO GET A DIGITAL CAMERA , I WOULD LIKE TO HAVE MORE ZOOM THAN STANDARD DIGITAL 3X OPTICAL . I'M THINKING ABOUT DIMAGE Z3 IT HAS A 12X OPTICAL LENSE W/ IMAGE STABILIZER. HAS ANY ONE USED THIS CAMERA. SOME SAY I DON'T NEED ANY MORE THAN A 4.0 MP.HELPPPP! THERE'S A LOT TO PICK FROM.IS A 4MP ENOUGH FOR UP TO 8X10 PHOTO'S?

I have just purchaseda Nikon 8700 cool pix which so far has been good for a rank ametuer such as myself... and it has 8 mp and 8x zoom which equates to 35-280 I think.

I bought it without doing much research.....my next camera will be a digital slr in a couple of years time.

I have a Canon digital rebel. It has interchangable lenses, so you can go as big as you want. I have a Sigma 28mm to 300mm lens on it, which, collapsed is in about 3.5inches in size. The pictures I took so far, about 1500 of them are awsome.

I would not buy a camera with a lens that cannot be removed, as it severely narrows the capabilities.

I would show you some examples, but have no idea how to attach them

Keep in mind that a digital zoom will distort your picture to some extent. Try at least to get a camera with a decent optical zoom ability.

Good luck