I've been reading this thread too, because hubby and I are going to upgrade our digital camera. We have an old Nikon Cool Pix which takes very good pix but we are wanting to get a super zoom camera. We travel a lot and are always trying to take a pic of a moose (or something like that) way off in the field and our zoom is not strong enough. I also have a Sony Cybershot (a tiny one) to carry in my purse. It takes great pix too, but not enough zoom.
Anyway, a friend of mine has a FujiFilm Fine Pix 700. It has a 10X zoom and takes GREAT pix. She and I went to Hawaii over Thanksgiving and both took pix of the same things. I only took my little Sony and while my pix are good, hers are GREAT! We were taking pix of people surfing and mine look like little stick figures, while hers are up close and personal.
I think that one should think about how they are going to use the camera and go from there. I love the little one I can carry in my purse - but we also need one that can zoom in on distant things for great shots when we travel.
Here's a web site that reviews the best cameras in several categories
http://www.steves-digicams.com/best_cameras.html