For point and shoot cameras I really like the canon sx 160. It has manual settings, exposure compensation, does video and takes great pics. runs on AA batteries (important in cold weather) and is small enough to fit in a pocket.
For serious work DSLR cameras are the best option.
Any of them will work great. If you are going to get serious about photography go with Canon or Nikon. They have the best options for lenses, lights, etc.
There are also options of crop sensor or full frame sensor cameras. crop sensors have a 1.6x magnification thru the lenses. where as full frames don't. Example a 50mm lens on a full frame is 50mm but on a crop sensor the 50mm is really 80mm. there are pros and cons to each.
But you cant go wrong with either set up.