Thanks so much, all of you. And Carol and Niecey, a belated Happy Canada Day to you both! I am having a lot of fun with this camera; I actually had nothing to do with how any of the photos turned out - I just pressed the button, sometimes holding it down, and sometimes not. I was lucky, they just turned out well! So, Iris gal, the crocus rose shot was an accident, but a very pretty one. Carla, my dear sister-in-law bought a new (very expensive) camera, and kindly gave me her old one, a Kodak DX 4330. I am thrilled with the photos it takes, and it seems very simple to use (which is VERY important for me). Since there is no instruction book, I have to check out some of the Kodak Tutorials to get the most out of it. Mark, I also LOVE Tamora's blooms, but I have to say, I'm am not crazy about the fragrance, so I just don't get too close LOL Jean, we'd love to see pictures of your Evelyn too - she sure is a beauty. Judith

I'm gonna guess you've already got a camera?

The Canon I mentioned above is a small point and shoot, optical zoom of 20x, does video and a little bit of fun stuff but it's primary purpose is to point and shoot. I'm not very good at taking pics, but my sister is, she has the same camera and it takes pictures as beautifully as the ones posted above. My point is, is that regardless of what "popular" brand you choose, if you go with a point and shoot that has optical zoom (as opposed to digital) and it's priced in the 200-300 range you're going to get a camera that will take some really stunning pictures. I think any differences in picture quality would be so subtle that really only a professional or hobbyist would be able to tell. And, while you've been given a lot of great information here, it is confusing or over whelming for those of us who aren't photography buffs. If you have a camera shop in the area, do what I did when I bought my DSLR, stop in to see what they recommend as a good option. They know their products, love talking about cameras, have the cameras there to show you for a visual and can answer questions. The camera shops often do repairs too and know which brands have problems and what the problems are. The one I went to even has a free class you can go to if you want to learn first hand about using all your new camera's options. My only regret is that I didn't go back and purchase that camera from him the way I should have. I made up for it though by purchasing my next camera there and sending my daughter there to buy their GoPro. :c)

One work-around I've found for that, Marlorena, is to back up and take the shot from a further distance. The camera will likely get all items in focus, doing that. Then you can take advantage of the great resolution the camera has by cropping and enlarging that portion of the photo, so it is like a close-up. Another trick is to experiment with the plane of the shot. By slightly depressing the shutter button, the camera will show you which areas are in focus in the field of view by surrounding those with green rectangles. If you tilt the camera slightly or shift it to a slightly different view, you will often find you can bring more of a view into focus by doing that kind of adjustment.