While we all have our preferences for the brand of camera to use, i am going to recommend a little different direction for your purchase. Go to your favorite store that sells several different brands of cameras in your price range and pick up each one of them and play with it. Use the controls, are the buttons easy to get to and use. Look at the display, is it large enough to read the menus and see what you are taking a picture of. Are the on screen menus easy to navigate. If possible take a picture with it. I have used a number of cameras (Kodak, Nikon, Canon, and Sony) and in the price range you are looking at and all of them take a fair picture.

If you decide you like going digital this will be your FIRST digital camera.