Finding a decent digital camera.

[RobbieThe1st]

About a week or two ago, I turn on my camera, a Canon Powershot A310, and it turns on, although I get no picture whatsoever. A bit later, I took a look at the front and the shutter wasn't opening at all, not even in video mode. I ended up taking it apart, and got that problem fixed, but now it has some picture quality problems, with odd bright horizontal bars every few lines, and things being out of focus. I may or may not be able to fix it, but I am thinking that, if I can find a nice model(that I find here) on sale this Christmas, it might be a good idea to upgrade.
My current camera:


Anyway, on to my requirements in a camera. First off, if I could find some method for protecting the lens like my camera had, it would be nice(That front piece slides over the camera lens, and also turns on/off the camera).

I *need*:
1. USB regular or mini connection(I really don't want to have to mess with odd cables)
2. power/charge port (This way I can attach an external battery to power it, or if it has a rechargable battery, charge it - May be combined into the USB connection)
3. Video recording of at least 640X480 @30FPS minimum, and able to record at that speed until the memory card is full
4. Reasonably small - Look at the one I have, I am looking for something about that size.

I am also looking for a better image sensor than the A310 - MP wise, it was fine, however, it was noisy, even in medium-light conditions. I am looking for something that is *much* better in this regard.

Memory card wise, my A310 has a CF card, but it seems that all new cameras have SD card slots, so it is probably going to be SD. I am looking for something SDHC compatable, so I can use 8GB+ SD cards.

Budget: $200 or so, retail(approximate).

Other stuff wise, I don't know. I tend to use my camera on "auto" mode, or, occasionally, manual, and adjust the exposure settings(for dark shots).  So, I am really looking for something that has good default/automatic settings, but the ability to go to manual/'expert' mode with more settings than I could possibly use.


Having really no clue about much camera wise, especially these days, I am leaving it up to you guys, who I am sure know far more than I do about digital cameras.


-RobbieThe1st