Al!!! I can't believe you said that - because I *do* have cataracts! Oh, no big deal, you might think.....except I'm only **40 years old**!!!!! The opthalmologist told me a few years ago I had the beginning of cataracts (when I was in my 30s), and I had a routine exam this year. I'll tell you - I had a hard enough time dealing with turning 40, but when he told me I have CATARACTS to boot....well, now that made me feel old. Especially when he says the cataracts are progressed enough that the insurance will cover removal - they're at the stage that it is an option to have them removed. I asked him if computer monitors are the reason why, since I spend 8-12 hours a day, 5 days a week in front of a computer at my job, plus a lot of hours of personal time for doing school work, personal stuff. He said there has been no conclusive evidence that the computer monitors are causing an increase in cataracts BUT he has seen a definite rise in the number of younger people with cataracts over the last few years, whereas previously cataracts were limited to the elderly for the most part, and he personally feels there may be a connection between the computers and early cataract development. And yes, I wear sunglasses when I go outside, even on cloudy days up here in Michigan, my ugly "old man" sunglasses - since I know sun exposure is a contributing factor to cataracts - so that's not it. My night vision is getting a little tough - halos around any sort of light.

Thank you Grouperman. I need to be sure to get one with a macro feature then. I only knew to look at the optical zoom strength. I have been reading a lot of reviews and now thinking about getting a Panasonic - Lumix 7.2MP Model: DMC-TZ3. It has 10x optical/4x digital and still under $300. It has Macro and now I can't find it but I think I read that the LCD screen can be adjusted for glare or something. Not sure on that. It's a point and shoot. I don't think I would use manual controls anyway. It's better than my last one so I know it will be fine for taking pictures of my kids, and birds and butterflies outside. Hoping it will work on smaller bugs too but if not that's ok. It comes in black, silver or blue. Here is a link that might be useful: Best Buy Panasonic Lumix TZ3

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 started my interest in photography while stationed in Germany from 1968 till 1972. i came back from Europe with two Pentax Spotmatics & 19 Takumar lenses, plus a Minolta C330 Twin lens med format camera, a 4x5 century graphic press camera, and a complete color darkroom but unfortunately a year after i returned it was all stolen. When i retired in June I decided i wanted to get back into nature photography as a retirement hobby, however I had no equipment and being on fixed income i had very limited financial resources. Needless to say, at $1000 and up, a DSLR was way off in the future, but with the advent of digital the price of 35mm film cameras has dropped to peanuts. With a little research I discovered that the Pentax DSLR's are compatible with nearly all Pentax lenses ever made so I decided to get a good Pentax 35mm film camera and collect a few lenses and accessories to get me going. I found a website for an online auction sponsored by Goodwill Industries and in reviewing the site I discovered that they have loads of photo gear, and it generally goes for a song. By example, I bought a Pentax ME super with a 50mm normal lens, 28-70mm zoom, 70 to 300mm zoom, a flash unit, camera bag and a long list of misc. goodies for the whooping sum of $62 +S&H. i continued watching for those combined sets and within three months I had acquired 5 cameras and 11 lenses including as 1000mm tele, plus an auto bellows, a ring flash for macro, and on Ebay i got a nice padded luggage style case. Total investment to that point was under $400. Three weeks ago I was checking Craigslist for my area, and by mistake I hit a tab for a neighboring state. When i looked under photo gear, what did i see, a Pentax *ist body in like new condition for $200. Now I will admit that i dont have auto focus, but that is the only feature of the DSLR that i don't have, and considering that when i learned photography through the lens metering was still in its infancy, i am fully comfortable with using depth of field and manual focus. Now i have the full enjoyment of the hobby and i can set a few dollars aside each month until i can buy a Pentax K20 or K7 in the spring. Oh yes...today I bought a Pentax 35mm film camera that has auto focus so when it arrives I will have two auto focus lenses too, not bad for another $45 investment.