RE: DIGITAL CAMERA QUESTION
Best is to ask around the local camera stores, and see what kind of deal you can get... Stay away from the big stoes, like Future Shop et all, as they wil sell you what they have, with little info / knowledge given.
This type of technology, while cutting edge, is changing and advancing constantly. What cost $500 today, will be on sale in about 6 months... for probably close to half that... (OK, that's a bit of an exageration, but holds some truth..)
Ideally, you want toe most resolution possible, the most 'megapixels'. this will yeild the sharpest pictures. Zoom functions are nice too. Compare the features, but I expect most will be a small 'point and shoot' camera.
Also think about memory sticks, as most have a limited amount of memory, and it would be a shame to loose the first 50 pics, becasue you haven't had a chance to download them...
While the camera is a tool to capture the photo, the real fun starts with the photo editing software. Here, you can crop, zoom, shade, sharpen, etc... the shots.. so, that's another thing to think about.. the camera, and the software. (Don't rely on the bundled software to be great. it's usually just to 'show' the pictures..