My sons 9 and10 years old have a big interest in photography. Currently they are using my old Olympus C-4000, which I still use and love. I'd like to get them each a camera of their own for a birthday gift. They are both used to a good picture so a "toy" camera would probably be disappointing. Cost is a factor. What would you suggest? Thank You.

You may want to look at some of the Olympus Stylus SW series models (Stylus 770 SW, 790 SW, 1030 SW, etc.).

http://www.olympusamerica.com/cpg_se...pg_digital.asp

These all have varying degrees of shock resistance and weather resistance, which could help prevent damage when used by children that age.

I'd buy each of them a "starter" camera for about $100-$125. Look at the Canon A470, Kodak C813, Samsung S860, Fuji J10, Pentax E50 or Olympus FE-310.

I think those are the two best suggestions:

Either get something that can handle a few accidental knocks, or get something cheap.

I also like the entry level Canon cameras - the Powershot A470 for example is pretty cool.

Given a choice I would sacrifice extrafeatures that may not be usedfor a bigger zoom, 'cause when I was 10ish Iknow I would have enjoyed shooting with azoom (thebigger thezoom the better in my small mind), but at the same time find a camera that would be pocketable to encourage regular usage.

Canon and Kodak come to mind as favorite suggestions that meet my suggested goals and keep the price reasonable.

The Canon A470 or Kodak C813 are good starting points, and both lines have "bigger" cameras with more features and longer zooms if you were inclined to spend more $.