Hi. I would love some insight on this topic. I'm looking to (mega) upgrade from a little Fuji Finepix. The main purpose of this camera will be for my three month trip to France and Germany, beginning this April. I'm in no way a pro, and will be mostly shooting in auto-mode... but I'm still an artistic person and I want a camera with excellent photo quality, AND I intend to blow-up several of the pictures to poster size. I love the 12x zoom on the Zs7... but it seems so many of features on the LX5 stand out: wider aperture for better low light, larger sensor, RAW ability, etc. However, it has such a small optical zoom! It's barely more than my ole Fuji. Is this very important? Is a 3.8 optical zoom enough for my trip? I'm completely open to suggestions for camera purchases that are NOT these two models. I will buy any brand; I just want whatever will best meet my needs. I'm looking to spend 0 or less (but that can be used off of Amazon or E-bay.) Any help/suggestions are greatly appreciated. Thank you! Jaclyn