>I'm thinking about buying a digital camera and am interested in other people's recommendations. I want to stay in the mid-range ($200-$300) so I figured a 3 megapixel camera is probably what I'll end up with.
>
>If you have any strong opinions towards a specific camera or features I should have ... or strong opinions against a particular camera or feature ... please chime in!!
>
>TIA,
>Cathy

After reading and scouring the internet for basically the same thing you are looking for, I settled on a Panasonic DMC-LC33. Just got it today, so I can't give you much historical perspective. But it has 3X optical zoom, nearly no shutter lag, a burst mode (since I have three "hams" for kids LOL). Got it for $245. Will probably have to add rechargeable batteries and a 128Mb SD card (it comes with a 16Mb card).

HTH,