BoyNhisDog,<br><br>Digital photography has been a boon for me. Photography used to be a roayl PITA, expensive and time consuming. I'd take photos, have them processed, figure out what ones didn't work, take some more have them processed, then have to scan them for the Web site. My first digital camera was no great shakes, a Kodak DC-120, but it sure made life easier and paid for itself in less than a year.<br><br>The cost of film and processing can be substantial and can impact what you shoot. this was brought home to me a while back on a flight back from a presentation. The terrain we were flying over in southern Utah was extraordinary. It suddenly dawned on me that I could snap away with abandon becuse it didn't cost me a red cent to take the photos! I took almost 200 shots. That was something of an epiphany.<br><br>Two years ago I got a Nikon 990 after borrowing a Nikon 980 for the big raft test. It is incredible. It's macro capability is extraordinary. The twisted body capability really does come in quite handy at times. The ability to get instant results makes life so much easier. I can even hook it to a TV and that makes framing the shot and setting other attributes even easier.<br><br>The larger resolution images help make details easier to capture and to pull from an image, an important capability for my purposes. For snapshot use I ratchet the resolution down some and it is still perfectly satisfactory. <br><br>Film cameras have their place still, but I rarely use one anymore and sold all but one. The 990 isn't versitile as an SLR with multiple lenses (or as robust as an SLR film camera) but the good SLR digital cameras are still way too much money. Maybe someday. <br><br>The only significant disadvantage to the 990 is size. I'd like to pick up something pocket size, similar to the Digital ELPH, to use for snapshots.<br><br>However, I have two important criteria for my snapshot camera that elimiates the ELPH. One is that it has to take conventional batteries. Special purpose bateries are a PITA and expensive. I want either AA or AAA and prefer AA. My AA NiIMH rechargables I use in the Nikon really last and are easy to get and recharge. It also has to use the same compact flash digital media. I cannot see any good reason to invest in another type of media and compact flash is currently the best value and available in larger sizes and I already have a few of them up to 128 MB which will hold a good deal.