Everyone has their favorite camera and if you ever ask a photographer what camera you should buy they will probably tell you to buy whatever brand they feel is the *best.* I, however, being an amateur, probably have needs similar to yours - where a digital SLR isn't exactly in my budget and is way more camera than I need. So, I am writing to provide a little guidance as to which camera might be right for you. I have broken my suggestions out into a few categories: Point and Shoot (and I don’t want to do anything else!), the Amateur Photographer (likes to play with the settings) and the party go’er (I have to document everything, but it needs to fit in my back pocket!). Also, I will recommend some of my favorite sites for hosting/posting your pictures!

For the “Point and Shoot” Crowd I recommend the FUJI FILM FinePix A350 5.2 Megapixel Digital Camera.
This little camera is perfect for anyone who wants a hassle free digital camera experience. It has 5.2 Mega Pixels and a 3x optical zoom and more or less works like your standard point and shoot 35mm camera. I’ve tried out the Fuji software application for managing photos and it's intuitive and easy to use. Plus, the camera is relatively inexpensive as well! Always a bonus & is a great way to convert into the land of digital photography!

For the “Amateur Photographer” I recommend the PANASONIC DMC-TZ1A Lumix 5 Megapixel Digital Camera ( Blue ). First of all, this hot number comes with 10x optical zoom – meaning you can zoom in really close without distorting the image (as sometimes happens when you use digital zoom). Secondly it has the optical image stabilizer so that when you are zoomed in all the way, the camera will attempt to stabilize itself – to give you a clearer picture. It is relatively light so it will be easy to port around with you when you are hiking through the Himalayan Mountains, or more likely the case, chasing your kids around on the beach. With its manual settings, Lithium battery, and multiple scene modes you get all the benefits of the SLR, at a fraction of the cost and a fraction of the size.

For the “Party Go’er” I recommend the Casio 6 MP EXILIM EX-S600 Digital Camera, Blue. This sleek little camera is light-weight, comes in a few trendy colors, has a great zoom on it and can do both auto and manual focus. Basically this is the perfect companion for a night out on the town or when you want to sneak a camera into places that maybe they aren’t supposed to be!

The next question is always where and how should you share your photos? There are a million sites out there from Shutterfly to Smugmug. Now, if you are running Network Magic the easiest thing to do is to share the folder with your pictures in it throughout your home network and then post them up to your Net2Go site. You can then take the Net2Go URL and mail it out to friends and family. Pretty easy and perfect for all types of users! For printing your photos I recommend Shutterfly.com. The interface is easy to use and it's one of the sites where friends can view your photos without having to login – which is a definite bonus (who wants to have to sign in just to see their friend's photos). The prices are reasonable and you can do things like put together a "real" photo album, create a calendar of all your pictures for friends, or put your favorite picture on a coffee mug.

Hopefully this has helped give you some guidance on selecting the next camera that is right for you!