Okay so I splurged a bit, but I have absolutely no regrets, look at my beautiful new camera!
It's a Canon PowerShot G12 compact camera, rather than SLR - they're much too bulky and heavy for me! This has got so many great features that make it well worth the price, I can't wait to get snapping on it!
It has 10 megapixels, maximum resolution 3648 x 2736 pixels, has image stabiliser, 4x digital zoom as well as Canon 5x (28-140 mm) lens with optical Image Stabilizer and Hybrid IS, full manual control option, and takes an sd card which I already have loads of from my last camera!
Best of all, it also shoots HD Movies up to 720p with stereo sound and HDMI, so I can shoot high quality videos as well as photos!
I've taken a few test shots, but I'm going to have a plan a photo-taking trip very soon!
Photo: JeneaWhat (Flickr)