Samsung HZ30W (WB600)

Opinion: Thankful for Costco's return policy, because I didn't like this camera at all. Confusing menu system. VERY noisy optical zoom when shooting a movie with results in constant noise and clicks on recording. (Panasonic and Sony's are much, much quieter). I think it's way too expensive for the quality. Yes the specs are very nice, but the end results disappointed. I think comparable Panasonic and the new Sony zooms are a much better value.

Opinion: I Love this one !! Great Range.. Good color balance, sharp image quality and tons of function. A great grab-to-go camera that replacing my Canon 500D.

Opinion: I bought this camera as a compact all rounder. The 24mm at wide end especially appealed to me. I liked the way the camera handled and it has a lot of neat features. Image quality, however, was another story. Even at ISO 80 I was seeing a lot of shadow noise, detail smearing from noise reduction, and compression artefacts. I doubt if I could even pull a decent 8x10 print out of those files. I really wanted to like this camera, but the image quality is just not suitable for my uses.

Opinion: Samsung have really managed to raise the bar for themselves as far as build quality and usability goes. The WB600 feels solid and ready-to-go. The Schneider-Kreuznach is nothing short of exemplary: a sheer joy to use in good light. It is only hindered by the capability of the sensor, a most common design.
The menu seems a bit loaded at times with features and shooting modes over lapping; though this is an advantage for beginners, the market this camera aims at.
The camera feels to give more bang for buck than its competitors, maybe simply for being the under-dog. The IQ is quite run-of-the-mill although with some of the best color output I have seen from a P&S in some time. At higher ISOs, Samsung pulls some neat tricks to deliver a noise free image, though at the expense of finer detail; still, totally usable considering the high-pixel count.
Overall, I was very pleasantly surprised by the camera, feeling it is packed with a bundle of features and capability in a non-conspicuous but high quality shell. The asking price makes this a regular steal for beginners and travelers.