Originally Posted by Steerpike

Very good point. Also, it is more expensive / difficult to put a zoom with 28mm wide-angle on a camera than a zoom with a 35mm wide-angle; so often, you will only see 28mm on the more expensive models, and - on a camera with 28mm wide angle, you may see less of a total zoom factor. That is - you may see 28mm-90mm (3.2x), compared to other models with 35mm-140mm (4.0x). In general, you'll get more benefit from the former, even though it has 'less' zoom factor, and may cost more.

Originally Posted by tonrob

Wide zooms can add to the price - but I'd rather pay for a wide zoom on a model that's been out a year than the same price for a newer model that only goes 38mm.

I just got a Panasonic Lumix jobby that goes to 25mm and I'm really happy with that. It's amazing how much difference a couple of millimetres makes at the wide end. Got some great pictures with it.

Originally Posted by Duncan Roberts

Ooh, can I guess? SD1000?

Originally Posted by Steerpike

I have the Lumix LX3, which goes down to 24mm, and at a pretty impressive f2.0 to boot. They've just released the LX5, which has similar specs but a bit more zoom. I'm tempted to buy the LX5 but I need to find out more about what else they've improved from the LX3 ... and make sure they didn't change anything for the worse!