I haven't decided which one I want yet. We are almost to having all the money and probably will by the end of the month. Then, Chris is going to take me to a camera store that has all three so I can play around with all of them to see which one I like the best. But, I figured I would get the ball rolling anyway and see what sites I can get the best deal for any of them on. Going into a store knowing how much you DON'T have to spend is a powerful thing.

FZ30 at Buydig.com (http://www2.buydig.com/shop/product.aspx?ref=pricegrabber&sku=PNDMCFZ30S) $528.59 at BuyDig.com

FZ20 Black (http://www.vanns.com/shop/servlet/item/features/495124101?v_c=PriceGrabber) - FZ20 Silver (http://www.vanns.com/shop/servlet/item/features/495599877?v_c=PriceGrabber) - $399.88 at Vanns.com

I would get the 20 or 5...much cheaper, yet still both badass cameras.

The Z5 can be had at Dell for $310

Thanks guys. I will probably be asking this same question again in a couple of weeks. We now have about 100.00 over the Z20 Z5 price but I told Chris we will wait until he has TWO straight weeks of NO RACK JOBS (which is where we are getting this money from) before we start looking since that will give us MORE than enough and probably even enough to get the Z30 if I choose to.

Plus I think I am going to use some of this money to get a Christmas party dress but I have no clue how much it will cost....hopefully not close to 400.00 Chris would downright kill me!

Side-By-Side comparison (http://www.dpreview.com/reviews/compare_post.asp?method=sidebyside&cameras=panasonic_dmcfz5%2Cpanasonic_dmcfz20%2Cpanasonic_dmcfz30&show=all)

Looking at that comparison, I would definitely go with the Z20. The only advantage that the newer Z30 has over it is the MP rating. In fact it looks like the lens and sensor on the Z20 are both better than the Z30. I would get the Z20 over the Z5, because you get a slightly larger LCD screen and audio with the video setting.

But is that audio & slightly larger LCD screen worth the $100 difference?

But is that audio & slightly larger LCD screen worth the $100 difference?

If you take video, yes it is. If not, it's not a huge difference. I know the larger LCD on my Canon G5 made a huge difference in knowing when I had taken a good shot or not.

If you take video, yes it is. If not, it's not a huge difference. I know the larger LCD on my Canon G5 made a huge difference in knowing when I had taken a good shot or not.

Well of course....was to get Keebelf thinking rather. She can think about what she will be using the camera for and go from there.