I am getting ready to purchase one for my teen to take to Europe next month. When I looked at several reviews, etc. I narrowed it down to two 20 x zooms- not quite as big as you are talking about. The two are the Panasonic FZ150 and the Canon sx260. I like the Panasonic because it saves as raw and jpeg, and the Canon doesn't. However, it is larger and more cumbersome. If it were for me, I would get the Panasonic, but I am getting him the Canon because it is smaller and feels better in his hand plus it is much easier for him to pocket. Both have a nice array of manual controls, take Sharp pictures, and take great video also.