Advice sought on getting a first camera

[MichaelEmouse]

I'm thinking of getting a first camera but I really don't know what I should get or what I should know about cameras.

I plan to use it to for very pedestrian stuff like pets and sightseeing. It would be nice if it can take good pictures of landscapes.

Optical image stabilization would be appreciated because I tend to shake when holding a camera. Being able to take pictures of moving objects would be quite nice.

Being able to take pictures in low light conditions would add a lot of flexibility.

A camera small and light enough that I can easily carry would ensure that I have it on me often.

I don't want to deal with proprietary batteries and memory.

I'm not spending more than 200$ on Ebay.


Anything else a newbie should know about cameras?