Buying an expensive digital camera

I had the opportunity to teach a family going on vacation how to work their new digital camera. The camera they purchased was a good one. Although I tend to stick with Pentax for all of my photographic needs, they chose a Canon Powershot. It had 5.1 mega pixels and a 12x optical lens. The camera is not very heavy and it fits in the palm of a person's hand. The camera has more features than the amateur camera buff will use. I on the other hand would make use of it all. There is video, and recording voice for still pictures. There is a built in flash and lots of settings. The camera can be totally automatic as well as manual. Playing around with this camera has now made me want to buy a better camera. The irony is that I had begun looking at cameras in the $200.00 price range, but now I've decided I'm going to get a Pentax SLR digital camera. It comes with two lenses, one is a 70-300 telephoto lens. The price is right under $1000.00. Of course I could opt for a Pentax Digital camera with a 10x optical zoom for half the price. We'll see what happens. I've decided to just get through 2005 and in 2006 I begin my new life in full force. Drop me a line and let me know what type of camera you're using, even if it isn't digital. Thanks for stopping by and keep an open mind.