Getting a digital camera

In my family, we've never really been that big on cameras. We've had some basic ones, and take pictures on occasion, but for the most part, we don't take a lot of pictures.

Lately, I have been thinking about getting a digital camera. Like everyone else, I'd really like dSLR, but they are hideously expensive and I'd only use three or four settings. So I'd be paying a whole lot for functionality I don't need and probably wouldn't know how to use.

So I've been browsing through the 'point and shoot' range of cameras.

I was thinking of getting some of last years technology. Getting something that was top-of-the-line a while back but superseded nowadays.

Having had a look at a whole range of different cameras, both locally and on eBay, it seems that (in my case) I may be better off buying a local camera and just keeping an eye out for when they are on sale.

I've been looking at a bunch of different cameras, and the one that seems to strike my fancy is the Canon Powershot A550. It has a couple of good reviews, takes AA batteries (rechargeable) and uses SD cards for expanded memory.

I want the rechargeable AA's and the SD card option so that I can buy them from work ;)

I saw some nice Fujifilm cameras, even some SLR-style ones that look nice but they use xD cards. Other types seem to use different cards depending on the manufacturer, so I think I'll be going with Canon, whether I get the A550 or a different camera.