Very confused: need recommendations

[ChrisF]

Well, being the type who likes to deeply research any major purchase, I found this great site and dove into the reviews. Now I'm overwhelmed with choices. There are so many choices, it's staggering.

I am headed to India later this year and it is serving as the incentive for me to purchase a really fine quality digital camera. I get to travel a lot for work and really want better quality digital photos, manual controls and lots of room to grow. I initially looked seriously at the A95 and the Z2. I really liked the ergonomics of both and particularly liked the speed of the Z2. After checking some of their samples online, I was underwhelmed and decided that maybe I need to up my budget. Maybe not: I could just be overly critical of the samples since the end output will probably be no greater than 8x10.

Here's what I'm looking for:

1) high quality, sharp images with accurate color
2) strong automatic modes, but also manual controls for when I get the urge to take control and get artistic
3) movie mode with min 320x240/30fps
4) availability of an underwater housing for diving
5) burst mode of some sort
6) price range of $300-800
7) Brand with an excellent record for reliability

Thanks