wich camera?

It's like every thing else it depends on what you want to do with it,if it's just for around the house there are a lot of good cameras out there Olympus has some really good Auto cameras in the range your looking for where you just point and shoot.
You definitely want a zoom on it and you might think about getting a Auto/Manual for when you get better then you won't have to upgrade.
I use a Olympus C-3000 3.3MP it's an older camera but I love it,it takes great photo's Good Luck.

I also have an inexpensive Olympus and couldn't be happier with it. If you want to visit a great site for camera comparisons head over to http://www.megapixel.net They've got tons of information, sample pics, specs, ergonimics reviews, multiple views of the cameras... In fact there's much, much more information there, than on any of the manufacturers websites.

I have a Toshiba and love it. It is only a 2.1px but the picture are great. I have had it for 3 years now. I have also looked at a great Fuji that is 6.0px and it is fabulous, but so is the price! Just remember the higher the pixels, the better the quality of your picture. Actually 2.1px is low now. I would go for at least a 3.1 or 4.0 px. They may run you about $300-400, but you will be well pleased. A digital camera is the only way to go now. We have probably about 1000 pics or so and we have programs that make it possible to view pics on your TV. You can write a VCD which can than be played on most DVD players and show your pics on the TV. It is great and so much easier that scrapbooks or boxes of pictures. Good Luck!

also make sure the software is compatible with your OS. I got a digital camera for Christmas and the software doesn't work on win2K. The twain drivers work, but nothing else does.

Oh! Thank you so much guys.

Russ, that site is really good, it showed me everything I wanted to know.

Will tell you guys what I did by the end of the week.

When I got a digital camera (couple years ago) I researched every article and review I could find and decided to get the Nikon Coolpix-990. I didn't expect to be able to use it for commercial work except maybe some web stuff, but certainly not any printed work. I was really surprised... The quality is good enough to use for publishing up to about 4 inches (the highest res is 1600 x 1200 300DPI Tiff). It's really been a pleasure to use and does an incredible job with color and difficult lighting situations.

The newer Nikons are of course even better but if you could find a 990 (2.3Mp) or a 995 (3.4 Mp) they would be half the regular price as close-out models and are definitely professional quality for a digital.