Canon's digital cameras have been well regarded for years. I'm sure you can find one in your price range.

Kodak went bankrupt a few years ago and the business (under the same name but with a revised market focus) is owned by another company. To me, its failure speaks to the (lack of) quality of the products.

Thanks Snidely,
I'll look at the Cannon ones for sure.
I'm sure most of the cameras now day can be taken into Paint shop pro
type programs for adjusting the pictures.

There are standard file formats for still images that (I believe) all cameras produce and that editing programs can read and process. Nothing of note is proprietary, everybody can play with everybody else.

I haven't even had time to look at them.. sure hope it well work there.. PSP has a long list of files they support.

Most known name cameras are worth considering in my opinion. Price for most of us is the main criteria. When you decide which one you could check it out at Steve's digicam for a review. That site has been around for years.

Regarding software I never load the program that comes with any camera, they are so loaded with stuff you do not need. All the software you need to view your photos is already on your PC. If you decide to try photo editing there is a wealth of free programs out there depending on the amount of editing you wish to do.

If you already have PSP you are more than ready. PSP7 was the last shareware type version, after that Corel bought them out and changed things then Microsoft bought Corel

Irfanview is a very good, free, simple program. If you decide to get it also grab the plug ins as they are what makes Irfanview great.

As far as I know, Microsoft never did "buy" Corel. It did a small preferred stock investment ages ago (more than 10 years ago) which I'm sure they've long since written off. Corel is a stand along company, I don't know if the company's stock is publicly traded or not.

Corel has a stable of unpopular old and shop-worn products, it's a wonder the company is still around.

owbist,
PSP made version 7.. 8 & 9.
I have them.. 8 isn't very good.. 7 & 9 are good. I use both as there are different things they can do.
I used to do a lot with them..A friend of mine had a pix of her parents wedding. There was a man between them. I took him out & moved her parents together.
I have forgotten how to do most of the fancy stuff. Since I moved into this large apt building the biggest thing I do now is take pix for the council. Some of them need to be edited some.

I have a old (at least 25 years old) 35 millimeter (sp) camera my husband had. It has all kinds of lens. He paid $75 for the case it is in. It takes GREAT pix but no one wants it now as it isn't digital. I never used it & never will. Digital has spoiled me :-)
Dar

Almost every camera, except maybe the el cheapos, is going to come with some kind of software for viewing and/or editing pictures. If you like that software is another question. That's entirely a matter of personal preference and what kind of editing you need or want to do.

Steve's is a good site for camera information.

I just bought a Fujifilm SL1000 a few months ago for a trip I took in December and really like it. The zoom worked awesome for me on it. And I love the super macro. Eventually I want a canon 60D and lenses but for the price I am happy with the fuji for now. Was on special for $300 with free shipping from HSN. Mary

I have an older Easy Share and a new Canon both around $150. Both came with huge complicated manuals. The Canon is loaded with so many complex features, I dread having to use the thing. I usually end up grabbing the Easy Share. It came with extra software but most of what I want to do can be accomplished with Windows. It is much more user friendly.

I am by no means a picture/camera aficionado. I've had a Canon Powershot for some years now. The model I have uses 2 AA batteries which is nice as they are always available if/when needed. (I keep photo rechargeables in it.)

It is user friendly and admittedly way more than what I need. I just ignore what I don't want to become involved in. It transfers pictures by hardwire or by removing the SD card. It was around $150.00. If it ever dies I am going to look for a similar model.

Never used the software that came with it.

DA