Nikon, Canon, Minolta are all good brands because they are
Camera Base Company, but does not means they won't produce lemon.
New comer company like Sony, Philips .... They are catching up
fast.
Generally 5MB is what you are looking for. If you plan to carry
along with you all the time, a small size one. Consider Battery
also. Carry a second battery is what most are looking for, cause
these little device eats battery power a LOT.
Consider a big Memory cards when buying. 512MB & above, cause
for digital owner's tends to take a lot more picture (No Cost
involve mentaility) & always takes at the highest picture
format. No point buying a car & always drive at 3rd gear
right?? 
Be aware of what type of picture you mostly picture. For Landscape
lover's, minimum 28mm (Equivlent in 35mm Film format ok)
For people lover, 35~200mm are good. 35~100mm will feels a bit fall
short. 
For general photograhy, 35~50mm good enough liao. I trust my legs
are 1000x better zoom than any zoom lens you can buy. (Always goes
closer, it'e much sharper then your lens. 
)
I also notice new comer in photography loves huge zooms. Just
because shy lar they no confident lor. Then after few years of
photo taking, they like huge wide angle & stay at wide angle
sometimes. 
I personally loves 20mm & 24mm in
film format. The other range I loves is 50mm F1.4 if you know what
I am talking about.
