The DMC-FZ4 is a GREAT buy for the money.

I'll address general concerns from a general photography fan. I'm not super deep into the world of photography but i do enjoy to take pictures and do so a great deal. So for the more 'casual' enthusiast, here are the pros and cons of the FZ4:

PROS:

1.HUGE zoom for the money. 12x optical is one of the main draws of the camera at this price. There's even an additional 4x digital for those that don't mind the degradation of the picture quality with Dzoom.
2. Excellent battery life. This thing goes and goes. The supplied battery pack got me through an entire week of heavy shooting. I was testing the camera like mad (settings, zoom, modes, etc) and the battery just kept going. The included charger replenishes the battery very quickly (around 2 hours charge time) and then you're ready to go again for a good long while.
3. Good to great picture quality depending on the lighting. The picture quality in sunlight is outstanding. There is a small amount of 'jaggies' on the edges of some objects, but this does not seem to be something that happens in every picture so it may be due to certain lighting situations. In low light situations there is some grainyness, but not to a horrid degree. I paid 250 for mine and I'm extremely happy with the quality of the photos I'm getting.
4. Easy to use menus. Again, I'm no pro, but I'm still able to control my exposure, ISO, and flash levels with the best of them. It's very user friendly and straightforward.
5. Everything is included. Battery Pack, charger, software, an 8 MB SD card (granted this is very small for a 4mp camera), strap, even a lens hood for those of you inclined to use things like that. Nice little bundle for the 250 I paid.
6. EXCELLENT image stabilization. I use setting 2 on the OIS system. It works very well to get full telephoto shots with no shake or blur. In low light you can get some blur if you have unsteady hands. I have very shaky hands and even I can get good pictures in low light, so the more steady handed should be A-OK.
7. Nice quality of effects offered. You can really get alot of different looks to your pictures using the supplied 'cool', 'warm', 'b&w', 'sepia' modes, and there is further customization available with the 'natural' and 'vivid' modes.
8. Smart autofocus. The autofocus almost ALWAYS gets the objects in focus that you intend it to, and will hold the focus with a half shutter press so you can move the picture without the focus going crazy.
9. The camera is FAST. It takes successive pictures MUCH more quickly than you would expect it to at the quality you get. Even with flash on you can take about a picture per second (really probably 2 seconds, but the flash refresh time is astounding). This camera shoots like a film camera. Awesome.
10. Seems very well built. From the locking lenscap to the well designed battery/SD compartment, to the dual AV/USB port it's just overall a sturdy feeling, convenient to use piece of equipment. My suggestion is that if you're in the market for a high zoom 4 megapixel camera that you at least check this one out. You can find it for pretty cheap and it's a great buy.

CONS:

1. The LCD is a little small, though this helps preserve that excellent battery life.
2. The pictures can come out grainy in low light.
3. Supplied memory card can only hold a large number of pictures on the lowest quality settings. Get a bigger card to take advantage of the resolutions offered.
4. Seems to be hard to find first-party battery packs if you wish to buy additional batteries. Also, first party filters are extremely expensive (if you're interested in filters, which I am simply for lens protection).
5. No audio in movie mode. It's a bummer, but you can take an unlimited amount of silent footage (limited only by the size of your memory card).