this camera is a tank. believe me, i've shot about 30000 frames so far with it and besides the legacy grip ungluing problem it's built like a tank. i've got it wet, sandy, dropped it, took it from freezing cold to soaring heat and it performs admirably.. i've used it in almost any condition (except extreme of course) in both personal and professional work, from sunny to pitch black concerts and i can tell you it performs. in the dark just set it to 1600, 1/10 and f/3.5 (or any minimum) and you can shoot pretty much anywhere. just make sure you have a steady hand and you give it some noise reduction at home.
as for the lens, besides the kit which gives even more expensive canon lenses a run for their money, you can get other lenses. but fisheye is expensive everywhere and indeed brighter lenses are more expensive. it;s due to the 4/3 system. anyway, i for one use the kit and really see no necessity for anything more... i'll buy the 35mm macro lens this summer which is quite cheap and performs magic, and is as close to a prime as possible.
anyway most important detail about it which differentiates it from canon or nikon is that it's a pretty high-tech camera with pro functions which has a learning curve. so while you can pick up a canon and shoot off the shelf it's a lot better to take a little while to get used with the oly. having said that, i bought this camera to take photos at a local tv station behind the scenes news thing and i can tell you that it's pretty intuitive... but it needs a bit of work to get it right.
anyway, there is no aspect of this camera that has disappointed me. buy an extra battery, an xd memory card and a slave flash and it's all you need for basic photo requirements. of course specialized things need specialized gear but that costs and it's better to rent it...
so those who have one love it, and those who don't get one, because it's a legend... i have NEVER heard of anyone complaining of this camera. and to those complaining of poor low-light performance it's all about knowing where to focus. find a good contrasty spot on the subject and focus is almost as quick as in normal light
