Years ago I needed a digital camera because I was interested in getting fast good pictures. I had been used to an SLR, using a Minolta SRT 101 with a few lenses, and then I went to a Nikon F1 with the FTN feature with various Nikor lenses.
The digital camera I settled on back then was an Olympus Camedia C-2000 with 2.1 Megapixels. Took great pictures and coupled up with the HP Photo and Imaging program I could crop and adjust the pictures. The downfall was that at the time you had to use the Camedia batteries which were NI-MH. Regular Duracell batteries would let you take one picture and that was it. I upgraded the memory card to 32 MB. On high resolution it allowed me to take about 64 pictures. That camera back then when they first came out was a $1000.
A few years ago I got my wife a Nikon Coolpix S520, fits into my top pocket. It has 8.0 Megapixels with an ISO of 2000, upgraded the card to 512 MB and the battery will die a few tunes before you fill the card. Takes unbelievable pictures, I still use the HP program but now have Photoshop Elements 7 to do editing and to write on.
I think that camera then was less than $250.
I still like the SLR feature and I'm thinking about getting a Nikon D3000, with a 18-55 mm zoom 10.2 Megapixels and a 3" LCD Monitor. You can buy the kit for $499. Best thing is I can use my old Nikor lenses in the manual mode.
The whole thing comes down to is "what do you really need". These new digital cameras are basically fool proof and take excellent pictures. The main thing as you can see on a lot of these gun sites is lousy lighting.
Good luck and let us know what you decide on.
