A few suggestions...
1) Don't expect to get the same quality as a film camera. The only digital cameras that are coming close are 3+ megapixel cameras. Figure on spending at least $700 for one of those.
I've owned a 2.2 megapixel camera, and the photos came out very nicely. However, now that I got ahold of a 3.3 megapixel camera, the difference is night-and-day. While the 2 megapixel camera took very nice photos for a digital camera, the 3 megapixel pictures rival film prints. I should mention that I used to manage a photo lab.
2) Remember that if you want to print out any of your photos, you'll need a printer that can print at photo quality. Otherwise, that extra money you spent on a quality camera is wasted.
3) A good site for advice and reviews of digital cameras is
www.pcphotoreview.com. They have both professional and user reviews.
Also, there is a thread along these lines in General Tech already, so you might want to check there for some additional input.
Since this would be more appropriate in General Tech, moving it there...
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