I'm leaning towards the Panasonic FZ18 now. The Leica lens and additional telephoto and wide capabilities have caught my eye. Especially for travelling.
I can get it duty free and am trying to work out how I can claim it on tax. Surely my clients need photos right ?
Those with the Canon- have you tried the canon firmware hack ?
http://chdk.wikia.com/wiki/CHDK_in_Brief
It adds some nice features and opens up some of the capabilities of their cameras , and its not permanent so no issues with going back to 'standard mode'!