Good point and shoot for under $300 (with details)?

[mn shutterbug]

The only area I think you need to let go of is 1b, "Ability to take multiple pictures quickly." The little cameras don't have the processing power for that. Some point-and-shoot cameras have an action mode that will capture multiple frames per second at a lower resolution. But most won't do more than 1.5 or 2 FPS (frames-per-second). For better performance you'd need to step up to a digital SLR.

Actually, my Panasonic DMC-FZ7 will shoot 3 FPS. It's a great little camera, and I would imagine the FZ8 is even better, for under $300.