Buying digital cameras - basic vs high end camera

On May 21, 10:25 pm, ray wrote:
On Mon, 21 May 2007 12:56:58 -0700, C J Campbell wrote:
On 2007-05-20 22:47:10 -0700, said:

This question perhaps relates to my other question about long term
camera tests. If someone gives you money to buy a camera, say for
$800, and you are just an average camera user (not a pro), no action
shots, just want to get good quality, sharp pictures, what would you
do?
- buy a regular $200 cameras, and use it for a year (or two) and then
keep buying a new one after 3000-5000 shots. You can get up to 4 brand
new cameras @ $200 a piece.
- or buy a more expensive camera to meet the budget, and hope and pray
that it will last for years to come and many thousand pictures.

Cameras go obsolete after 18 months.

Yeah - so? That does not mean they stop working. If they still fullfill
your needs, what's the problem?
snip

Quite. I have a Canon Powershot A70, 3.2 megapixels, and I still use
it. Apart from a low pixel count, it's a great camera - good lens
(possibly the most important component), great viewfinder, easy to use
and the results are good. A more up-to-date camera isn't necesarily
better, as I found out when I brought a Fuji S5600.