WHAT IS THE MOST AFFORDABLE DIGITAL CAMERA(good quality)?

I am shopping for a digital camara. I just dont know where to start.
what should aI know when buying one? I will be using it for special occasions and family pics.
thanks

Look at the Fujifilm Finepix series of cameras. There's probably one to fit your budget. I used to be an Olympus-only fan, but a salesman talked me into trying one of the Finepix models, and now I love these as well.

Just about every digital camera brand has models that range from excellent quality to poor/iffy quality. Your choice of camera should depend mainly on your ultimate end use - are you just e-mailing pictures to family and friends? Or, do you intend to make nice, large prints later on? Don't let anyone talk you into more camera than you need/want, but don't buy less than you want, either.

I'd do some research online. Find a couple of cameras that fit your budget, (try the suggestions given in other responses to your question) and then search for reviews on them. Here's a site that I use a lot when I'm researching cameras for friends/co-workers:

http://www.dpreview.com/

Cameras I have found good reviews on include the Canon Digital Rebel XT, the Olympus E-Volt 500, the Olympus SP-500UZ, and the Fuji Finepix series.

When you're pricing cameras, you'll want to include the following accessories:

- memory card (the card that comes with the camera won't have enough space for more than a few photos)

- card reader (not absolutely necessary, but very handy and saves battery life)

- rechargeable batteries and charger

- a decent case

Canon Elph

kodak easy share.

Samsung

Look at this one

Canon PowerShot 4.0MP $200 CAD
http://www.futureshop.ca/catalog/proddet...

I got the same one! works vary good for the price

if you want a good quality camera i recommend the cannon eos rebel. they range in price and i think i gave about 800 dollars for mine but they make them for much less.

Kodak has some very versital and inexpensive cameras. I have one that is 10x optical zoom and 4.0 megapixel...I paid 299. They up it to 5.0 megapixel just after I bought it for that price level...I think they are up to 6.1 now.

Kodac easy share cx7300

I have had two Kodak easy share cameras and loved both of them. The second one I bought as an upgrade. They are easy to use - but come with features that you can utilize (or not) for more creative photographs. And they are very affordable. I will stay with the Easy Share Family until I can afford a DSSL type (the really expensive, professional type) I have gotten some incredible pictures with no real effort other than framing the shot.....

canon A620 7 mp 199 , search in yahoo for it.
very nice pic quality

I was in the same boat as you! I got one for my birthday yesterday, it's a Casio Z600. It is easy to read, has lots of choices, and was $249 at BestBuy. It has a big 2.7 LCD and looks sharp, with not a lot of buttons. I also looked at Kodak Easy share, but it seemed too big for my hands, also looked at a sony W30, but they were out of stock. The Casio is 6 pixels. I'm learning a lot!