Fuji s602 is about £550 and is highly recommended by the photography press. I've had a play around with a mate's one and it's a very nice camera. But like I said I'm not too sure about it taking the knocks. However, with no moving parts, how vulnerable is it to impact damage?
As to using digital cameras for large passage, you should have had a look at Andy Sparrows talk at Hidden Earth, very impressive and all done with a digital camera, one flash, long exposure times and Adobe Photoshop.
If you can use a separate flash, control the exposure and focus manually, then you can use the camera for whatever you want, not just close-ups. The reason I want to try a good digital is because it allows a whole lot of different options as well as a more flexible approach. You should be able to continue with the older more established methods of placing flashes, slaves, etc. but you get new methods of taking photos as demonstrated by Andy and that little preview ability would make one hell of a difference to the final product.