Is anybody first hand familiar with this camera? I want to buy another camera, but I'm not ready for the expense of a DSLR yet.

The main thing that concerned me with the SX20 IS is the reviews all seem to lean toward low picture quality and too much noise, even at low ISO.

hhhmmmm.......don´t know anything about that camera, but isn´t it enough to stay away with those reviews? Or do they drag you? Anyway it´s still a camera and not a ticket to another vampire movie, so it seems you´d be better off keeping your money in your pocket and wait for another one with better reviews

I recommend SX30 IS. I have two . I dropped one, sent it fr repairs. Couldn't live without it and came on at a great price while the first one was on repairs, so I bought it. I have taken good photos of the stars at max apperture possible with this camera and they look great.

Excellent camera. I have the SX30 and use CHDK to run its timelapse programming. I love this camera. The 30 is just over 14 mp while the 20 is just over 12 mp. If I were you, I would stay with the SX20