I use an old Minolta SLR 35mm. so I know Minolta makes great cameras
this is a lower end minolta point-and-shoot type camera with a pretty good zoom(at 37.5mm-160mm)
http://www.circuitcity.com/ssm/Minol...oductDetail.do
now if you want a slightly better quality look into an SLR camera
here's a minolta for $179
http://www.circuitcity.com/ssm/Minol...oductDetail.do
and then this pretty nice canon Rebel K2 for $200
http://www.circuitcity.com/ssm/Canon...oductDetail.do
my guess is you want something a bit cheaper but i wouldn't get anything real cheap like a point and shoot canon or olympus
imo the Minolta point and shoot is a good deal
but it depends on what you think you need