3) 40X optical zoom is really nice for concert shooting, but you might even want to push it a little into the digital zoom range for even better close ups.
You can't be serious. Anybody shooting hand held in a stealth situation should go nowhere near the 40X zoom mark. Any minor bump at that range is going to be multiplied many times over.
Anybody shooting video with a P&S has got no idea what they're doing. Can you even zoom with a P&S? lol.
Pluto, my suggestion on the zoom is for when the guy discovers after his first concert shooting experience that hand-holding is VERY difficult to do. We ALL learn that the first time out. Not only does your body totally ache at the end of the show, your mind is completely spent from the mental strain of worrying about being caught, but it's just damned difficult to get steady shots at 5X or 10X, let alone 40X.
But I'm very serious about considering 40X, because if this guy is like the rest of the serious concert filmers, the guy will probably want to move to open tripod shooting. Put a 40x optical zoom on a tripod and the video you are capable of getting fully justifies 40x. I do it all the time with super primo results. It all depends on how steady the camera is and, as I stated in my earlier message the quality of the optics.
Not only that, but it's safe to assume that the person might use the camera for purposes other than concerts, in which case a 40x can come in very handy.