I have a scanner and a digital camera too. We bought the scanner/copier/printer (all in one) because both my husband and I needed to apply for jobs and having a copier at home was a must. I am glad we did and we found a good deal at Staples. It takes longer to take pictures, have them developed and then scanned. But if you need a printer and have a good camera the scanner/printer/copier may be the cheapest way to go right now.

The nice thing about a digital camera is that you have your pictures instantly and you can delete ones that didn't come out so well. I have found in taking pictures of dogs and kids that sometimes they turn their heads at the last moment or move and you don't have to waste "film" retaking the same picture to get the face shot or smile or trick or whatever. And you can print only the ones you really want and leave the others on your hard drive or disc or CD.

With a digital camera, there are lots of inexpensive ones out there but you won't get the best quality with those. It depends on what your primary use will be for. If you primarily want just to use pictures on your computer or print out smaller copies (less 8x10) than you can get away with a 2.0 megapixel. If you plan on making lots of larger copies, the higher megapixel you go the better (from my understanding anyway). You would also want to make sure that you can add a higher memory card if you plan on taking lots of pictures. That's it for a mini lesson on digitals. I am sure there are many other people here who can tell you more than that.

Either way you go you will enjoy posting your pictures on pet talk and we will enjoy seeing them!!!