I have split the choice of digital cameras for the family into two groups - point & shoot for the beginner and intermediate photographer and prosumer for advanced needs. Desirable features to look out for when assessing a point and shoot digital camera for family photography include:

Speed - the digital camera must have minimal shutter lag to allow fast picture taking i.e. children playing, babies, parties, children playing sports & family social occasions.

Zoom lens - the zoom lens must be 3x or longer and must be capable of producing sharp high quality photos.

Size - except for some people with larger hands, a small pocketable digital camera is more likely to be taken out and about by a family member than a larger camera which often gets left behind.

Movie Mode - VGA movies at 30fps provides smooth jitter free movies with audio and allows the family to carry one camera for both photography and video. Many newer camers from 2008 to 2009 have high definition (HD) movie modes at 30 fps. HD movies can either be 1280 x 720 or 1920 x 1080 which is the highest quality available. Most cameras support the lower HD resolution at 1280 x 720 which is still far superior to VGA. These cameras are capable of taking high quality family movies. HD movies have only recently started to appear on digital slr cameras on DSLRs such as the Nikon D90. To avoid movies taking up huge amounts of space on a memory card, it is important to look for cameras which offer H.264 mpeg4 compression.

Battery Life - the digital camera battery must be able to last for a reasonable time before recharging is required.

Large LCD - the LCD viewfinder must be 2" or larger to accurately view and compose the picture.

Face Detection - some digital cameras can detect a number of different human faces in a scene and this can help to avoid focusing errors.

Except where otherwise stated, all the digital cameras recommended for family photography have most of the above features.

Other desirable feature which can be found on a few cameras include weatherproofing for use on the beach or in the rain and image stabilization for hand holding cameras in low light without using flash to produce more moody and atmospheric shots.

Prosumer or digital cameras for advanced family photographers have additional features which can provide more control for creative photography. These features include full manual control over aperture and shutter speed, a hotshoe for external flashguns and the option to save raw files without compression.

Digital SLR cameras provide the advanced family photographer with the greatest range of options for creative photography including interchangeable lenses, wider choice of accessories including filters and flashguns, faster operation and an SLR viewfinder for accurate composition. One of the greatest benefits of digital SLR cameras is the ability to take low light photographs without flash as SLR sensors are much larger than those found in digital compacts and therefore produce less noise at higher ISO settings such as 800 or even 1600.

These recommendations are provided as a general guide and the final decision as always is with the camera buyer. Digital camera specifications change constantly and therefore it is advisable to check these before buying.