I've done a lot of patent filings, A good provisional looks like a real patent and can be turned into a patent with little hassle and not much more expense. The downside is that there is a lot more work for the lawyer to create a good provisional. A $200 provisional is a joke (just look at the form) and not worth the paper is written on...you need to have a lawyer spend time writing it up properly (esp. the claims). I'm not $5000 is the right price either though. In comparison a full patent filing will cost $15K from a good firm.