one of my friends got a 5.1mp sony from ebay for $70!! I dunno how he finds these deals, he also had an iPaq pda for $150 (and these are CAN$)

Go for two batteries, something more than 2.1mp and optionally with optical zoom if you really fancy good photographs. I have a 2.1mp Canon Powershot and the quality is pretty good, although the charging the flash time is long because it is 2 batteries.

ohhh,sony cibershot is a great one i have seen and i' v got one.it's very eary to connect with pc bu usb interface.by the way,u should think over the brand canno & olympas .

how about Leica-Panasonic. i love that lens beside nikkor from nikon. the riority.. 1st-lens, ?xoptical zoom and short/far focus u prefer, then 2nd-digital feature such speed-zoom-etc.

Canon is supposed to be the best. I ahve a Sony Cybershot, it is ok, but I learnt about Canon quite late.

Read this:
Canon camcorders consistently produce good images, not because they put a bunch of gadgety features in their camcorders (visa vi Sony) but because they are experts at making lenses. A side-note regarding Canon camcorders, is product differentiation. Every other major camcorder manufacturer, with the exception of Sharp, has a high-end professional line. Sony, Panasonic, JVC all make camcorders that sell upwards of $30,000. Sony even has a half million dollar model which the recent Star Wars movies was shot on (I bumped into it at a show once, that was a scary moment). You would think that because these manufacturers have experience making high end professional camcorders, the things they learn from the pros would seep into their consumers lines - the opposite is true. Sony, JVC and Panasonic all have very high quality camcorders in the $3,000 - $5,000 range. Those camcorders include software features and other technologies which could easily be integrated into the consumer line - however doing so, would seriously jeopardize the marketability of those pro models.

Sony, Panasonic and JVC actually have an incentive to keep quality features out of their consumer lines - protecting the sales of their high end lines. Sony is possibly the worst offender, leaving off manual control features on their consumer camcorders, which could be put in for probably $5, forcing people who want to tweak their image to buy the $1,800 or $2,500 Sony model.

JVC has one of the most obvious cases of leaving off good features to create product differentiation with the GR-HD1 and JY-HD10U. The GR-HD1 and the JY-HD10U are virtually identical camcorders except for two things, the JY-HD10U, a professional model which costs $500 more, includes XLR inputs and easier to use manual control. The GR-HD1, which at $3,000 is a serious investment, contains the same manual control options as the $300 JVC GR-D30. JVC intentionally left the better, more professional manual control off the GR-HD1 so users would be forced to spend an extra $500 to get the JY-HD10U - it's almost offensive considering that the difference is all in computer software which could be installed for next to nothing.

Canon, doesn't really have a 'pro' line. They have two high end camcorders, the GL2 and the XL1S which are used in professional shooting situations, but those models go for under $2,000 and around $4,000 respectively. Canon throws all kinds of great features on the GL2 and XL1S to make them great camcorders with outstanding normal and low light performance. Unlike the other manufacturer's, Canon doesn't have a reason to leave a feature off and put it on a high-end, more expensive camcorder. If Canon has an idea on how to make a better camcorder, they put it on the GL2 and XL1S without any worry of hurting their pro-line.

Taken with their quality lens production, Canon can teach us, and the other manufacturers some important lessons on how to make a great camcorder.

just to give you an info, my uncle has a 6 megapixel cam, he can take videos, color pictures, black 'n white pictures, etc. He told me he paid it 700 canadian dollars...

id buy a sony digital camra for £150

how about th rest of you

oh and im useing £ not $

Mick

the sony cam is the best my freind have one and it's good with memory and a usb cabel and it's very good

you should also look for those thathave built-in flash. some digicams doens't have flash and they are not good when taking indoor shots. i have an Aiptek camera, it has 3.1 megapixel, video capapble, 16 mb internal memory but no flash. i can use it outdoors with-out problem. but most shots inside a room are not good.

I have been using Canon's PowerShot. It is a little bit too bulky but it is powered by AA batteries, which I think is more convenient. Panasonic has a new model that features Optical Image Stablizer. It is quite popular now here though it is quite expensive...

Benq, is good? anyone have this?? or other thing of benq??