>I'm looking to purchase a camera that can serve two functions: 1) take my
>usual family chaos shots, with built-in flash, auto-focus,
>idiot-proofing, etc. and 2) be able to use as a quasi-birding camera, one
>that I could put a long lens on and take reasonable shots of birds in the
>field. Is this possible? Any recommendations would be greatly appreciated.

There are a lot of SLR 35mm cameras that would fit the bill, with a
zoom lens in the 30-80 or 28-105 range. You could add a 3rd-party
400/5.6 and 3rd party 1.4x extender that would work fairly well
for casual bird photography with higher-speed film, which is fine
for your recreational (as opposed to selling) approach. Sigma,
Tamron, and Tokina all make 400mm lenses that work with major
camera brands (the camera manufacturer's equivalents are of
noticably higher quality but cost 2-3 times as much).

For your family snaps, actually, a point-and-shoot might be a
better choice, as you'd be more likely to slip it into your
purse, book-bag, fanny-pack or whatever you typically take
with you when you play with the kids. But since you're interested
in a bird lens, a decent P&S plus SLR body+telephoto would
be a bit more expensive than a single-camera approach (but not
much).

Unfortunately, be prepared for a severe case of sticker shock when
you go shopping. The yen has done nasty things to the dollar the
past two years. Buy mail-order (Camera World here in Portland
and B&H in New York are consistently highest-rated by folks on
the internet - there's a periodic survey of customer satisfaction).

But go try some first. Brand choice really boils down to what
feels good to you. See how they fit in your hand, how easy you
find the controls to figure out and understand, etc.

Feel free to e-mail me if you want to ask specific questions.

>"Anybody can take a picture *without* a thumb in the frame"

It actually takes a fair amount of skill to get your thumb in
the frame if you have a telephoto mounted :)

- Don Baccus, Portland OR <donb at rational.com>
Nature photos, on-line guides, more at http://www.xxxpdx.com/~dhogaza