good digital camera for a newbie?

[missmelis327]

does anyone have any suggestions as to what a good beginner friendly digi camera might be? i'm planning on shooting a lot of outdoor scenery.

thanks

 

[fug.li]

Are you looking for a point & shoot or a d-slr? What is your budget?

 

[missmelis327]

I'd like to spend no more than $300 but I am open to anything really. As I said, I'm a beginner and don't know alot so which would be best do you think, point and shoot or d-slr?

 

[tirediron]

For $300 you're pretty much limited to either a mid-range P&S, or a 35mm film SLR (used of course). You might get a Nikon D40/50 or Canon Rebel X used in that price range. Your best bet will be to go a local camera store with a good selection (Don't go to an electronics store, the sales droids there generally don't know beans about cameras), give them your budget, mention any 'must-have' features (eg image stabilization, or video-recording capability etc) and see what they have. Pick them up, play with them, write down the names & model #s of ones that you like, and search on-line for reviews and then decide.

 

[dmatsui]

If you say you want a beginner friendly digital camera then i'd say a dSLR is probably nothing for you. Though it does have full Auto modes your better off getting a point and shoot first fooling around with that first and if you like it enough save up some more money and go for a cheap dSLR. You'd also need to purchase a cheap used dSLR with the funds you mentioned.
As for good digital cameras in the $300 range i'm more or less at a loss here, i dont know to much about them.
Before i moved on to my dSLR i had a Nikon Coolpix L3 which i was very happy with. So maybe try a nikon Coolpix?

Try browsing through this article
http://www.photoxels.com/buyersGuide.html
They have divided a range of cameras in different categories, from Amateur to Professional. You'd probably want to look in the P&S category but feel free to look around and see if anything else there interests you.