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I Need advice on cameras for college? (blur effect)?

Hi, I'm looking for a good camera that's affordable to take images of my life with for a photography course i want to do next year.

I need a camera that has the feature that lets your blur the background of images (i forgot what you call it, if anyone knows id be grateful if you told me).

Up to now i have found a few cameras but i don't know if they have the blur feature, or if they are ideal.
the cameras are here:

http://www.currys.co.uk/gbuk/canon-ixus-100-is-black-compact-digital-camera-12-1-mp-02409170-pdt.html

http://www.currys.co.uk/gbuk/sony-cyber-shot-w310-compact-digital-camera-04778241-pdt.html

http://www.currys.co.uk/gbuk/panasonic-lumix-dmc-fp2-compact-digital-camera-04897055-pdt.html

Do you think these are ideal, and which is the best? if you want to recommend a camera, feel free but bear in mind i have to buy the camera from Currys.

-Thanks

The effect you seek is correctly called an out of focus background and its more a product of the lens used than it is the camera. Its definitely not a "feature".

Your question can also be consider one concerning what's known as Depth of Field (DOF). DOF is defined as that area in front of and behind your subject that is in acceptable focus. In can be described as shallow or deep and is the product of only three factors:

1) The focal length of the lens.
2) The aperture (aka f-stop) used.
3) The subject distance.

This site will help you learn about DOF: http://www.dofmaster.com/dofjs.html

Here are examples of a shallow DOF:

http://www.flickr.com/photos/drifter45h/4112148193/ I think this was taken using my 70-210mm zoom at 210mm and f11.

http://www.flickr.com/photos/drifter45h/5037707420/ Same as above as best I remember.

The out of focus highlights in the background is called "bokeh" - a Japanese word that translated means "pleasing blur". It is a product of the lens used and the design of the diaphragm blades inside the lens. A cheap lens will have a diaphragm consisting of perhaps 5 blades which produces a more or less pentagon shape while more expensive lenses will have perhaps 9 blades that produce a more circular shape.

Here are examples of a deep DOF:

http://www.flickr.com/photos/drifter45h/4522270982/ If memory serves this was taken with a 21mm lens at f16 and pre-focused at 6'-0'' to maximize DOF.

http://www.flickr.com/photos/drifter45h/4032748624/ Same as above as best I recall.

All four examples were taken using a 35mm film camera loaded with ISO 100 film and mounted on a tripod. All four can be done with any DSLR camera using the 18-55mm lens that comes with most all entry-level models. No, you won't have the same angle of view or the same telephoto reach as my examples but you can achieve similar results - if you study at the previously referenced site.

I suggest looking at the Pentax K-x DSLR. It will be very difficult to achieve a shallow DOF with any point & shoot camera like the ones you listed. All three suffer from a tiny sensor and a permanently mounted lens. I rather doubt any of them would be acceptable for a serious photography class.

Here are more sites that will help you learn about photography:

http://www.kamerasimulator.se/eng/?page_id=2

http://www.photonhead.com

http://www.digital-photography-school.com

http://www.cambridgeincolor.com

http://www.illustratedphotography.com/photography-tips/basic

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free digital backgrounds for photography5
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