Look for something that allows you to take uncompressed photos. Some cameras offer TIFF format and some offer RAW format (which is supposedly even better but I'm not sure why). Then you can compress the photos yourself as needed in Photoshop. I've been very happy with my Olympus C-3000 Zoom which I think takes better pictures (at least in auto mode) than my Nikon Coolpix 990. I have 3X zoom but have thought about getting one with 10X zoom. Optical zoom is what counts; I think digital zoom is bogus. The Nikon can handle different lenses (fisheye, wide angle). Digital cameras aren't very good for snapping off a bunch of photos in quick succession, though, and they burn out batteries like there's no tomorrow. I'd recommend using a little USB card reader rather than connecting your camera directly to your computer. Saves wear and tear on the camera and the camera's usb cable (which is usually a proprietary cable).