Canon Rebel or Panasonic G1

[jerseymel]

I realize this may be comparing apples to oranges, but any input would be appreciated.

A bit about me:

I took photography in High School a million years ago and vaguely remember learning about f stops and light meters and the like, but have used automatic point and shoot cameras for a long time. I love taking pictures (mostly of my 3 children, sometimes of food) and would like to upgrade to a DSLR to take nicer ones.

I first looked at the Canon because I read several places it is a good camera to upgrade to, but then ran across the G1. I realize the G1 is a 3/4 (oh wait, 4/3, right?) and therefore a slightly different animal, but I was thinking it would suit my needs and it's $100 cheaper (and comes with 2 lenses). I would not spend more than $500 for a camera right now, btw. (in case you were going to suggest some other camera that costs more).

Will I regret not buying the Canon later on? They both got good reviews and I don't think either will be a *bad* choice, but I thought I'd get the opinions of people who probably know what they're talking about and have actually maybe tried both cameras. Thank you!