>>1788 (OP)
>want normal quality photos
>video recording is a plus
The quality of the video and the depth of field achievable is what mostly separates camera types and prices. Post a photo you feel would be the right example of "normal quality" and i can probably confirm if one of my suggestions is right for you.
In short you want a simple to operate, somewhat durable, cheap-ish photo-centric camera, that is simple enough but you would also need to specify if you are okay with used goods, in the camera world that isn't that much of a problem unless analog with tons of internals, it has a weak shutter or is cheaply build enough to break over time.
I have some suggestions, one for enthusiasts if you want to hone your abilities later on and one for casual, trivial operation to use something not your cellphone at gatherings or normal walks.
First suggestion would be an entry-level "student's" DSLR (digital single lens reflex system), brand new you can find the Canon Rebel line or the Nikon D3#00 line. Rebel line has two variants, the really poorfag option of the 4000D/T100 line which is the barebones basics or the normal Rebel T#, last one being the T7 i believe but honestly if you are just starting the T100 is very good on its own; last one of the Nikons is the D3500.
Pros of these cameras:
>Very durable if taken care of aka not repeatedly throwing it at full force to the ground and not soaking it in torrential rain
>Great battery life
>Great image quality compared to most cameras that can be tweaked even further if processed with photo programs using the modifiable heavy format
>Can change lenses depending on your style or needs
Cons:
>Can be seen as bulky or way too big for casual, trivial use
>Might arouse too much attention from the nigger cattle in both good and bad ways
>Needs lenses depending on your style or needs
If you want no-nonsense shooting then it means using one of these in Full Auto program aka just point and shoot, in my opinion the T100 is good enough, coupled with a kit lens and particularly very good if the optional 75-300mm or 50-250mm are also included, usually the normal option is 300 dollars, you might get the other lens and some goodies for 450. Nikon D3500 is still pretty expensive for what it is, the normal option is around 400 to 450.
There's also the used market, the Rebel T5 is like the T100 but inside the T7 body and can be had for 200 with the other lens included but one needs to have a sharp eye or a very trusted seller to get a good one, the Nikon D3300 is an older version of the brand but one of the best and goes for 200 too if lucky. These cameras have an explicit life expectancy in the form of the shutter mechanism that makes the pictures, in these economic camera lines the shutter usually goes for something like 50,000 actuations but can easily go above that if taken care of... so for an amateur casual shooter these are normally more than enough, used market items usually have at the average most around 10,000 clicks so you will get a good kick out of it and your real worry would be the condition of the lenses' internal elements.
There's a fangled new option that is mirrorless aka shutter-less, the Canon R100 which goes for surprisingly cheap: 450 dollars for modern technology and a smaller body size but it has its cons like battery life and limited market for both used bodies and brand new lenses to fit them in, also a bit more weak in terms of body duration.
Your other option is the point-n-shoot compact segment, these are usually even cheaper but the image quality drops considerably in normal conditions at the cost of much more portable sizes and easier operation although this last point might be frustrating if you end up wanting to control many aspects of the shooting like exposure control.
Nowadays i am a bit disconnected from this market but the usual suspects rarely disappoint as the buyers rarely have high expectations, there's several flavors but i will mention two in the form of the "advanced" compact camera and the usual, stereotypical form of literal point and shoot cheap camera.
In the first flavor there's the big-ish sensor options (still quite small compared to the previous category) like the Panasonic Lumix LX10 or LX100 with 4/3'' sensors, Canon G7X III which is an oddity due to its large APS-C sensor (same as the student's DSLR ones) and viewfinder and the Ricoh GR III with its only one focal distance/length to use but perhaps with the best sensor out there for a pocket camera that is also APS-C.
Second flavor are the small sensor options with a bit more optical range, these are the Panasonic Lumix ZS200 or ZS100, Canon PowerShot line SX740 and Nikon Coolpix line P7800 (seemingly recently discontinued but still sold at some places)
There's even smaller sensors but with more complete zoom options which are also usually cheaper, like the Panasonic Lumix ZS80, Canon PowerShot ELPH 360 and the Nikon Coolpix P340 (also seemingly gone but still sold) or Nikon Coolpix A1000.
The Pros:
>Most usually quite compact to the point of being pocketable in normal pant sizes with the exception of some fancy others who can very easily fit in a coat or small jacket pocket anyways
>Sometimes their optical range is very, very far to the point of being funny
>Don't need to change lenses as they are build-in
Cons:
>Might arouse too much attention from the nigger cattle in bad ways for being seen as archaic or hipster faggotry depending on your context
>Pocketable doesn't mean durable and they will little by little break if snug tightly in pants, usually busting physically after one year or two years but with internals still working
>Usually not very weather sealed to withstand dusty or rainy weather unless clearly specified
>Prices can be quite high for the image quality received
>Usually not good at lowlight conditions
>Can't change lenses because they are build-in and are (very) hard to clean if dust gets into them
Yeah about the prices... although these might be seen as casual everyday use cameras with little technical prowess compared to their bigger brothers, if vastly more convenient to use, the prices are surprisingly steep. To make it quite short for you: LX10 is 600, LX100 is 800, G7X III is 750, Ricoh GR III is 900, ZS200 is 700, ZS100 is 600, SX740 is 430, P7800 was 380-ish (Amazon has some i think), ZS80 is 450, ELPH 360 is 270, P340 was 250-ish, A1000 is 430.
Of course the used market appears again here, some years ago you could have stuff for under a 100 but due to recently increasing massive hipster faggotry with Y2K the prices have skyrocketed with some items but oddly enough not with others, you might get lucky with some items and at the end of the day some of the small-sensor technology in the latter options here are no different from older counterparts like, for example, the ZS50 which is quite cheaper and even has a widely considered better lens. We are still in the early hipster tax days so you might get a good deal with a post-2010 camera, it is a poorly understood market by the mainstream so a lot of bullshit might happen here, either getting a great camera for less than a 100 or get scammed with a very good-looking but very early chunk of plastic for 150.
There's other decent options like Olympus cameras but they chopped most of that segment some months ago so i consider them used market only although some odd stores might sell still, i personally attest they are good quality but might trail back from other options in terms of features.
Also i didn't mention the second best option for photo compact cameras (or very first in terms of video and autofocus): Sony, they make not very good bodies in terms of build construction but have undoubtedly excellent sensor technology, they have one particular knack tho
>internet, subscriptions
Most contemporary cameras can connect to some sort of wi-fi or bluetooth along with touchscreens, that you can turn all off or knock out easily in the menus or taking it out in a small aperture near the battery, but some smaller segments in Sony cameras like these ones are infamous for blocking features behind subscriptions and paywalls (and checking you don't pirate it via connecting to da interwebz) so i discarded them from these lists.
Final Thoughts
- If i was you again right now and had or wanted to buy new i would factor considerably what i am going to do quite specifically: If i wanted to pull something out of my pants instantly and shoot my buddies' faces or some triviality and i had to wear a tight uniform or didn't mind that much losing my camera to some dumb incident i would pick a compact superzoom camera with small sensor, particularly the Panasonic ZS80.
- If i had to do the same with a fancier sensor at the cost of maybe feeling uncomfortable for losing the camera but not that much i would probably pick a ZS100 or its Leica counterpart or if i had to work a lot at lowlight/even fancier sensor i would go for a LX10 or its Leica counterpart :^)
- If i wanted particularly good looking family photos and textures for games that came from processed images for optical corrections so i could make PBR materials then i would probably pick a student's DSLR and shoot JPG in the former case and RAW in the latter, if new then a Rebel T100. Both good looking family pics and optimal texture acquisitions can be done with compact cameras/1-2.3-1 sensors but DSLRs/APS-C sensors give you more control for everything along with having a quality margin that can make up by capturing more detail in textures and light, along with nice enough quality for a 4k conversion without looking like an upscale.
If i didn't have to buy new i would pick, for the first casual buddy option, particularly a Panasonic ZS50 (150 or so) or a ZS70 if found cheap, if i had to get the fancier option i would pick my beloved Olympus Stylus 1 again and i will because mine got a bit busted up if even fancier or under harsh lowlight then the Nikon Coolpix A (500) or Panasonic LX10 (400) but have to admit the Canon G7X II is very tempting (500) would probably compare both heavily in terms of features.
If i had to get a student's DSLR then i would personally like a Nikon D3300 (200) but probably out of convenience a Rebel T5 (200 with both lenses) because it has more units out there along with plenty more lenses that are also cheaper... or actually an older APS-C for pros like the Nikon D2X, D2Xs or maybe a bit tamer like a Nikon D40 or D60 but these demand a bit more knowledge as i don't recall them having many full auto options for ease of use.
If honestly i wanted the cheapest thing that won't break after 10 uses and i know i could tweak on the PC a little then any Powershot with a rechargeable battery and non-proprietary memory card after 2005, sadly those are hipster catnip so maybe any Coolpix after 2005 with the same specs too like a S3100 i suppose (30-ish)
Here's some pics from said cameras in very normal conditions under a cover that blocks the sun's light, also downscaled by half, the noticeable thing to watch for is the "noise" or in casual terms the speckled/pixelated nature when peeping at full scale, particularly hiding in the shadow areas and inside big patches of colours. Last one is an example of the Rebel T5/1300D/T100/4000D sensor+processor combo quality when processed around in some software.
Be aware that the compact cameras have decent technology but have nowhere near the RAM and processing capabilities of a contemporary smartphone, there's no program behind processing and correcting optical flaws on the fly so lowlight problems here are a thing, a latest smartphone release will definitely kick the living shit out of these cameras but will instantly succumb when these babies start zooming out. With APS-C sensors the pictures will look vastly more natural but will still fall down when night time comes around, you need moderate knowing of what to do along with some knowledge in processing stuff via RAW formats/customizable pictures.