CAMERA ADVICE: A reader emails: “Can you recommend a decent point and shoot (fairly compact) digital camera? My budget is between $200-$250. I’ve been using my SONY HANDYCAM for still shots, etc. but that’s not really what it’s intended for. I’m not really a photo enthusiast and take many closeups (pictures of toys) as well as pictures of buildings and landscapes.”

There are so many good digital cameras in that range that it’s hard to go wrong. But they’re still selling the Canon Powershot SD770 for $159, and that seems like quite a deal to me, as I mentioned before.

UPDATE: Reader Michael Cummins writes to recommend this Samsung. I’ve never used a Samsung digital camera, but for $132 it seems hard to go wrong, and I like the fact that it has a wide-angle lens. With pocket cameras you find yourself wishing for more wide-angle more often than for more telephoto, at least in my experience.

ANOTHER UPDATE: Reader John Richardson emails: “I bought my Canon Powershot SD770 on Black Friday from Amazon. The price was the same $159 that you mentioned in today’s post. It is my first digital camera as my first love is still film. It is a sweet little camera. The best thing about it is the price. I was in Sam’s Club yesterday in Asheville and their price was $199. $40 bucks less than Sam’s Club is sweet and mine also included an extra 4GB SD card.”