Monster 18x Optical Zoom camera from Olympus!

Typical compact cameras have 3x optical zoom lenses.

More sophisticated compacts have slightly more, such as the 3.8x offered by the Canon IXUS 850IS.

Mid sized zooms will offer 4x to 6x optical zoom, such as the Canon Powershot A710IS.

Bridge cameras typically top the zoom range with 10x to 12x zooms, such as the Canon Powershot S3 IS.

Now, a new monster from Olympus, the SP-550 UZ, offers an 18x optical zoom lens together with CCD-Shift image stabilizing mechanism!

While image quality is yet to be seen and proven, the mere thought of holding such a powerful tool will be too much to resist! Imagine, having the full convenience of anything from a moderately wide angle lens to a full telephoto, all in compact body! The 28mm-504mm equivalent lens will please any photographer, from wide landscape and architectural perspectives, to normal view, to mild telephoto for portraiture work, to telephoto for landscape and creative composition, to super telephoto for sports and wildlife application! All this without the fuss to change between lenses or bodies.

I eagerly await similar contraptions from established makers Canon, Nikon, Fuji, Panasonic, Sony, et al...