Some things to think about: - There really are no cr@ppy DSLRs being sold anymore. Even the new low-end cameras offer the latest in image-processing software and lens technologies. - Even the low-end cameras also offer more than enough resolution (megapixels) for anything short of poster-sized prints. Don't get caught up in the megapixel race. It's like deciding between a car with 300 hp and one with 400 hp. Either will get the job done; your camera choice should be based on more than just raw power. - You really should handle the camera you plan to buy. Some people find some cameras too large to handle comfortably. - The camera you buy should allow you to output pictures in RAW format. This format contains more picture information so you can manipulate it digitally later without losing picture quality. - It's a fact that most people buying SLRs these days never use more than the lenses that come in the box with the camera. Unfortunately, these "kit lenses" typically are not the best the camera manufacturer offers. Check out what other lenses the manufacturer offers and consider lenses sold by third-party manufacturers as well. You may find your pictures are noticeably better with a lens other than a kit lens -- especially one designed for the kinds of images you want to take (macro, telephoto, etc.) - Some manufacturers offer image stabilization. This can be useful in getting pictures in low-light or fast-moving situations. The two types of IS are in-lens and in-camera. In-lens is better, but it means you're paying for IS with every lens you buy. Hard to say if one choice is better than the other. :-P - Keep in mind that DSLR technology is still evolving some. Back when film SLRs were popular, it made sense to spend a good chunk of money on a camera you'd be growing into for 10-15 years. Given how quickly improvements still are being made, it doesn't make a lot of sense to spend well into four figures for a DSLR while you learn to take better pictures. Most DSLRs just aren't going to have that long a practical life. Good luck!

My first digital camera was a Kodak, and I hated it. The color was awful - people looked gray-dead. I actually returned it within the 30 guarantee period and bought a Canon. That has been a few years ago now, so it's entirely possible Kodak's technology, etc. is now much improved - but I'm brand-shy with them now for sure. I'm actually looking for a new camera also, something smaller and easier to carry than the Canon I have now, so I'm interested in what people have to say here on this tread also. :)

Not all Olympus cameras require the XD cards; mine uses XD or Compact Flash. My Lumix FZ35 uses SD cards. Susan, when you've got a small list of possibilities, here's a couple of suggestions: Look each one up on Amazon, checking the customer ratings and looking at the images people have posted. Bear in mind that many of these pictures were taken by a limited number of people--i.e., most customers don't upload images to Amazon. But they're still worth looking at. Go to Flickr.com and do a search on each camera model. Many members assign the model as a tag on their photos. Again, you're likely to see the same people posting over and over. But not as few as on Amazon. If you're interested in video, do the same thing on YouTube. I'm not a video person at all, but I discovered on YouTube that my Lumix takes beautiful ones. :-)

I know my answer is WAAAY afer the fact, but I thought I'd post anyway. I have the Hawk Eye Video Camera in my bluebird box at home, where I had chickadees nesting last summer. It has a 100' foot A/V cable that hooks up directly to a TV with RCA audio/video jacks. The power cord is in the same cable, and I just run it though a window. I use Pinnacle Video Transfer and Pinnacle Studio to capture the video as mpeg and make YouTube videos. I also burned a DVD. I dug a trench and laid PVC pipe for the cable to run through underground. The only thing I had a problem with was radio interference in the audio. I couldn't figure out how to get rid of it, so for most of the summer I left the audio cable unplugged. Toward the end of the nest I plugged it back in, and the figured out how to get rid of the interference through noise reduction in the Pinnacle software. Here's an example from YouTube: Overlook Circle Chickadee Nest July 10-15 , 2008. The last 7 minutes has audio (when I finally figured out how to get rid of the interference.) The YouTube quality isn't quite as good as what you'll see directly from the camera or when you burn a DVD at the highest quality. It was really cool to see and I'm sure kids would love it!