aNdY wrote:

> thanks again. currently, i have spend the whole night checking with my
> colleagues and we came with a few good ones which are... Kodak P880,
> Pansasonic Lumix DMC -FZ30, Samsung Pro815, Canon Powershot Pro1...

Good.  Don't forget to check whether they can save in RAW mode if you want 
the best possible quality when processing your pics afterwards.  A lot of 
people ignore RAW mode at first then regret it later when they find out the 
advantages of using it.

> I
> was told Canon 350D LCd is not big enough. I realise indeed, my
> purpose with a digital camera is to take super good quality pictures
> and able to view them immediately behind the camera LCD screen and
> then when storage card is full, I can decide which is not good and
> delete them away. So, a Large LCD is a must.

To be honest, a large LCD isn't going to show you much more than a normal 
sized one.  A large LCD may be nice, but it's not that important IMO.  I 
spend very little time looking at my pics on the LCD, I just use it to check 
the histogram quickly.  Using it a lot will run your batteries down a lot 
faster too.

A large LCD won't show you whether a pic is good or not any more than a 
normal one will.  The most important thing is sharpness, and no LCD will 
show you that.  To see how sharp an image is, you have to zoom right in, you 
can do that with normal LCDs so it's really not a problem.  I think you 
think a large LCD is more important than it really is.  It's the quality of 
the sensor and the lens that counts.

> My main concern, is a high mega pixel camera
> which can let me take picture of far away things

You'll need a long zoom lens then.  Look for at least 200mm, more would be 
better.  You can buy telephoto converters for some digicams to make the lens 
even longer.  Worth checking if one is available for the camera you choose.

> and able to view
> them very clearly on a large lcd behind the camera.

No LCD is a subsitute for viewing your pics on a proper monitor.  No LCD 
will show you the detail that a monitor will.  They're only good for 
checking the composition and the exposure.

> I called up havey Noman shop which is having the promotion in
> Singapore and they say OlyMpus E500 is made in China, while Canon
> 350D is from japan. So I should go for Japan. but Olympus E500 is
> giving me 2 len, 14-45  & 40-150 zuiko len.

Those lenses sound good.  Get yourself a 70-300 lens as well if you want to 
photograph things really far away.

> I accidentally found this url
> http://www.dpreview.com/reviews/compare.asp and actually did my
> research painfully the whole 13 hours at work. 2 other colleague
> explore them with me, for themselves too... and none of us can
> conclude. It is said that bets is I go to any shop by fate, pick a
> few camera and if one of them feel right and price is reasonable,
> just take it. I fear I have no choice.

Just check the conclusion pages on dpreview.  Any camera rated as 4 stars or 
higher (recommended or highly recommended) should keep you happy.

> One even ask me to get a cam
> recorder instead as video can be make into still picture.

No!  Don't do that!  The resolution will be far too low!  Video has much 
lower resolution than still cameras.  Much better to do video on the still 
camera unless video is more important to you.

> My head is
> going to explode. What CMOS, what CCD, what others... I thought I can
> just find some professional photo taker and they will all be using
> only one best type and same me the trouble, beside the high price.

There's no such thing as only one best type, they all have different 
advantages and disadvantages.

I think you'll find that most serious photographers use Canon and Nikon 
DSLRs.  Two of the most popular Canons are the 350D and the 5D.

As for Nikon, the D70s is very popular, but only 6MP;
http://www.dpreview.com/reviews/specs/Nikon/nikon_d70s.asp

So check out the new 10MP D200;
http://www.dpreview.com/reviews/specs/Nikon/nikon_d200.asp

> Samung Pro815 comes with 3.5 inch LCD but my colleage do not trust
> Samsung. Panasonic Lumix DMC-FZ30 comes with 12 X zoom I think

Now that's an excellent zoom range, 35-420.  Very long, but not very wide. 
Looks like a nice camera, can do decent video too.

> But I will take your suggestion and let God decide my fate.
> Either I am bless this life to get a SLR or just a compact camera.
> Sigh..

So long as it gets a good review, you should be very happy, but try it out 
in the shop first, especially to see the effect of the zoom lens.  You 
really have to see what the lens can do to understand it.

Paul