grantmoney - 4:52 pm on Jun 2, 2005 (gmt 0)

Sounds like you want a Panasonic fz20 or fz15, but they're a little over $400 (the 20 is a bit over $500). they're pretty big though so it's not the sort of camera you'd carry around everywhere (it certainly won't fit in your pocket), but it'll be a good camera to grow with, especially with the manual features.

As steve mention above, one of the most important components of any camera (if not the most important) is the lens, so whatever camera you look at, make sure you check what the reviews or opinions say in regards to the quality of it. Although a lot features can be useless, image stabilization is actually pretty cool, so try to get something that has something along those lines.