If you're patient, you can find really good deals on closeouts at such places as Office Depot. I bought mine, a 3 MP, a couple of years ago for $125!. I bought my wife a Cannon 3 MP for Christmas for $99. at Big Lots.
A really important feature is Optical Zoom. The more the better. Digital zoom doesn't mean anything as you can do that on the computer afterwards. Digital zoom results in a loss of quality.
DonM