what is the best digital camera?

bombshell is very amusing, but Sony do make some nice cameras. Your budget of $200; what kind of dollars? Australian, Bahamian, Barbadian, Belize, Bermudan, Brunei, Canadian, Cayman Islands,Cook Islands, East Caribbean, Fijian, Guyanese, Hong Kong, Jamaican, Kiribati, Liberian, Namibian, New Zealand, Singaporean, Solomon Islands, Surinamese, New Taiwan, Trinidad and Tobago, Tuvaluan, United States or the Zimbabwean dollar? Also, what camera companies are active and provide service and repairs in your part of India? World-wide, the best cameras under $US200 are probably from Canon, Olympus, Nikon, Fuji, Pentax and Panasonic; oh yes...and Sony. But what features do you need? Does it have to be tough enough to withstand bad weather and rough handling? Olympus TOUGH or Pentax Optio might be your best bet; want more zoom than others in the price range: that would be Canon; interested in using a telescope coupler for birding? Nikon fills the bill best. There are just too many variables for anyone to give you a useful answer, and please beware of anyone who says "X is the best", because even if there was one brand that made the best camera in every category (which there isn't!) it still might not be the best for you; even a simple thing like being left-handed, or long-sighted or having smaller or larger hands than the average American male (they buy most cameras, so manufacturers design around their preferences and body dimensions) can turn a dream camera into a lemon!

of course the beats digital camera is sony.if you can afford it buy it and you will never ever regret it!