What is the best digital camera for a beginner user that has the sepia
feature - something not too expensive.  Thanks.

Hello jean1234,

And thank you for your question - even though it is impossible to
answer. That being said, I won't leave you hanging and will help you
to answer the question yourself!

It is impossible to determine the "best" of any technology based
product (or recipe, car, or a myriad of other things for that matter).
It will always be influenced by your own personal taste and the
compromises you are willing to make. Particularly when you mention
"inexpensive", as an inexpensive digital camera for me might be
hundreds of dollars more or less than what you consider to be
inexpensive for a digital camera.

The only criteria you mention as critical in your search is the
ability to do sepia. Many cameras will have this feature - and also
note that MANY digital image editing software programs also have the
ability to convert virtually any image to sepia. So, that possibility
also exists should you find a "perfect" camera for you that simply
lacks a sepia mode built in.

I would think that you need to decide on the major features of a
digicam: resolution, lens, storage medium and  battery type and life.
Do you need a zoom? Is that more important than the resolution of the
image (in your price range)? Do you need to store lots of shots on the
storage card (floppy, Smart Media, Compact Flash)? Do you need to have
inexpensive replacement batteries? Rechargeable batteries?

These are the questions I would attempt to answer to qualify my
choice.

Two of the best (my opinion) web sites on digicams are Digital
Photography Review at www.dpreview.com and Steve's Digicams.

DP Review has a very interesting Buyer's Guide / Feature's Search form
that will greatly help you to narrow down your choices. This is found
here : http://www.dpreview.com/reviews/compare.asp . It will provide
choices for you to consider based on your needs and desires.

Once you have several models that interest you, read the reviews not
only at DP Review, but at Steve's (excellent reviews) at
http://www.steves-digicams.com/hardware_reviews.html .

Now, found the "one" for you? Check prices at www.pricescan.com,
www.pricewatch.com and
http://shopper.cnet.com/shopping/0-1257.html?tag=hd_ts .

I hope this leads you to not only finding the "best" digicam for you,
but learning more about available features and trade-offs.

Best regards,

-=clouseau-ga=-

Excellent, prompt response.  This researcher  had some good points of
which I wasn't aware.  The sites he recommended will be very helpful. 
I'm very pleased with the answer.

And should you decide to purchase your camera online in order to get
the best price, beware! More than perhaps any other commodity, online
camera sales are subject to aggressive bait-and-switch scams. To wit,
if you go to some kind of "best price" web site and locate the
cheapest seller of your desired camera, the odds are Very Good that
they will try to bait-and-switch you. They may say that they are
getting so many orders that it will take 4-6 weeks before they can
ship -- but if you would like to upgrade to a more expensive bundle,
they could ship that today. Or, they may actually ship you your camera
at that wonderful price, but you may discover that it is "stripped"
(no battery, no AC adapter, no lens cover, or worse -- no warranty!).
Even the more or less reputable sellers may have salespeople who will
try to aggressively upsell you on your purchase, so firmly decide what
you want before you call.

The general rule for buying cameras online is, buy the cheapest price,
but only after you eliminate the sleaziest sellers by checking some of
the online seller rating services. Once you've selected the seller,
make the purchase via telephone, not the web, keep careful
written-and-dated notes about your conversation (make sure you
verbally verify things like the fact it comes with a warranty and
specific accessories), pay via credit card, and be aware of your
credit card's dispute resolution policy (printed on every credit card
statement). Your credit card's dispute resolution is your only friend
in the wild and wooly world of Internet purchases :-).

Good luck with your new camera!