If your on a Road Trip the Optical Image Stabilization feature would be good for this trip. If you're driving for long hours and the driver isn't planning on stopping, you'll need a camera that isn't going to take blurry pictures. The image stabilization feature can help keep pictures that are shot from the car window nice and crisp. You may also want a wide-angle lens to get plenty of landscape shots, but this can be done on compact digital cameras with a panorama stitching mode of widescreen image size too.

Taking pictures at the Beach can be tricky. If your camera came with a lens hood, make sure you take it to keep the sun from glaring on the lens' glass. You can keep sand out of the camera by encasing it in a clear plastic bag and curring a small hole for the lens. This should let you view images and navigate the menu just fine, but will keep the elements out. Some digital cameras may not need this though; some digital cameras have rubber sealants within the housing to keep dust and moisture out. Those cameras are also waterproof to depths of 10 ft. That is enough for some casual swimming or snorkeling, but scuba divers should look into an underwater housing made by the camera manufacturer. Unfortunately, most underwater housings cost almost as much as the digital camera!

While at the Theme Park photographing will be much easier and look much better with a long zoom lens. You can get great close-up shots of the wide eyes, big mouth, and flared nostrils while your watching a friend on that thrilling ride.