There are many fine cameras out there within your price range. Personally I swear by my Olympus because not only is it the only brand I ever had thus the only one I know about, but also because of it's ease of use, I basically keep it on auto and let it do the work for me although it does have all the bells and whistles if I ever decide to actually learn to use them, lol. But whatever brand you chose, I am going to make one suggestion to help in your choice. Make sure it has at least, more is better but never less than, 10X OPTICAL zoom. I have physical problems that makes it hard for me to get up and close to some blooms, but I just zoom in and I'm right there. Also helps in wildlife photography since most wildlife don't let you get too close, lol. From my personal experience, MP numbers depend on what you plan to do with the pics. Higher MP numbers are for someone who wants to print pics bigger than the standard 8x10. Mine is only a 4mp and the few pics I do print out at 8x10 are great, sharp and clear, any bigger and they would look like crap. For the most part, my pics are saved on an external hard drive, viewed on a 19" lcd monitor and they look great to me. Of course, the higher the mp's the higher the price, again, a personal choice and there will be some here who will argue with me on this, again, it's a matter of personal choice and experience. Anyhow, if I may show a few pics to show that not only does the optical zoom work, but the fact a little 4mp camera can show details.

I think first you have to define what you mean by "set up". The cameras mentioned here are probably all easy operation, which is only one step in a chain. Once you have taken the photos, you must be able to view, sort and save. To get pictures from the camera to the computer. I remove the media (small disc - there are several formats) from the camera and use a USB card reader (make sure it matches the media!). The reader plugs into your computer using a USB port. Usually the computer will recognize and load the reader once you plug it in. The windows XP operating system is very photo friendly. It will recognize that you have inserted a disc and will ask you what you want to do - copy, move, print & view. You can view individual files by clicking on them to open, or right click on them and select preview. Most files are .jpg files and the computer should see the extension and know what program to use. Do yourself a favor and make sure to copy all your files to a CD and do not plan on storing them all on your hard drive for long term - you WILL run out of disk space. Microsoft photo editor comes with XP, but is not a very good photo editing program. I use Photoshop CS, but it is very expensive. There are lots of other choices including free downloads, or software that come with printers or scanners. I cannot recommend any by name, because I don't use them. I do know photoshop Elements is a reasonably good program - cost $60-$80. So now you have photos on your computer, what is it that you want to do with them?

The Canon Rebel XTI is a digital single-lens-reflex camera. It can be left on Auto and used with the lens it comes with, but, frankly, if that's all you do with it, you're wasting your money. Canon, Nikon, Olympus, Pentax, and Sony all sell cameras worth considering. Some things to keep in mind: - Image stabilization will let you get a better picture in low light and maybe fix some "user errors". But it won't fix every motion problem. You still can end up with blurry pictures. - Don't buy just megapixels. The way the camera handles the picture after you take it ("image processing") is even more important than the number of pixels. For the size of pictures most people will put in their homes, 6-8 megapixels is enough. Worry more about your options in managing the picture. - Watch the zooms. It sounds really good to have a 10x or 15x zoom, but most zooms get really dark at the far end. In addition, image stabilization will work the same at the wide and tele ends of the zoom even though that, too, may result in some unwanted effects. - It really helps to get your hands on cameras you're thinking of buying. Any given camera may seem too small for one person; too clumsy to handle to someone else; too difficult to operate. Take pictures, but also try some scene modes, formatting a memory card, and try deleting a shot. - If you can, either get return privileges or see if the store will either print some of your pictures or display them on a large screen. The little LCD on the back of the camera is not adequate for judging color, sharpness, contrast, or focus. - If you can, shop at a camera shop. Though it may be hard to believe, camera shops will sell the same cameras at the same prices as discount stores or big-box electronics stores. And you usually get the benefit of a wider range of cameras and accessories and a salesperson who isn't just substituting from Small Appliances. I realize this is a lot to read, but it can help you from spending a lot of money on a camera that doesn't do what you want it to do.

Sorry Mindstrong, you don't know what you are talking about---but I do. The majority of the "big dogs" use Canon. LOL!!!! What "big dogs" do you know? Apparently, they are not as big as you think they are. LOL!! Many National Geographic photographers still shoot with FILM cameras, which are much different than DIGITAL cameras--and they shoot in chrome. And, the ones who shoot digital, shoot with Canon. The archival aspects of the present digital process prevent many photographers from using digital when they don't have astringent deadlines. Sad to say, but, National Geographic photographers are not" cutting edge" by any means. Most are very traditional, which means, NIKON. No "trash talking" here. When the staffs of The New York Times, Los Angeles Times, Chicago Tribune, Philadelphia Inquirer, Boston Globe and every other major newspaper use Canon, you know Canons are the best, otherwise, why would they risk shooting with inferior hardware, like the horrible Nikon system? The difference between Nikons and Canon is well documented in professional circles. Ask any "real" professional and they will tell you that Nikon sold-out to the amateur ranks many years ago, that Canons are the best. Most magazine photographers are contract photographers or freelancers and 80 percent of them use Canon. I know what I'm talking about: I'm one of them. Canon digitals are the best in the consumer market too!