I would definetely recommend you go digital but there are so many options out there! If you are near a best buy or circuit city or even walmart, they have lots to choose from to fit just about any price range. Even the lowest end will give you decent pics. They can tell you what other equipment you would need for uploading and etc. Good luck with our classes.
My DH recommends buying digital in whatever range you can afford, but get a camera brand vs a computer brand. Like, get a nikon or canon, not a HP. That is our experience. He has a nikon coolpix I bought him for dad's day last year, and it is little, but has awesome battery life. That replaced the HP which we had sent back to the company because it practically eats batteries. Don't get one that takes AA. get a NI Cad or Lithium battery if you can. You're gonna love it.
I still prefer film camera. I don't know where all those digital images are, but when I shoot off a roll, I take it in and get it developed and double prints. Love that.
That's my (our opinion).... 
I do prefer the digital camera's myself. I have had a Hewlett Packard and now currently have a Sony Cybershot. The HP does tend to go through batteries if you use just regular batteries. I know Energizer{?} or one of the other companies make special batteries for digital cameras and other electronics and they don't eat them as fast. The Sony camera I have has rechargable batteries which are great. But I still find I have to recharge them pretty frequently. At least I don't have to buy new one's though. I would reccomend getting rechargable batteries no matter what kind of camera you get. My Sony came with the batteries and charger, I think most of them do know. I think mine is only 4 mega pixels and it takes a good picture so long as you give it a chance to focus first.
I guess I am old fashioned but I prefer having film and negatives and prints. So, with every cake I make, I take a picture with my film camera, and then a picture with my digital camera. I can easily upload the digital images to my website, and I can get prints to give to my clients, and I still have the negatives for enlargements, reprints, etc.
Maybe I will outgrow this at some point, but right now it makes me feel more secure to still use film. Last year my husband's computer hard drive crashed and he lost about 5 years of digital Boy Scout pictures. He is a Scoutmaster and our son is an Eagle scout. None of those pictures was taken with a film camera, so we have nothing left from those 5 years. 
So I issue a warning, IF you use only a digital camera, be sure to backup your images on a CD.
Good Luck! 
That is a VERY good point. Every so often I will back up my photos onto a disc. I have all of my boy's baby pictures on the computer, I have a few prints, but everything else is at the mercy of my computer. I print off pictures of my cakes for my portfolio either on my printer or just have wal-mart or Snapfish do it. I like the digital also because you know in advance what the pictures look like and if they are worth "keeping".
I have my digitals backed up on CD's and DVD's and I have not deleted albums from snapfish in eons. I think I have over 80 albums on there (I take a ton of photos as I'm a scout leader too and I have four kids).
It really took a lot to convert me to the digital world. I like the high resolution of an SLR so you can get nice enlargements. I have the NIKON D70 and LOVE it. But there are some good digital camera's out there in a much cheaper price range that take decent photos. I'm just anal about no lag time b/w my shots and high resolution images. I agree w/the suggestion of going to a computer store (or walmart, etc) and playing with the camera's to see how easy they are to use and how compatible they are with your system.
Can anyone tell me how to reduce the file size of my digital pictures. I took some photos of my cakes but they all have enormous file sizes ie 1.56mb or 2.54mb etc. I tried to upload one picture here, it took an age to do, & then when it got to the end, it said no photo uploaded .... I'm sure it's because of the file size.
Instead of saving, there should be an option to "save for the web" in your photo editing program. That will decrease the resolution but keep the original image size. I sometimes have to re-size my images first (since my camera frequently has the images 35 inches by something). So make sure you have the image size the size you want, then find the save for the web and it'll save a copy of it for posting. HTH's.
I loved my film camera, but my husband had to update me a few years ago 
and bought me a Nikon Coolpix 5000.
I LOVE IT!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! I wish I read the manual more thoroughly, though. There are so many features, and I have slowly come to understand it. Digital is definitely the way to go. No wasted pictures and you can order pictures online or take the memory card anywhere you develop film. You can edit your shots, crop them, share them online...I can go on and on.
Needless to say, I have converted from film girl to digital girl.
The most important feature you will look for in a camera is Megapixels. You want clear pictures that can be blown up with great resolution. These days you can find a great price on a camera that offers decent megapixels.
Other than that, just make sure it's comfortable, user friendly, and has good battery life.
Good luck!!
Angie
Hooray!!! SSSSSooooo excited .... got the first three uploaded .... will have to wait til tomorrow before I do any more because it is half past midnight here & I said to my husband that I'd be up to bed in a minute at 10.30!! Love your cakes too SheilaF . Night All!
Thank you very much for the replies to my question about cameras. I knew you would know, because the pictures here are so clear. I'm printing out this page...
My next class is Wednesday, and we decorate our first cake. I'm so EXCITED! -- We get paid on Thursday, so I can go get one. I will check out Best Buy, they just built one here.
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