Joan, I bought a Polaroid 640 digital camera at Wal-Mart for $199, and I
love it.  It comes with software (not the best, but fine for my needs),
and it has four picture qualities.  I use the second-worst and it looks
fine. (You can take 36 pictures at this quality with the 2MB card that
comes with it--you can buy an 8MB card and get four times as many shots).


Go to my home page, click on the first "Karen visits her grandmother in
Washington, DC" link, and all the pictures you see on that page were
taken with this camera:

http://www.soltec.net/~dan

The pictures on the second Washington page were taken at the worst
quality, which gives you 96 shots at a time.  (The best quality gives 12
shots, the second-best 24 shots).

You can pay a lot more and get a lot more, but this one is a great
starter unit.  It has a built-in flash, a color LCD screen on the back so
you can preview your shots, and three different focus ranges (closeup,
portrait, distance).  The flash is automatic (if you want it to be; you
can also set it on manual), and it has a self-timer so you can get in the
picture too.

I've  also uploaded about 75 shots for my radio station's home page,
mostly head shots of DJs, and you can see those at:

http://www.parkland.cc.il.us/wpcd

I can have the photo on the web page about three minutes after I shoot
it.  Love it!

As for extra cost, it uses 4 AA batteries and eats them up fast if you
use the LCD screen (it also has a regular viewfinder which I use).  If
you're near an outlet, you can plug it in and use wall current and not
worry about battery drainage.  I use rechargeable batteries, so I don't
have an ongoing expense.

It comes with a cable so you can see your shots on a regular TV, and
another cable that plugs into your serial port.  This is the cable that
sucks the photos out of your camera.  You can buy a floppy-disc adapter
that lets you slide your memory card right into your A-drive and not need
the serial cord.

More questions, feel free to buzz me!

     ---Dan

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