Hi, Slug and all,
I recently acquired a Panasonic Lumix FZ20 with it's fabulous 12x Leica zoom lens and have nothing but raves for the quality of the images I'm getting.
The best and most complete site to evaluate all of the current and past digital cameras is dpreview.com
http://www.dpreview.com/
They have images taken by the reviewed cameras that can be viewed at full resolution, in addition it has feedback from owners.
Did you know Samsung is about to release a camera with a 15x Zoom lens. Digimax Pro 815
It has a number of features that put it at the head of anything else: 15x Schneider zoom lens equivalent to 28-420 mm, the largest LCD display screen 3.5 inches, and the highest capacity L-ion battery. Due to ship in August and will cost approximately £600.
http://www.dpreview.com/news/0506/05060202samsung_pro815.asp
Dave