Sean,
Of the cameras you mentioned, I personally like the Canon S5 IS. I believe it's the 3rd generation of that particular model, and they've improved it every time. And, considering that you can buy it for just about $300, it's quite a bargain. The Sony DSC-H3 is a very nice camera too (Sony generally has very nice Zeiss optics), but they're generally more expensive, and they're going to make you buy their proprietary memory stick too (which ****ed me off beyond belief). So, that's why I generally don't recommend them because I think you can get as good or better from Canon, Nikon, and Fuji (the Panasonic Lumix cameras have gotten a lot of great reviews as of late as well.)
Anyway, the Canon S5 IS is NOT perfect though, and I think the only real cameras that generally get near perfect grades are the SLRs. I was seriously contemplating an SLR myself, but after I found out the cost of the lenses (a few hundred to multiple thousands of dollars) I decided it wasn't the right time. You could possibly buy one of the consumer SLRs and stick with the standard lens that comes with the camera body, and that will generally give you very nice pictures. But, in your price range, you'll definitely be looking at some of the older models, and will end up sacrificing features to do so.
Regardless, which camera to buy all depends on what you're looking for though. Do you require something with a really long zoom lens, or do you want something that you can carry around in your pants pocket? Do you want something with some manual control, or is a point and shoot sufficient? Do you want interchangeable lenses, or is the movie mode more important to you?
My current digicam is the Canon Powershot G3, which at the time was the top of the line "prosumer" camera. It got great reviews then, and it's served me well for the 5 years that I've owned it, but it's definitely lacking in places. But, Canon has since released the G5, G6, G7, and G9, and the G9 continues the G-series tradition as a highly recommended camera for most reviewers. Given your budget, I think it's a camera that you should seriously consider.
Quite frankly, I personally would not put a lot of faith in the Consumer Reports reviews, as they're not going to spend as much time on the cameras as the photography only sites. That said, here are the places you should go to read up for your next digicam purchase, listed in order of my preference:
http://www.imaging-resource.com/
http://www.steves-digicams.com/
http://www.dcresource.com/
http://www.dpreview.com/
The Imaging Resource is a FANTASTIC site, and quite frankly you could just stop right there. Go to the Dave's Picks section, and pick the class of camera that you think best suits you, and start reading his reviews of the best cameras in that class. It has been very rare that I haven't seen a camera recommended there that wasn't also recommended on the other sites.
Once you do decide on a camera, don't forget to use PriceGrabber to get your best price:
http://www.pricegrabber.com
If you have any questions, please don't hesitate to PM me.
Good luck...
Jason
