I'll second getting a camcorder for the best value. They're good for this because they focus on having a big optical zoom and OIS over the sensor quality, and they're pretty compact and durable.
You can find them in stores with 20x optical zoom and OIS in the $600+ range, or less if you have time to wait for shipping.
A DSLR is a better value if you want to use it for other stuff in the future, though.
I'll second getting a camcorder for the best value. They're good for this because they focus on having a big optical zoom and OIS over the sensor quality, and they're pretty compact and durable.
You can find them in stores with 20x optical zoom and OIS in the $600+ range, or less if you have time to wait for shipping.
A DSLR is a better value if you want to use it for other stuff in the future, though.