I am sure you were accustom to that f1.8 lens on the Oly 4040. Which Olympus no longer offers.
The brightest lens available now is f2.0 and canon has it on their new G6 camera.
The Canon G6 fits the description you listed, except the price will be a bit over $600. I saw it at one reliable mail order firm for $630.
The link is to a comparison of the G5 and the Oly 4040.
http://www.dpreview.com/reviews/compare_post.asp?method=sidebyside&cameras=canon_g6%2Coly_c4040z&show=all
...
my wife dropped my olympus 4040 and that's the end of that story! Now I need a new camera. Important points: -great photos; 4-7 mp; 3-5 optical zoom; fully manual in addition to full auto(many years with 35mm work); short shutter lag time; relatively compact and preferably less than $600.
Thanks for any coments.

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