I'm by no means an excellant photographer... I have no sense of backround and such... however I want to learn. But the first thing I want is my own camera. Not my bro's... so 400$ sitting here... what should I buy. It's obviously an entry level type thing... I don't need much more then that to start off.. suggestions?

(or whatever the current iteration is)

It offers manual controls, which opens your eyes to the world of photography imho. It will take excellent pictures, and if you're into flash photography, it will accept an outboard flash unit (which will be much better than any in camera flash).

It's not a dSLR, and doesn't pretend to be. It does have enough versatility to satiate an advanced amateur.

and was great while learning the ins and outs of photography.

looks like they're backing out of that market just like everyone else.

Such as the A610 for example, or for a bigger LCD screen etc maybe the new A540.

Canon's 'SD' line is fantastic if you're looking for a compact (especially the newly announced SD700IS), but I don't think they have as many manual controls (or at least as easy to use/access the manual controls) so they might not be the best if you really want to learn "photography".

If you want the latest advanced point-and-shoot camera, the Canon S3IS should be a winner. That too was just announced so I'm not sure when it will be available or how much it will cost.

As you can see I'm a big Canon fan. I have three older Canon point-and-shoots (all from the old 'S' line) and a Canon dSLR (20D). But there are other good brands too...Nikon, Sony, etc...so just do some research and pick what feature set you like best.

By the way, there are lots of online places such as dpreview.com that would be good resources.

Good luck!

Congratulations on the purchase. The SD400 should serve you well. I have the old S400 and really like it.

Now, go take some pictures! ;-)