I've got an old Olympus D-490 Zoom, that's now 5 years old and is pretty much bulletproof. I use it a lot in the rain and it's never failed me yet.
My newest camera (two weeks old) is a Canon S2 with a 12x optical zoom, 5 megapixel, with image stablization, a must for a 12x zoom. Cameras are a lot like speakers, everyone has their favourites and I don't think there are any really "bad" cameras made today. For what it's worth here are a few of my thoughts.
Don't get sucked in on the "more megapixels are best" bandwagon. My Olympus is only 2 meg and will give me stunning 4"x6" photos. It's only if you want prints at 8"x10" or larger that it's worth going over 3 or 4 meg IMHO.
If you only want photos to view on your pc or email then any old low resolution will do.
Forget "digital zoom" it's nothing more than an advertising gimmick, optical zoom is the feature that that's important. 3x is standard these days and is perfect for a point and shoot camera.
Also consider size, a large camera may have a lot of appeal when showing it off to everyone but one that can actually fit in your pocket is going to be used a lot more.
Batteries - try to avoid cameras with proprietary batteries. Other than $$$ for the manufacturer there is no reason to get a camera that uses anything but AA batteries. I've shot thousands of photos in the last 5 years and have used only 3 sets of 4 AA NiCad batteries. You can buy them anywhere at 1/2 to 1/4 the cost of some manufactures batteries.
I'd go with Canon or Olympus mainly because of the lens, ease of operation and the fact that between work and home use they have never let me down.
Oh yes, if possible buy from an established camera store rather than a big box electronics store. In the long run you'll get better advice and support. If thats not a requirement then by all means go with the cheapest.
What will you need? Well obvously a camera.
Then a memory card, the one that comes with the camera is far too small to be of any use to anyone. Once you have made a camera selection a good store can advise you on the size required, or I can.
You'll need a card reader so that you can easily transfer the images to your pc. You can also transfer using the camera but I prefer a card reader.
Software to edit the pictures.
Batteries and a battery charger, did I mention AA batteries ??
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Sorry for rambling, I hope some of it makes sense. Digital photography is a fascinating hobby, I'm sure you are going to enjoy it.
