RE: Camera Buffs
Skimmed through the thread really quick. Gr8... I think it might help if you elaborated as to what you would like to take pictures of. If just everyday things and nothing "long distance" then I think you would do fine with a typical "point and shoot" camera. If you are looking to take more professional pics or looking to shoot things from a distance (ie deer in a field, birds in flight etc) then a DSLR would be the best option. Now again... what you want to pay will also be a factor. There are NUMEROUS point and shoot digi cams at reasonable prices. When you get into DSLR's, the prices go up and depending on the glass you buy with them, you can spend a lot more.
I have a Canon Cybershot for my little digi and a Nikon D40 for my nice camera (2 lenses as well). I will say that I love my Nikon for the fact that I can play with the f-stop and shutter speed etc. Both work fine for what I bought them for. Don't get caught into the hype that you need to buy a $500 camera to take good pictures. With that said, just do some decent research before you decide. I'd post some pics I've taken over the last year or so, but don't want to clutter the thread.
As for the megapixel debate. Of course they mean something. But unless you are going to be creating HUGE prints and printing them out, don't worry too much about that. My D40 is around 6MP and my Powershot is 7.1MP. Unless I am blowing them up to REALLY high-res pics, its not noticeable. So don't buy into all the hype that more MP is necessarily better than less.
Keep us posted on your search!