1. If you are aiming for powerful zoom...

Panasonic FZ1 or FZ2, 12x optical zoom, LEICA Lense,2M pixel, image stablizer
around S$550-600, but no full manual control.

Olympus C740, 10x optimal zoom, 3.2M pixel,
more compact and lighter compared with FZ1,
around S$650.

2. Compact and Light with good picture quality.

Nikon 4300, 4.3M pixel, 3x zoom, very good image quality.
around S$650.

Canon A70, 3M pixel, 3x zoom, full manual control,
ideal for amatuer who wants to experiment, good image quality
around S$500.

Minolta F200 is also a good one but don't how much it is.

3. Extremely light.

Don't know. If you are not a girl, don't buy this type.

>1) About Canon A70
>Do you really consider its image quality good? I did compare images taken from the same >indoor scenen with Canon Axx (forgot the exact model, but should be the direct predecessor of >A70) and Nikon 3100, Canon's scene depth is too obviously _flat_ as compared to Nikon's

First of all, I use Canon A70.
Yes. Many reviews consider the photos by A70 is not as sharp (or so-called "soft") as Nikon's; but they also mention that the problem can be solved by post-processing of the images using softwares. Meanwhile, A70 also provides modes like "Vivian" and "Sharp" which will sharpen the images taken; these two modes are not default modes BTW. As for the problem of scene depth, I don't know if it is the problem with the aperture setting. I haven't encountered such problem.

Again, that's why I put Nikon 4300 here, which I think is better than Nikon 3100.
Nikon's camera is sharp in image and very good at its macro mode.

Now it is Sony. I think their cameras are cute and they produce good-colored pictures. The problem is Memory stick is more expensive than CF cards. Besides these, I really don't too much of Sony's products.