I have some limited experience with GE cameras. They have a good pedigree, with the main execs having come from Olympus. My impressions of the cameras are based on using one loaner for a few weeks and seeing them at tradeshows. Camera features and specs are solid and they are handsome cameras. The one area where they suffer a bit is image quality. I did not think they were competitive as far as image quality goes. However, image quality of all digital cameras has improved enough in the past few years that I doubt that's a real problem - especially with your budget. So if you like the camera, its feature serve your needs and it doesn't hurt you financially, I say shoot and enjoy