I have been interested in photography since around 1995. I got my first SLR around then, and took photography classes in high school and college. In college I got my first digital camera. I recently was shopping around for a new camera, and thought perhaps I should compare the various cameras I have used over the years, for reference. Click their names to see a page of example photographs from that camera.
I don't know that this will help other shoppers determine what they want in a camera. My style, probably influenced by the years I spent not owning a flash, is heavily reliant on available light, and I expect different things from my cameras than many do. But I here present my findings on the strengths and weaknesses of various cameras, and I've tried to explain what I like and dislike in a camera People sometimes ask me for recommendations; here's all I know about photography, with examples from my own portfolio (if you can call it that).
I was given this camera for Christmas while in high school.
It is a very basic SLR with no automatic settings, and has a 55-mm lens on it with no zoom or wide-angle adjustments. I brought it with me to Europe when I spent a year there as a student, and it came with me everywhere. It has survived many situations that should have killed any camera, and its light meter only needs repair now because I never use my film cameras anymore.
The camera's strengths:
Reliability, durability. Fast use-- does not need to be turned on, though the shutter lock needs to be disengaged if it was on. Instant response when shutter button pressed. I have never replaced a battery on it. The 55-mm lens is ideal for portraits and close-ups, and works well for landscapes as well.
The camera's weaknesses:
No automatic settings means it must be manually light-metered, adjusted, and focused. I got quite practiced at it, but I was still often too slow to get a shot. Also, there are no photos of me from any of my travels, because my camera was too complicated for anyone else to operate, and so I could not hand it to a friendly stranger and ask them to take my picture. Once I discovered the self-timer I got a few pictures of me and my sister, but other than that there was little I could do. (Not that I like having my picture taken...) I had no flash and thus could not take pictures in certain low-light situations at all (though some photos in the examples will show that with proper film, almost anything is possible). Worse, in some low-light situations I might be able to get a shot, but I simply could not see well enough to focus adequately, which was another disadvantage (I would have to have the aperture wide open to get adequate light, and that would mean my depth of field was small-- so my subject was likely to be out of focus if I made a mistake). The 55-mm lens makes interiors almost impossible in smaller rooms, and some shots were simply impossible in tight quarters. Having no zoom meant I had to run back and forth to change distance (duh). And last, film is expensive and difficult.
I got this camera used from a friend who got it used. 
He'd worked for Kodak at one point, but I'm not sure if that's why he had it. The camera had been massively expensive when first released. It has a megapixel resolution, which used to be huge. I mostly have used it for snapshots. It is reliable, for the most part, but eats batteries like there's no tomorrow.
The camera's strengths:
Its flash is more powerful than you'd expect, enabling me to get low-light shots. It handles relatively poorly in low light or fast action, as that's something digital cameras struggle with, but I have seen worse. I have taken some decent action shots with it, however, and find it far from the worst of digital cameras in this area. Its response time is not as slow as I have encountered in some digitals.
The camera's weaknesses:
Batteries. Batteries, batteries, batteries. Never buy a digital without a built-in rechargeable battery pack. It's just not worth the hassle and expense of batteries. This camera cannot have its LCD viewfinder on for any amount of time or it will be ridiculously inefficient.
I have found that the viewfinder is inaccurate. In one or two of the example shots you can see that the subject is partially cut off, even though it appeared perfectly framed in the viewfinder-- or even, using the LCD panel. The LCD panel is inaccurate. And oh-- not one of its ports is compatible with any computer currently in operation in any of the households in which I have access to a computer. I don't even know what half of them are. USB hadn't been invented yet, more's the pity. So pictures on this camera stay on this camera until I can borrow someone else's camera to use as a card reader.
Most notably, this camera died on me in spring 2004 (just shy of 2 years after I got it) for absolutely no reason, with an inscrutable error. So that's the lasting impression it has left me with. I was never that impressed with this camera. Its flash is weak and its handling in low light is very poor, very grainy. It is lightweight and recharges easily, and its E-Z Share Dock is very easy to use to transfer files and recharge. It is also very easy to use-- my little cousin borrowed it and used it effectively with little trouble for a variety of shots, having very few problems and fewer useless shots than one would expect. But it was never a great camera. Battery life is excellent, and it was (I thought) quite durable, and went with me everywhere. But it died and the customer service folks are most unhelpful. They don't know what's wrong with it but it'll cost $150 to fix plus shipping and handling, go figure.
The camera's strengths:
It was nice while it lasted. Easy to use, more settings to play with, good default settings, preserves settings after turned off. Didn't have to remove card or battery to transfer files or recharge. It is truly simple to use, and can be used to produce some decent photos, very easily.
The camera's weaknesses:
Well. The damn thing broke. The flash sucks. I pretty much covered this, above.
This camera belongs to my sister and brother-in-law. I was given it for the weekend of their wedding, and instructed to take pictures. 
I did. I took hundreds of pictures for them, so that they'd have photos from that exciting time while they were busy. I was very impressed with the camera. It's tiny and easy to use, but powerful. I got a lot of shots I hadn't thought I'd be able to. And the image quality was excellent.
The camera's strengths:
Portability. Ease of use. Excellent flash, very good low-light performance even without flash. I got pictures in extremely low light, that look marvelous. (See examples.) It took me no time to sort out the settings I needed to get the kinds of shots I wanted.
The camera's weaknesses:
The shutter button was difficult to use-- depressing it halfway was for autofocusing and lightmetering, but to get it to go all the way down required effort, and that meant that I often jerked the camera when I depressed the button. I lost about half my shots to camera shake, even in decent light, and had to get in the habit of taking three pictures of everything just to make sure it wasn't blurred (because it didn't always show in the preview after you took the picture-- the blur could be too subtle to see). This also meant that the shutter was exceptionally slow, and action shots were virtually impossible. I have a lot of photos of where people were standing a minute ago, and where something cool just happened. Additionally, the battery pack must be removed to be recharged, which is wear and tear as well as a hassle.
I bought this camera just this week after shopping around. 
I was tempted by the Elph, above. But I sorely, sorely miss my Fujica, and wish the film weren't so expensive. I haven't had the camera very long and haven't had a chance to put it through all of its paces yet, but I have used it in a few different situations.
Camera's strengths:
Excellent image processing. Handles beautifully in low light. Gives excellent control over a wide range of settings. Auto modes are easy to use and make camera fast-responding. Many of the early shots I have taken with it were from a moving car on an impulse. It turns on quickly, and the shutter button responds immediately if you press firmly. The resolution is enormous, giving a photographer (and image editor!) more pixels to work with. And the colors are remarkably true, crisp, and rich. The flash is quite good, and responsive. I find the thing a joy to use.
Camera's weaknesses:
It's very big, bulky and heavy. The battery must be removed to be charged, which is annoying as well as wear-and-tear, if you don't have a second battery to use. Transferring files from it is slow. It requires special software, even on my Mac that has most cameras already installed. It has so many controls that a novice would be entirely overwhelmed (though the pre-set modes are quite easy to use). I don't like the lens cap design (but it is standard, and that's pretty damn minor). Well, in short, I haven't had the thing long enough to get annoyed at any of it, really. Just that it's so big, and I've grown so used to tiny little junk cameras that it's quite an adjustment to have a big honking lens poking out at people.
Other photographs by Bridget Kelly, mostly family-related, are linked to from this page: