Well, I have a Nikon, and I would say that you can't go wrong with them. You can get the Coolpix 800 used at amazon (return, open box, like new) for 249.99. http://www.amazon.com/exec/obidos/offering-page/ref=sdp_ab_up/002-1066543-8600859?index=fixed-price&field-offering-type=used&field-asin=B0000365CI&field-status=open&size=25&rank=+p rice&dbdat=2
It's 2.11 Megapixel (1600x1200 resolution, prints 8x10's great) and has an optical zoom. Remeber, you'll probably want to get a bigger Compact Flash card too, and probably a Compact Flash reader as well. Also, some rechargable batteries and a charger. And a good case. The flash will be ส for 64MB and for 128MB (pricewatch). I think I paid about ฮ for a case, and about Ů for 4 rechargables. The PCMCIA Compact Flash reader was บ, and a USB one should cost about ฤ-25.Uhhh, looks like I've rambled for a bit. If you have any more questions, just ask.