Not every snapshooter needs the latest camera. And price reductions for last year's gear can be substantial.

A perfect example is the beautiful little Canon PowerShot S110 that's currently available for $219 vs $399 for the newer S120. That's a big difference. So I decided to compare the specs.

Bottom line is that you get 922,000 dots on the touchscreen LCD for the S120 vs about half as many on the S110 (which still has a touchscreen). Other improvements include a faster burst mode, a wider variety or resolution choices, f/1.8 vs f/2 max aperture, and a little faster performance. And to be honest, that's about it. Both have WiFi, RAW, and terrific image quality.

If I were to buy a top notch compact camera for an enthusiast photographer as a gift, I could swing $219. But $399? Probably not.

I enjoy covering the latest and greatest technology. As far as jobs go, I have a great one. But when it comes to spending my own money. Last year's models are often the true bargains.

-Derrick