1) The base ISO is 80, not 100. (See exif in http://panasonic.co.jp/pavc/global/lumix/popup/gallery/models/fz18/P1010174.jpg; warning, full-size picture)

BTW, blooming/PF looks remarkably well-controlled in this image. So at least at this particular combination of focal length and aperture (f/3.6, 261 mm equiv), it's not a problem.

This is good news for those of us who don't really care too much about high ISO and just want the best images we can get at base ISO. I'd rather have features that let me use base ISO more often than a slightly more usable ISO 400. That brings me to...

2) Some reviewer posted a bunch of shots of a Broadway show. Since the camera's going to be struggling for light in all of them, the auto mode will put the lens wide open.

So, from those exifs, I made this:

http://i19.photobucket.com/albums/b167/entropius/fvsa.png

Looks like we get f/3.6 through the fz8 range, which isn't too much worse.

Note that I, as a physics lab instructor, would flunk myself if I made this graph, because the units of focal length aren't specified. They're mm, as you probably guessed, but physics folk are anal about that. :P