If you want to take static pics, almost any 2mp and up brand name camera will do just fine. All of my photos that I've posted here up until now have been with an older Olympus 2mp camera off of ebay. It will take a high enough resolution photo that Photobucket will still have to reduce the size. If you want an all around camera, look for something in the 4-6mp range with 3x-5x optical zoom to stay in your price range. Don't let "digital zoom" be a selling point. It's no different from resizing and cropping on the computer. Optical zoom is the important type of zoom. Stick with name brands like Sony, Olympus, Fuji, Cannon, Nikon, Kodak, Pentax, etc. I just picked up an OfficeMax flyer off the top of the pile of newspapers. The first thing I see is a Fuji Finepix F650 with 6mp and 6x optical zoom within your range. I'm sure there are dozens of other cameras that will fit the bill also.

If you want to take launch photos, you need to do a bit of research and find something that doesn't have much shutter lag. Hopefully the new cameras aren't as bad as the ones I delt with a few years ago when I was looking for my first digital. I used to get really good liftoff shots with my 35mm SLR, but I've never had good luck with the old digital. I finally broke down and combined the positives of both with a Digital SLR.

Let us know a little bit more of what you plan to use the camera for. Just like with Centuri/Estes, Ford/Chevy/Chrysler, etc. everyone has their favorite brands. If you have a favorite, you probably would pay a few bucks more for the trust you have in that particular camera company. They all have their strengths and weaknesses, but they all are getting better and better every year.