Hi Jen, I've been happy with my camera. It's a Canon Powershot A620 with 7.1 megapixels. I'll include a link with everything you could possibly want to know about it...and then some.
Good luck with a tough decision - lots to choose from.
Kathy

Here is a link that might be useful: Info on Canon A620

There are many fine cameras out there within your price range. Personally I swear by my Olympus because not only is it the only brand I ever had thus the only one I know about, but also because of it's ease of use, I basically keep it on auto and let it do the work for me although it does have all the bells and whistles if I ever decide to actually learn to use them, lol.

But whatever brand you chose, I am going to make one suggestion to help in your choice. Make sure it has at least, more is better but never less than, 10X OPTICAL zoom. I have physical problems that makes it hard for me to get up and close to some blooms, but I just zoom in and I'm right there. Also helps in wildlife photography since most wildlife don't let you get too close, lol.

From my personal experience, MP numbers depend on what you plan to do with the pics. Higher MP numbers are for someone who wants to print pics bigger than the standard 8x10. Mine is only a 4mp and the few pics I do print out at 8x10 are great, sharp and clear, any bigger and they would look like crap. For the most part, my pics are saved on an external hard drive, viewed on a 19" lcd monitor and they look great to me. Of course, the higher the mp's the higher the price, again, a personal choice and there will be some here who will argue with me on this, again, it's a matter of personal choice and experience.

Anyhow, if I may show a few pics to show that not only does the optical zoom work, but the fact a little 4mp camera can show details.

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