One of the best digital camera sites around is dpreview.com. You can spend forever reading their reviews and forums. The canons are indeed highly regarded, but there are also many nikon and sony fans as well. Personally I'm a canon guy, but I wouldn't go so far as to say that they're hands-down the best in all areas. There are digital cameras available in all price and quality ranges. It really depends on what you want to spend. I love the elphs like lowspark has, but you do pay extra for the small form factor. Canon has a range that's cheaper but larger, with similar quality in terms of lens and imaging. You should generally plan on buying a separate memory card as the ones that come with the camera are pretty lame. Figure on getting a 512MB or 1GB card. The higher the resolution of the camera the better, in general, however there are some technical issues as resolution gets above 5 megapixel. So a camera with 7 megapixel isn't necessarily always better than a 5 megapixel camera. I'd generally look for a camera with 5 megapixel or higher, and a 3x or better lens in the range of 35-135 or thereabouts. Image stabilization is very nice to have; canon has optical IS, which is generally considered better than electronic IS. Also important is speed in several areas. How long does the camera take to turn on? How quickly does it take the image once you push the shutter button? How quickly can you take multiple photos in sequence? How quickly does it focus? Those are things you can get a feel for by playing with the cameras in a local store. In general, you can't go wrong with canon, sony, or nikon.

I would never...ever....EVER....keep my SLR in the car. i even carry my backpack in the store with me if its hot out. On the other side of that, I used to keep my sony dsc-w80 in the car year round without any ill effects. I usually kept it in a case, up under the seat, and left a small crack in the window to vent the hot air. It was hardly ever hot when I went to use it. I would keep it down low though, since hot air rises. **This reply is for educational puroposes only. Any use of the advice herein is at the risk of the camera's owner** LOL:) Andy

Search in the Photography forum and you'll get plenty of answers. In the mean time, I'll try to give you my 2 cents worth. Cameras are like cars. There's a maker for each person's individuality. 1st, You'd need to determine what is his level of photography knowledge? In any brand, there's intermediate, medium and professional level cameras. If he's a pro, you may just want to ask him what he'd like. A pro knows what he wants and mostly will not settle with just anything. If he's not, most intermediate and medium level cameras has both features: auto focus and manual focus. They're made for those that want to grow and learn about photography beyond autofocus features. 2nd, Does he owns any previous 35mm camera lens? Would these lens capable to be mounted on the new DSLR body? Such brand as Canon has been a favorite for many because of its interchangeable lens. Meaning, we can invest into the more expensive lens knowing that if we ever upgrade the camera, the old lens would still work with the new camera body as well. I have a few that I owned from the mid 80's and still work very well with the new DSLR. 3rd, The camera body and weight must feel comfortable in one's hand. It makes a different with the result of a photo. If all possible, take him to a camera store and let him play around, ask questions and make a choice of the Digital SLR (DSLR). Then, go online and purchase from one of the reputable online store. Normally, their prices are less expensive. Watch out for import (gray market) vs. US warranty cameras (price varies). Personally, I've always owned Canon. I had several Canon 35mm cameras and had since upgraded to digital: from the Canon Rebel XT to currently the Canon 40D (had it for a little over a month). As mentioned, I have a few lens from the 35mm cameras that works well with both DSLRs. I've upgraded to the Canon 40D because it has some image stabilizer built into the camera. Although, Canon also makes some lens with Image Stabilizer (IS). The lens kit of the Canon 40D camera comes with a 28-135mm lens that has the IS feature (mainly in the US). I don't plan to upgrade the camera body for a long while. I'm quite satisfied with the Canon 40D. Instead, I'm investing on better lens. And, that's what I'd recommend for you to do. If money is not an object, buy a medium price range camera but invest the rest on a good lens with low aperture capability such as f/2.8 or less. Good lens give the flexibility to take crispy clear photos in low light situation. I strongly recommend to read reviews from the 2 websites that Susan posted above. They also has forums in categories of camera brands. You may find some useful information from the users. Good Luck! Natalie

My computer was hit by lightning. I took it to a repair place and they said they could not fix it. The insurance company gave me a new computer. I gave the old one to a friend's teenage son. He got the computer up and running and sent me a disk of my precious pictures! I save some to photobucket , but i was pleased he could get the other ones. So if your computer crashes - don't give up on getting photos out. Take it to someone who can. Hubby got a new camera for Christmas and the first thing I did was take a photo of an address label. I just hope an honest person would find it.