At $50 less than the similarly-featured Panasonic ZS3 and with a slightly longer telephoto reach, the Canon PowerShot SX200 IS makes a strong argument in the compact superzoom category.
It's also $50 more than the Canon SX110 IS I fell in love with but it adds HD video along with more zoom. And the Canon SX200 is better looking, too, with a rectangular body that flares into a grip on the right side leaving room for some very large glass.
Large glass always looks pretty and the Canon SX200's 12x zoom 28-336mm lens will get your attention. But the SX200 has brains, too. The DIGIC 4 image processor not only handles post-processing for the 1/2.3-inch 12.1-megapixel sensor, but adds some interesting features. The most interesting is the Canon SX200's ability to track the faces of moving subjects, setting focus and optimizing exposure as well as white balance for them. That same capability works in the self-timer to hold the shutter until you get in the picture, too.