For an excellent Sony Cybershot camera that doesn’t cost a lot of money, but has all of the great features Sony offers to make your picture taking a success, I recommend the DSC-H55.

Loaded with a powerful 14.1mp Super HAD CCD Sensor, the H55 has the ability to create large enough images that allow you to make beautiful enlargements or crop in to just a portion of your image and still be able to make a quality print. And the BIONZ image processor has the power and speed to keep up with the demands of quick face detection, intelligent auto focus, intelligent scene recognition, sweep panorama’s, steady shot image stabilization and the wide variety of options, including the many scene modes that are available.

Taking this camera to the beach, travel destinations, birthday parties and other social events will ensure that you’ll get the shot you want, whether it’s still photos or HD video. The H55 has a 10x optical zoom and 25mm wide angle lens for capturing group shots, close ups of friends and pets and even a self-portrait mode that waits until you are comfortably in front of the camera before tripping the shutter. The 720p MP4 HD Movie Mode makes it easy to upload your video to the internet thanks to it’s compressed single file format. And with the Optical SteadyShot image stabilization with Active Mode, you can feel confident shooting video while on the move without worrying about too much blur.

And after the shooting is done, you can organize, add music, retouch and resize your photos in the camera and share them with friends on the bright, 3.0” LCD screen. There is even software included for uploading your videos directly to your computer or for burning them to a DVD.

The Sony H55 also comes with a Lithium-Ion (NP-BG1) & charger but I’d pick up a spare because batteries will run out of power at the worst time.

For creative people who want power, innovation and speed when setting out to photograph an event or record the trip of a lifetime, the Casio Exilim Zoom EX-Z2000 should be right at the top of your list of cameras to do the job.

Built with Casio’s own EXILIM Engine 5.0 processor and stabilized 14.1MP CCD sensor, you can expand the boundaries of what a photo should be. Included in this stylish camera is a new feature, the Dynamic Photo function. DPF is a feature that allows you to cut and paste , moving images to different still backgrounds or onto other moving images. That’s a function that offers a whole new meaning to the world of digital creativity. Use the included software and uploading your own creations to the internet is a snap.

Or try the Art Shot function and create beautiful images that look like an oil painting, a crayon drawing, or a watercolor painting.

With a wide-angle 26 mm lens and a 5X optical zoom and Premium Auto, taking great shots in the first place is virtually a slam dunk. Premium Auto is a breakthrough feature that optimizes settings for exposure, ISO sensitivity, point of focus, photo blur correction, tonal range and color balance, and level of noise reduction. There are other settings, 40 different scene modes to choose from, but for all that Premium Auto does for you, I would recommend leaving it set there and using your creative skills for composing your many shot opportunities.

With all that packed into a curvy, stylish and thin camera body, and with features like a 3.0” LCD Screen, CCD-shift image stabilization and HD Movie function, you can’t go wrong slipping the Casio Exilim EX-Z2000 into your purse or pants pocket and setting out to expand your artistic creativity.

The Casio Z2000 also comes with a Rechargeable lithium ion battery and charger. The battery is designed to last up to 580 shots before running out, but when the battery is dead, the fun stops. I’d recommend a backup, the price is right.