What is the best digital camera for a family & is SLR worth it?

I want to invest in a camera that will last for my family. We will be taking it travelling this summer and we are not any of us experts though would like to learn more about photography.

If you are serious about wanting to learn more about photgraphy, you want a camera that will last a long time and you want the best pictures - buy an DSLR:

1. a point and shoot will limit your learning experience

2. a DSLR looked after with care should last a lifetime. I own and still use a couple of 35mm SLR's regularly. Some are over 50 years old and still put many digital cameras to shame. I also own a couple of Digital cameras, including a DSLR. My ancient Argus Range Finder still gets used. Most point and shoot cameras are throw aways - when they break, you throw it away. SLR's and DSLR's are repairable.

3. 80-90% of the result you get with any camera is solely dependant of the lens. Lenses on point and shooters are not great when compared to those available for DSLR's. you can buy a general use lens to start and then add to your bag as you discover what you like to do with your camera.

So how do you go about buyng a good DSLR. I recommend you go to a book store and buy a book or two specifically on digital photography with DSLR's. Next go to a reputable camera store and see what they have. Buy a camera that feels good in your hand - the right size, weight, etc. The controls should be easy to use.

What to buy - I'm a Canon fan, but buy what feels good on your hand. You should get a camera bag bigger than your think you need, a tripod (the best $50-100 you'll ever spend) and maybe a remote (the best $20 you'll ever spend). You can also go back the the store and spend more later.

Why a tripod? If you are going to be taking a lot of family vacation pictures you'll want the whole family in the pictures. A tripod allows everyone to get in the shot. A remote makes it easier to take the shot. You'll want to practise doing this before you go on your trip.

Even though I think a digital SLR would make a great choice, I don't think it would be the right choice for a total novice to photography...and especially someone about to go on holiday, because you don't want to spend your holiday trying to work out how to best use the camera and it's many various settings.

I think one option would be to buy a good prosumer type of digital camera that has full manual controls (aperture & shutter priority)...so you can learn how, why and when to use these settings.

Though, if you already have experience in using the manual controls on a 35mm film SLR camera, then a digital SLR would be a perfect choice...just factor in the cost of a decent lens or two, which usually cost more than the camera body alone.
I think that there are some good low cost entry level digital SLRs available, such as the Nikon D40, D80 or Canon 400D...which makes it quite affordable to take the step up to getting a digital SLR camera.

Good luck...

go to canonusa.com
I suggest a710is
good family camera

Of cause the DSLR is not the best choice for a family. It is too large and heavy.

panasonic lumix fz7! you can find it for $250 i think but no more than $300! these panasonics take the most beautiful pictures! its pretty user friendly....the setting options are very self explanitory use the portrait for closeups of people,use the scenery for outdorrs and so on....they are pretty resiliant too i dropped mine 3-4 times on cement before it had to get it fixed! its also very light and small enough that it isnt a big deal to carry.....on top of that it has a 12x zoom! to put it easily you can zoom way farther than any other digital and if you got a camera with interchangable lenses you would 3 different lenses to cover the rang of this camera! add in the image stabilizing for "shaky" hands will never have a blurry picture! get a $40 1GB SD memory card and you will be able to take 400 pictures! GOOD LUCK!

If you can afford too, buy an SLR digital camera. The prices are starting to fall like any other new gadget. I think you can find one now for $600+. I have a Sony Cybershot which takes excellent pics but it is only good at STILL SHOTS. You can save yourself alot of hardache by investing for the long hall when purchasing the SLR. It reacts much faster.

For most intent and purposes a compact digital camera will suffice and especially for travelling. You do not want to be bogged down with changing lenses, or damaging it. Compact digitals have almost the same features for features. With SLR you have the option of changing lenses to take different nature of shots. For compact digitals, consider the Sony Cybershot series or the Canon's Powershot series. The distint different are the batteries. Canon's uses the generic double A. Sony uses their proprietary batteries. Something to think about.

Depends really, if you dont mind the large camera the SLR will deliever the best picture quality over any point and shoot camera. But of course will you be willing to spend 2 grand on just a few lens. If not SLR is not meant for you. I try and buy the best lens that Canon offers (when price is not an issue) but of course life doesnt work that way so I save up for lens that cost 1 grand. A really good point and shoot camera will be better for you if you do not have that kind of money or want to spend that kind of money on an SLR. I would recommond the Canon A640 for a small camera but its not pocket size so it wont attract that much attention to it, bluky the camera (and at the same time small) attracts less attention to it than lets say a super slim camera. If you want a super slim camera the Canon SD900IS will probably be the best choice you can choose but of course if money is an issue the SD800IS and the SD700IS or even the SD600 are all still really good alternatives. If you want an SLR here are my recommondations, the Nikon D50 if you want really consumer friendly camera. If you dont care about comsumer friendly the Canon XTi is right for you. Even though is does have lots of automated features and has easy to navigate menus it can stand on its own. If you are more serious about photography there is the Nikon D80 (which I think is not as good as the XTi and so does dpreviews.com but they have more pro features that I wish that the XTi had. Canon 30D is a awsome camera (the XTi is better than the 30D in imagine quality since you can blow it up bigger than the 30D) but has lots of pro features again I wish the XTi had.