I've been running around with a Panasonic TZ5 for about 4 years now (poor old thing, it's SO time to retire it). I seem to remember getting a little dust or something inside the lens at some point, but it disappeared after a bit, and there hasn't been a recurrence of trouble. In fact, the only problem I ever had was during the Challenge in '10 the windows over the lens wouldn't close, or open fully without a little tap of assistance. Then I dropped the camera while taking some friends up the MR, and the windows were fine again.
Maybe that's why I like it so much: kinda reminds me of, well, me!
You don't have to look hard on my flickr page to find sample pics.
I've been shooting mostly this past year with the Panasonic Lumix GF2. It's a micro 4/3 system, with interchangeable lenses, takes beautiful pics. I finally found a case into which it fits perfectly, and doesn't get in my way while hiking, climbing, or skiing. While the larger lens (I have the standard 14-42 on there most of the time) is a little bulky, I'm not bothered by the slight increase in weight. This isn't your standard DLSR: the body is about the same size as a lot of point and shoots out there.
-L
