Hello, everyone. My name is jackster and I would appreciate the help and advice of camera experts on the forums.

I want to buy a digital camera that best suits my needs, because life has so many things that can only be remember in a picture.
I have no need in going professional, I just want to take pictures at special events and what catches my interest. The camera should have at least 3 megapixels, a slidecover, and built to last and endure for a long time, because i like to exercise and jog a lot. It should hold at least 8mb of memory, a flash, good zoom featues, batteries that last a long time and recharging them won't cost me a fortune, and have a USB port, so I can upload the pictures up on my website.

I'm looking in the range of spending no more than $300, but i can stretch to $400 or $500, if necessary. Thanks.

Read the sticky above about choosing a camera. There are lots of cameras that will fit your requirements, you'll have to just read the reviews and try them out at the stores to decide which is right for you. I'd recommend a LOT more memory (use the high resolution settings on the camera) and using a card reader rather than a USB connection for downloading the pics.