I agree w/other answers....it looks like a lot of camera for the $$, and that appears to be suggested retail. Probably will be $50-75 cheaper over the 'net. As EdB notes, the iso range is almost unbelievable. The lens is threaded & I see they sell lens multipliers as an accessory. A telephoto multiplier (1.5-2.0x?) is helpful for some outdoors shooting. You'll want to grab a little monopod to help steady the camera with that lens on there...but we like using them for baseball photos.

If I question ANY downside on the camera, it might be the fact that it's powered by FOUR AA batteries. Now, the AA is a good thing. You can throw any alkaline or rechargable (preferred) battery in there. But 4 of them will make the camera heavy. But, you may never notice it unless it hangs around your neck a lot.

I'm partial to the Sony cameras, but that doesn't make your suggestion a bad one, for sure.