I am in the market for a "beater" camera mainly for eBay shots, trips to the park (don't wanna risk ruining a 600-800 dollar camera) and general utility pictures. I have done a bit of research and found a few that fit the general requirements which are ~$200 price range, LCD bigger than 1.8", at least 3x optical zoom, and can run on AA batteries if necessary. I wasn't really worried about resolution, being just a junk camera, but 5-6 megapixel seems to be popular for that type of camera right now.

Here's a few that I looked at, and what I liked and didn't like:

Nikon coolpix 7.1MP L5

I like that one because it's 7.1MP... but the deficiencies compared to at least one of the other cameras drop it into second place. The aperture range on this one is only f/2.9- f/5. I usually take pictures in horrible conditions with bad light, or running around a park at dusk, or even taking pictures of jobsites for completion proof. I don't require perfect pictures, but the more I can get in that price range, the better.

Panasonic Lumix 6.0-Megapixel Model: DMC-LZ5SE

This one is cool, and has a better aperture range at f/2.8 - f/5.6. The few reviews I have seen only reported minimalist specs on how fast the camera is. But the important numbers were there. 2 seconds in between shots, almost 4 to start up, and nearly a full second worth of shutter lag. This is probably my third favorite, but a close third. It has so many cool options that I would never use though.

My favorite so far, at least in this price range, is the Canon Powershot A540. I also like the SD600, but it was a good bit slower than the A540. The drawbacks I see on this camera is that it has no image stabilization. But, it has a regular viewfinder so I wouldn't have to have the LCD on all the time, starts up fast, and it looks as if it takes pictures that fall well within my desired quality range. It still has some other faults, like taking over 1.6 seconds in between shots, but it only has less than a half second shutter lag, and decent battery life. Plus, it's an older camera.... but it's friggin cheap.

So, does anyone have any other cameras I should look at? I would like to keep my $200 budget mainly because of what happened to my last camera. If I drop a $500 or $600 camera in the water, and then on the concrete while trying to shake the water off, I will cry like a little girl. But I might be willing to extend the budget if necessary. But remember, I will cry.

Like a girl.

I've been very happy with my Fuji camera. It's a little old now, but I'll still put it up against any medium range digital camera. At 1/4 the price, I can take 2 or three shots for each shot my son gets off with his Sony.
I would definitely consider the Fuji line of cameras also.

We absolutely LOVE our Lumix DMC-TZ1............ I believe it is 5 or 6 Mpxl, AND has 10X optical zoom.......sweeeet!!

I kinda jumped the gun a little and went with the Canon A630. It's basically just an update of what I was going to get (A540) with 8MP and it runs off 4 AA batteries rather than 2 like the A540. I was seriously contemplating the A640, which is a 10 MP camera that shares every other feature with the A630... even has the same casing, only in black instead of silver. Got a decent price on the A630, too. Got the camera and a 1GB SD card for $235. I changed to this mainly for the flip LCD screen.

But one of my brothers is looking for a new camera, and he said that if I don't like this one, he'll take it and I will just grab the 10 MP A640.

I am in the market for Canon PowerShot A640 Digital Camera. I have been
reading expert reviews and that has been useful to me. It may be help you too. I had been using PCWorld.com, cnet.com to find reviews. Yesterday I used PriceGrabber’s expert review tab (http://www.pricegrabber.com/info_expertreviews.php/masterid=24757948)
and found a site (www.smartratings.com) that aggregates expert reviews. It only covers a few categories but it is pretty neat. Just my $.02.

I went SLR and love it. Cannon XTi..... love the camera and what it can do.

Yeah........... my wife's friend from NYC (She calls her a JAP.... don't ask) has a Canon SLR, one of the top of the lines from last year............. and they've declared bankruptcy TWICE!! I must be in the wrong line of busines.........lol

Thanks for the links, kent46. I hadn't seen the Smart Ratings site yet. Loads of new reviews to read through on there.

As for SLR, I'd love to be at the point that a nice DSLR would benefit me, but for the time being, I wouln't have the first inkling of a clue about what to even do with one of those. But, I do plan on it sooner or later.

Got my camera in today. Wow. Seems pretty neat so far, but there's alot of stuff to figure out. I couldn't even imagine having to deal with one of the more "professional" cameras.

So far I can only see 3 downsides to this camera. No image stabilization, and the optical half of the zoom doesn't have enough "stops" in it. 8 settings between full wide and 4x optical. The last downside is that the LCD, even though it is a 2.5" screen, doesn't have a very high resolution. Honestly, the screen on my phone is better. But, I guess it gets the job done, and goes above and beyond what I originally wanted it for. This is the first digital camera I've owned (not that I have owned a bunch) that is good enough to leave my 35mm film camera in the bag on holidays and stuff.

I guess I'm old school, because I won't use the LCD screen when shooting. I still prefer the viewfinder for some reason.