I love my Minolta camera. I want to get a digital. I would like the same kind of camera. Can I get one and use my zoom lens that I already have. I need a camera that is update to use a USB cord to download pictures... what are my choices... or am I talking to the wrong place... thanks

If you want to use your current lens, then your only new choice is any of the Sony Alpha dSLR's as they use the Minolta AF mount.

However... your lens will not operate correctly. You may have to manually focus and the auto iris stop down might not work. The only way to find out in advance to to take your lens along to a Sony stockist to try it out, but phone them in advance to ensure that they have a display model with a freshly charged battery.

You will definitely find that your 35mm film lens will have a different angle of view; the smaller sensor on the dSLR means that your lens will appear to have a 1.5x teleconverter fitted. You'll also likely find that your lens will be optically inferior to the modern offerings simply due to greater advances in computer aided design and materials technology, although the actual build quality of your lens may well be better.

On balance, I'd suggest that you continue to use your Minolta 35mm camera and if you buy a digital SLR system just make a clean break and pick whichever system suits your needs best. Unless you already own late model 35mm AF Nikon or Canon gear there's really very little to be gained by trying to use your old equipment on the new dSLR body and potentially a lot of handling issues to interfere with taking photos.