Will also recommend the canon or a nikon, these two are the big players in the camera world. If you are new to this bad habit i would recommend a point and shoot, if you use it and get the "bug" you will be upgrading cameras along the way. But having a point and shoot means that you are more likely to carry it with you to take pictures, which is the point of having the camera anyway. As an example, i went for a boat ride up the St. Johns river with a friend. Didn't bother to drag my camera because it's not little, i use a sony 828 which is the size of a small DSLR, and while we were out a bald eagle picked up lunch out of the river about a 100 feet in front of the boat. Then came around and landed on a channel marker post 10 feet from the boat. I was 10 feet from a bald eagle in the wild and didn't have my camera with me, yes i always take my camera in a dry bag now.

Something else to look for is for specific accessorys you might need for a camera, little brother just bought a cannon point and shoot with a water proof box that will allow the camera to be used in over a 100 feet of water (think he paid a little over $400 for the camera and the box). There are waterproof boxes for DSLR's but i have bought pick up trucks for less money so these things are not cheap.

If you are on a budget try buying a used camera from someone else upgrading to something better. That is how i wound up with sony, a shutter bug i know was upgrading to a DSLR and i bought a year and a half old camera for a very good price and it also came with extra bells and whistles that i would have bought eventually. Good luck on your quest.