The digital camera should use rechargeable li-ion battery pack or a similar product (like the one kodak easy share camera uses) not rechargeable AA batteries becuase they can be expensive if you use the camera very often. It should also use SD memory card or Multimedia card. Also very important for me is a hot shoe for external flash. It can be from 6 MP or higher but not over 10 MP. I am currently looking at Fuji Finepix S700 but am not sure about what kind of battery it uses. I am currently using 2 digital cameras by Kodak easyshare the DX6490 and the P880. The DX6490 is fine for portraits which I do a lot and the P880 for scenic shots. But now I need a camera with shorter lag time in between frames. With the 2 cameras that I use now I have to wait about 10 sec.before shooting the next frame. Sometimes you just cant afford to wait that long. I am not ready to go really pro as in $1,000 up? I can only afford $200-$350. Please help! Thanks..