So I've been thinking about it for a while and I'm pretty dead set on getting a camera this month. I've done a little research http://www.steves-digicams.com/ and their buying guide http://www50.shopping.com/xPP-Digital_Came...nkin_id-3053120 and I've pretty much settled on the Konica Minolta S414. My budget says I'll have about 250 to spend and I can pick up one of these with a memory card, neck strap, case, 1yr warranty for about 270. I like the high optical zoom, and the good megapixels for the money.

Anyone who knows a thing or two about cameras have any good advice on this?

I would like similar advice, but this is the wrong forum for this.

Wow that's actually really good value. I have a value-for-pixels camera too. It's called KODAK Easyshare CX7530 which has 5 million pixels and 4x optical zoom, which is in my opinion a very underrated feautre of a camera. It is around 250-300 dollars and that is very very cheap for a 5 million pixels camera.

Just remember that Mega pixels isn't all there is to picture quality. you can get lower MP cameras that look sharper because they have better CCDs and color accuracy.

Also it's a good idea to use cameras which use AA or AAA batteries because often when you're on the road in a place where you're not going to be able to charge your battery pack, so it's much more efficient and convenient to buy a camera which uses batteries directly, although they die quickly unless you buy good quality rechargable ones.

I tend to like my rechargable battery that came with my Nikon Coolpix. I may have to recharge it, but it last for laround 60-70 pics. That is plenty for me. That wont even fill up my memory card. Im just glad I dont have to keep buying batteries. It only takes a couple of hours to charge anyway.

definitely rechargable batteries and get another memory card if you're going to take a lot of high resolution pictures as some digital cameras come with very small memory cards.

I am using Panasonic FZ-20 , it 12x optical zoom is the most attractive .
however , it cost around 500 , it is over your budget .... >.<

Konica Minolta S414 also a good digital camera . my friend using this and the photo quality is not bad .

I'd definitely advise otherwise. A rechargable battery does a much better job (lasts longer, so you can take more pictures on a full battery) and doesn't cost you anything. And if you're worried about running out of battery power when you go away, you can always buy a bigger back up battery. That might cost a bit much... but it's only a one off purchase, unlike disposable batteries that you have to keep buying constantly.
And you said it's more convenient to be able to buy more batteries from anywhere whenever you need them. Well I say it's more convenient to always have the battery on you, and when it needs charging all you have to do is plug it in. I don't want to be going out to the shops to buy batteries every time my batteries go flat.
I guess it all comes down to your own preference... but I'd definitely suggest a rechargable battery type camera.