Lots of good advice so far. A few other things to keep in mind:
Video:
Video is a “side” feature of a digital camera. It depending on how important the video aspect is to you, but the primary purpose of the camera is stills. Videos are of lower resolution, and some cameras will compress them much more than others.
If you read the detailed review sites, like the ones John Childs listed, you can see the size and frame rate of the camera’s video mode. 320 x 240 is the common size these days, and 15 fps is probably the common frame rate. My old Casio (also John’s camera) did this, up to 30 seconds, no sound. Samples:
http://gallery.unicyclist.com/fossvideo
Today more and more cameras do sound, but make sure it’s included. Some cameras also do 640 x 480, but I don’t know if that has reached your price range. Beware of other limitations, such as the inability to either focus or zoom during the video. My new camera doesn’t zoom. My old one had massive trouble focusing in low light during videos.
Megapixels:
These are, to an extent, less important than the camera’s optics. A good lens goes a long way. 3 megapixels is enough for 11 x 14 prints, even with a slight amount of cropping. If you don’t need bigger, you’re just wasting storage space. Except for cropping, as John mentioned.
My new camera is 6 megapixels. The file size is around 2mb per picture. That adds up fast!
Storage:
No only as much as you can get, but consider what type the camera uses. Sony memory sticks cost a little more, but they’re not as bad as they were a couple of years ago. Secure Digital/Multimedia Cards also cost more than CompactFlast. CF is currently the cheapest. You can get a 1GB Hitachi microdrive to fit a type II CF slot for about $99. Not all CF cameras fit type II though. Best to look for “microdrive” in the description.
You don’t necessarily want a hard drive in your camera though. Mine and Nathan Hoover’s have held up to everything we’ve done with them, including high altitudes and Bhutan for Nathan, but the moving parts are a risk, and they use more battery power than a regular card.
One big card is better than two small cards. If you keep it in the camera it’s not going to get either damaged or lost. Plus, switching cards can cause problems depending on how your camera names the files. My new one starts over a 001 on the new card, making sorting the pictures afterward a hassle.
If your computer has USB 2.0, consider buying a card reader also. I have this one (http://tinyurl.com/yuaoq) and it works great. Much faster than downloading directly from the camera, and it fits all the cards out there. I’ll bring it to Japan, and I’ll be able to download anyone’s pictures! A fast download is real important if your camera takes big pictures or if you take a lot. I do both.
Speed:
One of the most important features on my new camera (http://www.steves-digicams.com/2004_reviews/exp600.html) was speed. I was tired of waiting forever for my old camera(s) to open, close, boot, and shut down. This one is way faster, which is handy in situations like trail rides where you’re stopping to whip it out. The more detailed reviews, like on Steve’s, will tell about the speed.
Where to buy:
You can find real cheap camera prices on the Web. BEWARE! There are lots of companies out there that will bait-and-switch you. The camera may turn out to not be in stock after you place your order, and they will try to upsell you, etc. Read the reviews of a store before ordering from them. Concentrate on the bad reviews. Those are not necessarily typical experiences, but they can show a trend if there are many of them.
I bought my new Casio from Amazon, and paid more than some other stores. I called those other stores to see if they had the camera in stock (it was just hitting the U.S. market). Each told me they had a quantity of one. Sorry, too fishy for me. Too convenient a number.
My previous Caso came from thenerds.net. This order was fine, except the camera arrived with almost no padding in the shipping box. Fortunately the camera’s box itself provided adequate protection for the camera.
I’m a big fan of Buy.com and Amazon. Both have treated me very well. I’ve also done plenty of purchasing through eBay, but you have to check up on sellers first. I’ve only had one “iffy” experience on eBay, with a replacement laser printer cartridge. The lesson there was to buy the name brand, not the slightly cheaper one with toner all over it.
Batteries:
My first two digitals used AA batteries. These are nice in that they’re easily replaceable if you’re on a trip and run out. They can be a hassle otherwise because you’re changing out usually four of them at a time, which can be messy.
My new Casio uses a proprietary battery. I bought two of them. This battery is amazing because it will go for a whole weekend of me shooting (lots of shots!) on a single charge. And it’s the size of 3 CompactFlash cards stacked up. Tiny! If your camera uses a proprietary battery, I highly recommend buying a second one.
I’d sell you my old camera but it’s already found a new home.
