What kind of digital camera should I buy and why?

i dont know a lot of technical junk. please could u tell me what kind of digital camera is the best without spending a fortune.

Everyone at my school carries around their digital camera and the most common cameras are Kodak Easy Share cameras. I have the Easy Share c310 and it's great!

Samsung Digimax S600 I Think. It only cost me 149 dollars at walamrt. and it has every kind of feature you want on their. i love it and it takes aweosme pics. hope i helped :)

normally, just get anything at least 3Mega Pixels...anything more than that is just a waste since you will never tell the difference. Unless you will have a blow-up a photo in poster size.

Sometimes you need some of that technical talk to make sure you buy the camera you really need. If you REALLY don't care, then, please, buy the cheapest camera you can find. It can be that simple, and you don't need to read any of the advice offered in Yahoo Answers.

But if you do care about the quality of the pictures you take, then, at least, take the time to consider a little of this "techspeak."

For what do you intend to use the camera? If you only want some quick snaps to view on the computer screen, then you don't need more than about 1 megapixel. You can get plenty of cameras like this for under $100. Some are well under $50. The only advice I offer about these is that you stick to the name brands,

If you want good quality 3x4 or 5x7 prints, you will need to shell out the bucks for a 3 megapixel or better camera. Again, we are talking about print quality.

If you intend to have larger prints, such as 8x10 or 9x12, you will not be happy with anything less than about 5 or 6 megapixels. You might be able to get a decent 11x14 inch print from one of these if the lens quality is very good. Again, I recommend a known name brand manufacturer. Expct to pay $300 to $500.

If you are thinking something a professional might use, then consider 8 megs or better, such as 12 or 15 megs. These will cost you in the plus $1,000 range and way, way up.

When you shop, you will read about zoom lenses. For strictly computer viewing, digital zoom will probably work for you. Zoom is the magnification of the picture you want to capture, such as getting a close up image of an animal or person far away.

If you are more serious about zoom photography, and intend to get good prints, then IGNORE THE DIGITAL ZOOM NUMBERS. The only ones that count, for quality images is OPTICAL ZOOM. The more optical zoom number, the better. Remember, you should expct to pay more for this feature.

There are lots of other features to look for, but based on your question, you are not likely interested in these. So, there are only two technical terms and features to remember. Megapixel and optical zoom.

You don't want to spend the money, only to find out you are not happy with the equipment.

Happy hunting.

You can go for Kodak cameras. Go for a 4 to 6 megapixel camera. But I suggest you look for the optical zoom offered by these companies. Normally all offer 3x optical zoom but if u can get anything above it is good. They advertise 12x digital zoom which is not relevant here. Check brands like Canon, NIkon, Sony and Samsung also. Read brochures and ads. before you decide on buying. Also visit web sites dealing with digital cameras. All the best.

My camera is a Kodak EasyShare c315 It takes great pictures and doesn't have many bells and whistles. Just enough to make good pictures. Plus it comes with a printer. its only $50 at Wal-mart

I can also vouch for the Kodak lineup. They take good pictures and they're idiot-proof. Canon's are also very good. Get anything by those brands, and reserve $50 of your budget for a memory card.

OK; drive to WalMart. Get a Kodak C330 camera. It's about $100 or less. If you really want some fun, you can buy it with a Photmate printer/charger. this lets you sit the camera on top, charge the batteries, or print 4x6 or wallet size prints without ever taking the memory card out. It does have some memory built in, but for more than about 8 shots, get a SD memory card (same store). They are inexpensive ( buy about 128 or 256 meg, 64 meg if you are on a budget).
Hey, if you don't like it or can't work it, you have 90 days to take it back!

Nikon Coolpix 4600 (4 megapixel) or 5600 (5 megapixel plus video) are both under $200, even including a decent sized memory card (512K to 1 GB). I have many digital cameras and I am never disappointed with the results of my 4600. AND - it uses "AA" batteries instead of expensive special batteries. It's about the size of a pack of cigarettes, too. There are newer cameras that I am not as familiar with in that price range, but since you said "good, small, cheap," this is one (two) I can really recommend from experience. There are newer Coolpix cameras, but I admit that I am not familiar with all of their features. I'd say to just be sure you get one that has an optical viewfinder, though, because you can't always see the image in an LCD viewfinder.

Here are a few samples. These pics were taken with the Coolpix 4600 with no tricks or gimmicks or filters or anything. They had some "very minor adjustments" in Photoshop. If you bought this camera today, you would be able to go out and snap these pictures yourself.

500KB - http://members.aol.com/swf08302/benfrank...
Supported on a metal fence for about a 3 second exposure

1.7 MB - http://members.aol.com/swf08302/commstho...
Just a grab shot of a particular house

2MB - http://members.aol.com/swf08302/sunset20...
Pretty winter sunset

38KB - http://members.aol.com/swf08302/solstice...
That's Venus up in the sky