Here's some reviews about the cameras I was talking about
Panasonic FZ8
http://www.dpreview.com/reviews/panasonicfz8/
Panasonic FZ50 (bigger, more feature rich version of FZ8)
http://www.dpreview.com/reviews/panasonicfz50/
Canon Powershot S3 (competior of the Panny FZ8 but I believe the current model is the S5)
http://www.dpreview.com/reviews/canons3is/
Canon Rebel XT (dSLR, current model is Rebel XTi)
http://www.dpreview.com/reviews/canoneos350d/
Nikon D80 (dSLR)
http://www.dpreview.com/reviews/nikond80/