Hey Guys, I wanted to drop a few tips for photography on a budget.
First, Camera:
I highly recommend Casio's offering. 7.2 megapixel, small, compact, built in flash, and can also film movies. It is currently on sale. Suggested retail is $379, its on sale for $240.. but if you use Google checkout, its $220.
http://www.buy.com/retail/product.asp?sku=203530822&adid=17662
Software:
Well, most of you know I am a product designer at Microsoft and one thing is that photography software is expensive!!!
I recommend paint.net. Its almost as powerful as Photoshop and its free. It was designed as a replacement for Microsoft Paint.
http://www.getpaint.net/index2.html
Download the new version and give it a try. You will be happy.