HS30 First impressions.

I have cycled through the 10, 20 and have the HS30 currently. For a brief period I had both HS20 and HS30 and my initial impression was also that the zoom was a little stiffer than the 20. I made the same remark in my initial impressions post on the forum here. However, the zoom did loosen up a bit after some use and right now I would say it is pretty smooth. No experience with the XS-1 so can't make a conclusive statement but Paul, I am sure you would find the handling improving after some use. Don't pick the WD40 and sandpaper yet