In the beginning, just having any kind of digital camera was a good thing. Nowadays I’m convinced that it is good to have different digital cameras for different situations. Most people now have some kind of a camera as part of their mobile phones. They work great for very basic shots, but I’ve yet to see a phone that could take a decent picture. In short, they are convenient. That’s about it.

Graphics pros should also have a digital SLR for situations when they need really high-quality photos. The prices have come down a lot in the last few years and the quality continues to get better. I’ll look at these in a future post.

Today we’re going to focus (no pun intended) on point and shoot digital cameras. We want a camera that is very easy to carry with you. Preferably something that can fit in a pocket. In addition, we want good quality pictures. The last attribute we want is a reasonable price.

My pick is the Canon PowerShot SD1100IS. It shoots 8 megapixel images, has 3X optical zoom, features image stabilization and comes in several stylish colors. It can comfortably fit in a shirt pocket or a purse and doesn’t take too much money out of your purse with a sales price of under $170 at Amazon.

It isn’t the latest and greatest camera since it has been out for over eight months. But that helps keep the price down a bit. Given that the holiday shopping season is coming soon, there is no doubt that newer models are coming soon. That’s OK, it will only help the price of this model drop a bit more. Remember, we’re not looking for the absolute best camera, but rather one that takes good pictures and is convenient enough to carry almost everywhere.