For me, the only species that can rank alongside the Purple Emperor and Duke of Burgundy, in terms of getting me as excited as my first Clouded Yellow did in the mid 70s, is the stunning Brown Hairstreak. Every single sighting gets my heart racing, none more so than the first of the season. On Monday (2nd August) I saw two females - one on private land where I'm performing a survey for the owner, and the second at Steyning Rifle Range. The former was particularly exciting, being the first record for this previously unexplored site. I had been very confident of finding Brown Hairstreaks here, but to be honest if the habitat looks right, you'll find the species across most of West Sussex. That said - they're never easy!
Never having visited before, it took a while to get a feel for the place and assess the most likely areas. As I was walking along a raised pathway by the River Mole, a Gatekeeper suddenly turned into a male Brown Hairstreak. It perched in a Field Maple, just above head height. Luckily Jack had brought his Hairstreak Hooking Stick along and I managed to gently pull the branch down, getting a decent enough shot as the butterfly crawled around - not easy holding the camera in one hand and a branch in the other! As I snapped away another male BH landed less than a metre away, and at that point I knew we had found a master tree. A conservative count was four, but later on we saw hairstreaks fluttering around the crown of the tree, almost immediately energised every time the sun broke through. Jack needs to visit more often - we always have a good day!
. Seriously, I don't really take much heed of the technical aspects of photography, preferring to remain clueless, but Gary (Gruditch) - who knows his onions - has blown some FZ38 images up, and I get the impression that noise isn't too bad. There's a dedicated FZ38 thread on here where you might like to seek more expert advice. I can send you a full-sized image of something to play with. I wouldn't want to persuade anyone to change a camera for another model, as I think it's a case of what suits the individual. I've seen your stuff and used it in our magazine - so the only thing I would say is "yes, that's a mighty hefty load you drag around!" The one thing I do know is my 'quarry', so by being in the right place at the right time, again and again, I can't fail to get a good shot eventually!
. Sherie's stuff is very good (very), so really I think the issue here boils down to the weight. If I was in your shoes Sherie (in which case I might get arrested 
), I certainly wouldn't dump the current set-up, but if funds allowed, I'd get an FZ38 to add to the arsenal, particularly as you shoot a lot more than butterfly close-ups. 
. BTW, I also love Wall Brown. I think calling them a Brown is unfair as the Browns are generally quite dowdy but the Wall Brown is spectacular. I partcularly love the underside of their wings. I may be wrong but I don't think any other (UK) butterfly has quite the same amazing patterning.