Hi,
Depends on what you want to do with the camera...
If just "Point and Shot" you can still go cheaper. The Nikon's "coolpix" line of products are all amazing in results (from 2 Mpxls onward) and some below the 100€ label if you look well.
(I wish we could buy here a FZ25 for 200 €... )
For stunning results and equally huge zoom, you also have the Minolta dImage Z3 (no longer in the market, but terrific camera for point & shot and manual control, 4 Mpxls and also shoots video with DVD quality/30fps/640x480 - mono audio), forget the Z6 or Z5 (more pixels but less good) - you may get a Z3 in second hand market for 150 € (it's worth 400 or more - on the amazing video alone - if you ask me, still many may want to sell).
For 200€ I favour the Lumix's instant quality, but an experienced "manual" photographer can get the Minolta to do the same (just lowering the ISO to 50 and messing in manual ap/sh/white/focus is enough, altough you can get a wide lens - 18 - and chromatic/polarized filters).
The one's above - FZ and Z - have built-in image stabilizers so it does not shake at high zooms, the one's below do not (use tripods or steady hands
).
If you want an "almost pro/almost reflex" which will allow a great more deal of control - focus being done on the lens itself if you wish - and more "specific" pictures (with depth of field and lighting effects beyond the limited aperture/shutter/whites control of the ones above and so on) try the Samsung Digimax Pro 815, great below ISO 200, here, around less than 500 €, very nice semi-pro/pro_in_the_right_hands camera, 8 Mpxls and around 15x optical zoom (28-420 mm equiv.) and ISO up to 800.
For a reliable more long term camera, pro/advanced_pro entry range, an SRL (reflex), I'd take the Nikon D50 + a good lens kit (18-300 or so, which exist, and some tele may hold in optical stabilizers), which should be around 1000-1200 € here, the whole set, which is no longer "budget", but given the camera, 6 Mpxls, with an awsome sensor, it is (up to 1600 ISO and it looks good).
If really on a tight budget, there are 1.3 or so Mpxls which are only point&shot no optic-zoom for less than 40 €, and of course, the one's in cell phones (erg, yack! - even the Carl Zeiss in Nokias).
So, it all depends on what and how you want to photograph and what you wanna do with it later on.
Kind Regards,
AMR
http://www.alvaromrocha.com
