Picture posting is enabled for all :)
The Cannon G10. I have one, as do 4 of my friends. Bigger than most point & clicks but still small enough to always have with you. I think they're about £350 now... got mine for $400 in the US in May.You can play with things as much or as little as you want (even manual focus...) and it is almost as good as an SLR in a lot of cases.Google some reviews!
Black & White, you say? I love the "accent colour" function... B&W plus choose what to keep...
I love the detail on when and where the photo was taken Plot69 - 1.29km from home :)
I am a little concerned about battery life especially as it does movies
Did lots of reading & finally ended up on Saturday with a Panasonic FZ38 - it appears to have all the things I am capable of using now that I have the time to play.