I just noticed that the Canon Powershot SD400, a 5-megapixel member of the Canon Elph digital camera family, has soared to number 1 on the Amazon.com Camera & Photo Top Selling Products Listin the past few days. The reason for this is that Canon has recently cut the price of most of the Canon Digital Elph cameras. The SD400, with it's 5-megapixel image capability, 3x optical zoom, and competitive price, occupies a particularly sweet spot in the digital camera market.

I think the Powershot SD400 is a great idea for holiday gifts. It would make a great upgrade for someone who already has a low-end, second-generation digital camera and has pushed its limits. I can think of a couple of people in my family who would use their digital camera a lot more if it had the features and the responsiveness that the Powershot SD400 has.

If you're looking for an even less expensive way to give the gift of digital photography, check out the Canon Powershot SD200. This is a 3.2-megapixel camera with a 3x optical zoom that costs less that $190.

Other recently reduced Canon digital cameras include:

• Canon Powershot SD500, 7-megapixel with 3x optical zoom
• Canon Powershot SD450, 5-megapixel with 3x optical zoom
• Canon Powershot SD550, 7.1-megapixel with 3x optical zoom