I have one, it frustrates me at times, but I find it invaluable. Due to its size I'm able to carry it with me pretty much all the time. When I'm driving I always have it on the seat next to me. It has allowed me to get a lot of photo's in the time I've had it that I wouldn't have otherwise gotten.
It feels fairly solid. I'm not sure about the lens hood, that's a good question, and it could definitely use one.
My main complaints are that it's too easy to accidentally change the settings, and that the DOF is mind-bogglingly deep (I like shallow DOF's that are basically impossible with it). It is also too slow when shooting fast moving trains.