Which digital camera is for me?

I've never had a digi cam before, I want it for just basic pictures. I'm a college student and I'd like to grab the camera and just snap some pics. i want something that's pretty fast w/out a long delay. My price right now is about $280.

I also want to know the best place to buy it from and how long it will actually take to ship here

Consumer Reports for November 2006 has ranked the Canon Powershot A620 as the best compact digital camera. It is becoming almost a legend for longevity at the top of various consumer lists. It looks like this model has been replaced by the A630, which I would expect to be just as popular. The A640 appears quite similar and shares the "600" series numbering, so I guess it's just another upgraded version of the now-classic A620. It looks pretty much the same except for being a 10 MP camera.

I own a few Nikon DSLR's and I'd buy the Canon A630 or A640 for myself.

The A620 was rated about twice as good as any as far a battery life. I hope the A630 and A640 are just as good. Use Energizer e2 LITHIUM batteries and you will be happy with battery life.

With this camera, you will find the memory card is a cute little token of thanks from Canon, but not much more. Buy a 1 GB Sandisk Ultra II or Extreme III card. You will NEED the increased capacity and write speed to fully realize the benefits of your camera.

http://www.dpreview.com/reviews/compare_...

If you want a sleek, smaller camera, consider the Canon Powershot SD600. It gives up some of the features of the A630 and 640, but at least it still has an optical viewfinder.

http://www.dpreview.com/reviews/compare_...

If you want to trim the budget a little, the Canon Powershot A430, A530 or A540, are all great choices. You will need a decent memory card, though. I'd say get at least 512 MB.

http://www.dpreview.com/reviews/compare_...

Look for a camera that is at least 2 Mega Pixels...with your budget, the sky is the limit! The 5 & 6 Mega Pixel cameras are quite reasonable. If you like to zoom in on the action, make sure the OPTICAL zoom is great enough for you. (Digital zoom just grabs the middle out of your picture.)

Your best bet for a camera education is to go to a camera store and see which model/manufacturer of camera you like best.

Shipping anywhere in the USA takes less than a week.

If portability is what you are after, I would recommend the Canon IXUS 65. It is small, highly portable and has a large LCD screen. However it lacks dedicated manual modes.. but this should not matter unless you are a photography enthusiast. It also does movie mode at VGA resolution (640 x 480 pixels).

I do not know exactly what you mean by wanting a 'fast' camera, as this could mean a number of things such as:
1) Fast startup (turning-on the camera)
2) Fast AF (auto-focus)
3) Low shutter lag
4) 'Fast lens' (i.e high maximum aperture, e.g F2.8)

But the answer to 1), 2) and 3) is 'reasonable' for a camera of this size. In general, all digital compact cameras have some degree of AF and shutter lag, but this is not too bad for the IXUS 60.

'Fast' cameras with fast startup, AF and low shutter lag are usually features reserved for professional digital SLR cameras (which cost much much more).

Depending on where you buy from, shipping could be anywhere between 1-7 days for most places.

There would probably be a few cameras out there that would satisfy you. Check out Canon cameras. Browse around Best Buy if possible.