There are several point/shoot options in that price range. I would venture over to B&H Photo and look through their site. As was said, basically ignore digital zoom and focus (pun intended) on optical zoom Canon, Nikon, Sony, and Panasonic all make some decently rated cameras in your price range.
I shoot with Canon DSLR, but most any of the major makes will take great pictures. Based on your budget, a DSLR is out of the question. You will need to get up to around the $500 mark for an entry level DSLR and will still likely need additional lenses. A decent DSLR kit will easily get over $1000 pretty quickly.