well i finally made my decision and ordered the a-230 online tonight.
while i liked the cannon, more and more people told me to start off with
image stabalization of some sort and the cannon at that price did not
provide it. while i also liked the e-520 sample pics, i could not find one
to handle anywhere, plus the extra cost and sub-sequent extra cost of
xd or compact flash cards ruled it out as i have plenty sd cards still new.
thank you to all who helped provide insight, there is a lot of valuable info
given on this site and valuable members who are willing to help. i also
found a bunch of different sample pics from the net that i found more
impressive. hopefully i won't suffer from all the complaints of bad
ergonomic design as i actually put the camera to use. thanks everyone.

your welcome

I would personally look at the Canon SX20 or the Panasonic FZ35. Photo quality is probably slightly better from the Panasonic but the Canon has a little more reach and the ability to add an external flash if you desire later in live to give the possibility of more creative shooting.
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For what its worth...I've tried the A230 and enjoyed the pic it took. I also tried the E620 and while I didn't see any huge improvement in the pic I took, I didn't like the low lite focusing issue with the E620. But in many other ways its was a nice camera.

But for the money..the A230 wins. And I also found that the 55-250 sony lens produced sharper images then the 18-55 lens. The 55-250 was part of a 2 lens bundle, and I'd recommend getting that.

The menu on the 230 is quite helpful to us newbys...

Good luck...

(Emphasis mine.)

That should be the Sony 55-200, which, I agree, is a good lens. The 55-250 is a Canon lens, which won't fit on the A230.

Congrats!

Note that the A230 can also use any Minolta Autofocus Lens ever made (and they'd all be stabilized on your A230, thanks to the in body stabilization system). Make sure to visit the Sony Alpha dSLR / Konica Minolta dSLR Forum for tips and suggestions on lenses and accessories; and please share some photos from it in one of the Post Your Photos Forums when you get a chance.

THanks..

but whats 50 mm between friends eh?

This is a duplicate post. It is also the subject in a separate thread that has already been answered. Have a great day.

Sarah Joyce