Sounds as tho you are after a camera that will do many jobs- just as i was looking for last year
 check out 
http://trial.which.co.uk/reports/av/...gitalCamera  s  i settled for a panasonic FZ20 EB 
 the lense is  to 36mm to 450mm  in SLR terms ideal for anything from macro photography to long distance wildlife stuff-  it has loads of buttons and modes but can be used on fully auto till you learn how to operate all the different features
 it came with a 16mb card but i added a 512 mb card i think that is around 800 pictures  i paid 250 pounds for mine at the sales inc card a lot of camera for the dosh - i settled for this camera instead of a digital SLR so i didnt have to carry or purchase loads of lenses
 read up on it - if it appeals to you and you want some questoins answering just U2U me and i'll try to answer them
 a selection of photos
 full zoom 

 a portrait 

 the DD boys and girls 

 some local wildlife 

 at the skate park 

  
  Last edited by monstermob 998 : 06-Jun-2006 at 23:56.