Lots of very good advice above so i will just reiterate the main points: A SLR camera is the only way to go for high quality pics and point and shoot cameras especially in the auto setting will give you no end to problems in a wildlife photography setting. (do not get me wrong though, the point and shoot variety can produce amazing pics if you know their limitations and get to know their manual settings. Most only have autofocus and that is a big problem when you are shooting accross a 3D landscape, especially in poor light. Finally, LIGHT is the final factor in photography. Many people expect to somehow get nightvision capabilities with thier cameras and it just does not work that way. When it is too dark you will get blurry pics every time either because of shutter lenght or lack of exposure (I know I am simplifing it)