<p>Canon A-series+massive pack of AA batteries+big memory card= a good, basic set-up.</p>
<p>I have an A95 (sames as the A610), and like it a lot. I got an A in digital photography with it, so it must be fairly decent.</p>
<p>I just bought a used D50 last week and LOVE IT!! I would totally marry do so was legal. ;)</p>
<p>i would never buy a camera by kodak - i just don't like them. my aunt and sister both have one and i don't like how they work, and i don't think the pictures are all that great. my mom has an HP, and the same is true with hers. my boyfriend has an HP as well and his is a little worse than my moms (because he doesn't have any optical zoom). my best friend has a sony and he seems to like his alright.. the thing i don't like about sony is that their memory sticks are twice as expensive as a normal cameras. i've used canon's at work and wasn't too satisfied with their battery life.</p>
<p>i'd go with nikon because i think they are the best.</p>
<p>
[quote]
Some of my friends have digital cameras that can only take AA batteries
[/quote]
</p>
<p>That would get annoying quickly.</p>
<p>:)</p>
<p>dude, i just got a canon powershot SD630, it is super sweet. Its 6 Mpxls, and just came out in february...i love it. The pictures are awesome and it has some cool special features....</p>
<p>Oh yea, it also has a 3.0 inch LCD screen (it is gi-normous)</p>
<p>canon's have nice picture quality but their lcd screens tend to be more fragile than normal. nikons are the most durable in my experience. i dont know much about sonys i guess they're pretty good.. mom has one. the casio exilim is a good one also.. hard body, pretty nice pictures as well. my friend carries it around everywhere.</p>
<p>I bought a Sony Cybershot in 2003 - and it's still going very strong! I have NEVER had any problems with it and it's been through a lot.</p>
<p>It's kind of outdated now of course, but it still functions very well.</p>
<p>Just my 2 cents.</p>
<p>I like how that Elixim looks but I just CAN'T bring myself to buy a Casio. I have this idea in my mind that they're low quality and cheap. </p>
<p>... I've been searching for a digital camera but I keep second guessing myself about it. Like four years ago I spent a bunch of money on normal camera equipment(was taking photography courses) and I was thinking about a digital SLR that would share alot of the equipment I already have... but then I was like, no, I don't need that. Then I got to looking at point and shoot cameras. I found a few that I liked but I was looking at a price of around $600. Now I'm like, okay, if I spend just a little bit more, I can get a seriously superior dSLR camera.... and it'll work with all the equipment I already have(lenses, flash, remotes, etc)</p>
<p>... so here I am with NO new digital camera because I can't decide what I want. </p>
<p>I hope you have better luck shopping that I did. :)</p>
<p>which nikon coolpix model do you guys recommend?
also is it true that it takes a long time in between photos?</p>
<p>I don't know what models are out there now, since mine is a couple of years old. You can probably get better ones for the same price I paid for mine.</p>
<p>I don't have any other camera to compare time between photos with. It takes a bit of time between flash pictures, but I hadn't noticed any big lag between non-flash pics.</p>
<p>Higher mega pixels doesn't always mean better pictures.</p>
<p>I agree with kinglin's statement ^^</p>
<p>I have a Casio EX-s500 and I love it. I am a lot into photography and also have a SLR for my phototrips, but I took several of my best pictures with my little Casio EX.
Only problem-keep the camera in a case or it will scratch pretty fast and the lense is very sensitive....
Before this one I had a Casio QV-R3 for 4 years. I took it to the beach and got sand in the lense...</p>
<p>xjenephax</p>
<p>mine does take a long time between photos and startups but mine is also pretty old.. there's prob newer models out that have quicker startup times.. possibly do a search on the internet.</p>
<p>i dont use flash because there is lag between pictures and flash makes pictures look flat anyways..</p>
<p>best camera for the money, BY FAR</p>
<p>Whatever you do, DO NOT get a Samsung Digimax 430. Most disappointing, piece of s*** camera I've ever used. And I need to spend more $$ to get a different camera now.</p>
<p>It runs out of batteries after 2 minutes of use, and can only hold 25 photos (you need to buy extra memory cards or something).</p>
<p>you know what, get a casio exilim. upon playing with my friend's camera for an entire day, i like it a lot. lots of settings, really fast, and you can take it around with you anywhere.</p>
<p>sony memory sticks are actually very very cheap on ebay, far cheaper than any other type of camera storage...</p>
<p>Don't know if it's been said, but you should also get a decent photo printer with your purchase. I got an Epson Stylus R200 when I bought my camera (it was a special offer) and it not only does photos well, but can also print onto CDs/DVDs. A good compliment to my monochrome laser printer.</p>
<p>Mine doesn't have this, but some of them actually let you put your memory card/stick right into a slot on the front of the printer. I always work through the computer anyway though because I use Photoshop to enhance things all too often.</p>
<p>I have a nikon, and i love it. its about 3 years old though, so its probably not a model you can get at the store anymore. i may actually have to replace it soon.</p>
<p>my sister had an Elph and it was crap. I had to use it on a trip and it was terrible.</p>
<p>Does anybody find the lack of a viewfinder bothersome? I am a bit farsighted, and I have some difficulty focusing on the LCD screen without my glasses. Does the LCD screen get washed out when used in bright sunlight?</p>