The first thing you really need to do is decide what you want from your camera. The camera that is ideal for me (or for anyone else out there) may not work for you.

I wrote an article on selecting a digital camera for touring that is published on crazyguyonabike.com. The article was written in 2002, but I have been updating it since then. And although my focus was on touring, the article is more general than that. You can read it at http://www.crazyguyonabike.com/doc/DigitalCameraOnTour.

If you are comparing cameras and would like a side-by-side comparison, take a look at Digital Photography Review. They have lists of features for cameras, a side-by-side comparison, and detailed reviews that I have found to be very helpful.

Have fun shopping and deciding!

--- Denise