Best point and shoot camera?

I have a Nikon D5000 DSLR, but it's so big it's hard to take it everywhere. Since I'm going on some trips this summer where I'd rather not risk damaging my camera and with college on the horizon, I was wondering what point and shoot digital camera produces the clearest results for under $200.

Panasonic Lumix, any model within your price range. They're great quality, robust, great battery life, perfect point and shoot. I've had five over the years and they are a great addition to my Nikon DSLRs.

Elaine is right, Lumix is a great brand for P&S cameras. My favorite Lumix model is Lumix LX5.
Other best P&S cameras in the market today are Canon s95, Olympus XZ-1 and Nikon P300.
And apparently Nikon P300 is cheapest of the lot.
If you want dSLR quality in a smaller size body, you may also look at "Micro four thirds" camera, such as Olympus E-PL1, Olympus E-PL2, Panasonic GF1, GF2 & GF3 as well. They produce pictures as good as your Nikon d5000 but are much smaller. And currently Olympus E-PL1 is the cheapest mirror-less camera in the market.

Best point and shoot cameras: http://www.bhphotovideo.com/...4291372330

Under 200: http://www.bhphotovideo.com/...4291645405

You would be best off getting a Sony Cybershot at that budget.