Cameras

If you're looking into getting a for real camera, let me know and I can give you some tips. Going down either the route of nice point and shoot or DSLR are both valid options when going digital. If DSLR is the route for you, I'd recommend either going with Canon or Nikon. Once you choose one or the other, it's kind of like getting married. They make all the lenses/appliances within a family. So you begin investing in the family and the greater the investment, the tougher it is to switch from an escalation of commitment standpoint.

I went the way of Canon but Nikon has very good equipment as well. Not that other camera companies don't have good products; it's more that Canon and Nikon are top grade and have lots of support and availability to purchase parts/get service.

Again, not necessarily trying to push towards DSLR as one can take some very nice pictures with point and shoot cameras. They've become much more advanced to the point where you can do almost as much with some point and shoots as DSLRs or SLRs. Photography really is an art and takes a certain amount of natural ability in having an eye for things. There are definitely principles to keep in mind and the more you do it, as in anything, the better you get. Probably way more than you wanted to know. :-)