OT: Digital P&S advice

[existrandom]

hello all,

have been using film and mechanical cameras since the day i learn about taking pictures...

but there are times i wish i had a digital so that i could upload pictures fast enough... got into web publishing and have to share pictures more often than before, so the need for one becomes evident; it could also serve as a back-up in shooting

i wonder if members here could recommend something handy that meet a few pre-requisites:

6-8 Megapixal
3x or 4x optical zoom
largest aperture below f3.5
budget: around US300-325

initial serach points me to something like Olympus SP 350, older versions of panasonic lumix, etc
would love to hear any suggestions & comments

thanks in advance, and cheers!

lee

 

[Taipei-metro]

If you 'think', you'll never be able to buy one.
350 is an excellent choice, best of all a hot shoe.
8 mp squeeze in 1/1.8 in. sensor is overkill. 8mp if 1:1.33, 7mp if 1:1.5 like 35mm ratio.
I'd buy 350, because, it's beautiful, very comfortable to hold and a optical viewfinder, which many other di-cameras abandon( yourger gen couldn't care less, they never shoot film cameras before) .
Problem; my cutoff mm is 36mm(widest eqv. in my F10 Fuji), it's 38-114 w 350 , so if you don't mind 38 at the wide end, this is the one right NOW. around $350 yes. $350 is also my max price for P and S.( I also have Panasonic FX-9 $350).
If you're in HK, you should be able to go to the store to hold the camera and decide yourself.
D-50 body is falling under $500 now, E-500 has the best grip and very handsome. different catagory thou, but at this point, dslr will give you beat picture quality under $1,000.