Paul, If there's one thing to worry about digital camera's it's the battery consumption. I would plug for a camera that runs on AA type battery's.Although this may limit you to a larger camera it will cost you dear in the long run,unless your camera has a internal recharchable battery, but because of its size they don't last to long and you can't quickly change these with out having to plug into a mains socket. Purchase a couple of sets of 2000mAh rechargable packs and a charger and you should be all right. Look for a camera with the max amount of Mega pixels for you money,a minimum of 3 Mega if you want to get a decent 10+8 print. On the smaller pocket type camera's you may limited to a smaller zoom capability but that depends on what you want to take with it. All the major brands nowadays are all much alike some may have a few more features and its worth looking at a web site that will show you some . Don't go down the road of Digtal/Electronic zooms often's the case you can't hold the smaller camera's steady enough to get a satifactory result especially us old boys
Most camera's are sold now with nothing else and its often that you pay more for simple excesories like a Camera case and lens cleaning cloth etc so you £200 squid suddenly ups to £250 and watch out for the "I would advise you Sir to take out the extra insurance cover that will only be another £30 , well worth it Sir" If you drop it, it can be covered by your house contents insurance . Regards Fordie
[Edited on 19-2-2004 by Fordie]