Best of luck on the surgery, Bert.

There are a lot of mid-priced, mid-range pixel cameras available now. These are priced between $400-$600 and usually have 2-3 megapixel resolution.

I'd look for an everyday camera that has at least a 3-1 optic zoom and that has a viewfinder as well as the video screen on the back.

In bright sunlight, it is hard to see the image on the video screen.

You might find some higher-end cameras on close-out as newer models are released.

The new technology isn't on the market yet, but one camera has been announced - with a price just under $3,000 (probably $2,999.99). As usual this price will get drastically reduced over the next 2 years until it probably will replace the existing in 90% of the digital camera offerings. But you can't buy any technology these days but that it's out of date the week after you make the purchase.

Check out CNET for digital cameras:

http://electronics.cnet.com/electronics/0-1429209.html?tag=dir

In the upper right, there are links to the editors top 5 cameras by megapixels.

John


[This message has been edited by JChidester (edited 04-03-2002).]

[This message has been edited by JChidester (edited 04-03-2002).]