Check Adorama and B&H Camera. They are both reputable mail order houses. They have FAQ's on thier web sites to help you. They sell used stuff as well. Thier used equipment comes with a guarentee. They sell at a good price.

Now there are a few things to watch for when buying a new camera. The biggest thing is look for "GREY MARKET" goods. These are name brand camera's imported by someone other than Cannon, Minolta ect. They do NOT have a US warrenty. If they break you would have to send them back to Japan for warrenty repairs. This is a dicy thing. Be sure that you are getting a US version. And lastly look to see if it is refurbished. This has kinda died out recently. But it is still out there.

You want the most megapixels you can afford. Right around 3 should do for most of the needs you have. look for the biggest optical zoom you can. A 3X of 4X is normal in the price range you are looking at. What this means is the bigger the _X is the longer the zoom is. Or you can zoom in closer with the lens. Digital zooms just blow up a section of the picture. This can get a grainy picture in a hurry. So go with the biggest optical you can. I suggest you stick with the name brands, Nikon, Minolta, Cannon, Sony, Fuji, Kodak. These will usually give you the best performance for the bucks. Also look for bundled software. Sometimes a lesser camera will have a lot of good software with it. It can be the final decider between 2 brands. These brands are only brands that I am familiar with. There are other brands that are good too. I do not want to start a war. I personally like Nikon and Cannon. Choose the one that is right for you.

Check out the magazines, Shutterbug and Popular Photography are good sources. They usually have a digital primer or special issue divoted to digitals usually once a year. Many librarys have Popular Photography. You can check back issues for information. One last thing and I will get off my soapbox. Information is the key to get what you want at a good price. You must do the research. What works for one person probably won't work for you. Just read up and purchase wisly. I am only scratching the surface here so read up and good luck.

Mark Shuman

BTW these are just my suggestions. If you have specific questions feel free to pm me here.