Should you buy that cute little Casio or even that very cool and mature looking Canon G10? Point and shoot cameras are everywhere. They are small, light and easy to take with you compared to even a small DSLR like the D40. But don't let anyone convince you that ANY point & shoot camera comes close to what a DSLR does. In fact, the image quality of the expensive Canon G10 is exactly the same as their much cheaper models costing half as much. Point and shoots have smaller sensors that are way too crowded with un-needed megapixels. They lack the noise control and sharpness you'll find with a low cost Nikon D40 or Canon Rebel DSLR and they'll never be as fast.
Do I hate point and shoot cameras? Of course not! I own three of them. They are tools and have their place, but they are a serious photographic compromise vs. a typical DSLR. I don't even suggest one for learning since settings are hard to make and the very cheap sensors just don't respond very well in low light conditions. Quite a few point & shoot models focus quite poorly and I've never tried one (and I've tried most) that could focus as well as a DSLR.
A DSLR will capture the memories with quality and I have a lot of friends who photographed their kids with point and shoots and now regret not buying a DSLR. Why? Because they go online and see kid shots they'll never have.
Consider that a Nikon D40 is well under 450 and a lot less used. It's a SERIOUS photographic tool. A point & shoot is simply no where near as versatile. So....if someone starts preaching that a point & shoot will take care of you they're either lying or misinformed!
Cheers!
