OK, time to get started I guess.
I presently own three digital cameras.

*AppleQuickTake150 $699.in 1993
*Fuji/AppleQuickTake200 on closeout $249.00
*Sharp LE-V2 @ www.onsale.com $299.

They all take a picture @ 640 by 480 dpi
They all have at least 2 Quality settings Hi/Lo
HIGHER RESOLUTION is Better but remember
it also means bigger computer files and more memory needs
My cameras all take about 5-8 seconds to be ready to shoot again

Some newer ones are much faster and
some can shoot in BURST MODE up to 12 pictures in a row
saved to in-camera memory before writing to SmartMedia or other.
some even can shoot 2-4 per second
----------------------------------------------- both Apples save the picts @ 72 dpi in low but 144 dpi in high resolution the sharp has 3 levels and the lowest setting is pretty poor quality and
the difference between normal/high setting seems non-existent.but
higher resolution is better if you plan to print
< the web on the other hand is a 72 dpi envirenment,
and you cannot tell the picts apart if normal or high>
TO LOOK FOR IN A DIGITAL CAMERA
==========================================

Most cameras avail. now are between $399.-$999.

but i have not checked onsale lately
lots are avail. there New but Discontinued models

and all the makers have websites to check for stats


I think you really need a flash-
they all have a low light setting,
but even w/a tripod the quality suffers
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LENS

They all (new ones too) come with about a 40mm lens
* as on a 35mm camera lens not = to 50mm like they say
so they are pretty wide angle
SO I THINK A ZOOM LENS is the way to go
there are 2 types of zooms: optical/digital
optical is real like on any camera
while digital is computer enlarging
a combination like 3x optical/2x digital is very good
Sony has a 10x optical zoom
in a great camera that takes reg. floppy disks as film

**** a traditional ViewFinder is very useful too
because in the sunlight the LCD's are impossible to see
or use as viewfinder to frame a picture

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MEMORY

My Apple QuickTake200 camera has removeable SmartCard Memory
a 2 meg card holds 22/30 snapshots in the 2 settings They already have 4meg and 8meg cards ($25./$49.and dropping)
and eventually will have 64megs on a single IC card.
THESE seem the way to go..
other makers use different forms of camera memory
PC Cards and Compact Flash memory
they seem more expensive
but hold more and are larger than smartmedia
-------------------------------
The Sharp has 4meg of mem. built-in
Holds 100/60/30 pictures in the dif. settings
this is a great camera but discontinued maybe a new model is avail.
-----------------------------------------
!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!
So, you should want:

� At least 640 by 480 dpi*probably higher
� A Zoom lens if you can afford it
� Removeable/Re-useable memory
� An LCD screen 2" seems right
(bigger eat batteries faster)
� A real ViewFinder too
� All seem to have an RCA jack out
to show picts directly on TV/VCR
some even have a slide show setting
(a new pict shows each 3-5-10 seconds
� Size and shape vary greatly from unbelievably small
to incredibly Large and unwieldy
� Most use 4 aa batteries to operate (LCD is a real drain)
and I have found that rechargeable batteries work the longest/best
� Make sure the AC Adapter is included (downloading will kill your batteries)

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