Need help deciding, too many reviews on entry level DSLR

[Rogerstj]

Good points everyone, I'm now looking at those super-zoom cameras as this is probably more of what I believe I want and a lot more affordable.
Any preferences between Panasonic, Sony, Canon and Olympus
I've read Steve's conclusion on his best buy list and the Sony's H50 seems quite good as is the Panasonic FZ 18, any shortfalls I should know of??