considering a Minolta Z1 - gimme some other suggestions

well, I decided to forget about large ap. and large ccd since it won't help that much for long shots anyway.

so I'm considering a Z1 now. I love how fast it is and the full time AF so I can get some good natural shots before it's too late. the long zoom might be fun too.

are there some other popular cameras out there in the $150-300 range that I ought to take a look at? I'd like something with a little better hue accuracy and contrast than the Z1