Unless you're shopping for a digital SLR and already have some old compatible lenses, your brand options for cameras are wide open.

Interchangable lens cameras (like digital SLRs) make you look more attractive than your basic point and shoot cameras, and those in turn make you look better than your camera phone.

Digital SLRs with a lens focal length of 300 to 400mm are recommended, but you can get away with a decent compact with a 10x zoom.