RED RAIN,
Thanks for helping me with my poker.
I know more about photography than I do about poker.
I have a Canon Powershot G5. It's my constant companion. It takes fabulous pictures has a flip out viewfinder and does video's as well. You can easily transfer pictures out through a USB connector or CF card reader. I take a couple thousand pictures a month. Highly recommended. You can use it as a point and shoot or have full manual control. It's a bit big and slightly more than $500 so it might be more camera than you want but this is a good thing if your interest in photography grows. The G5 has been recently replaced by the G6. The G6 is about $700.
You can pick up a used G6 for $489 here:
http://www.bhphotovideo.com/bnh/cont...d&Q=347912
A good site for learning about photography is
http://www.photo.net
A place that won't scam you when you buy mailorder is
http://www.bhphoto.com
derick