Black Friday 2011 Digital Camera Deals: Shop Smart

Shopping is never more serious than on Black Friday. Retailers throw open their doors in the middle of the night and welcome hoards of shoppers into their stores to snap up crazy deals on toys of all kinds - appliances, kitchen gadgets, video games and entertainment systems.

But any seasoned holiday shopper knows that you've got to plan ahead. We waded through stacks of Black Friday ads (well, virtual ads) and we've highlighted some of the best savings. Pull up a chair and a slice of pumpkin pie as we check in with the big retailers for the best digital camera deals for Black Friday.
Amazon has posted which items will be on sale Black Friday without giving away prices. The Canon PowerShot SX230 HS is included in the list, a powerful little compact ultrazoom with a 14x zoom and built-in GPS. Also included is the Panasonic ZS9 with a 16x optical zoom. Amazon's BF discounts in the past have been some of the best available online, so watch for the retailer to announce those prices the week of Thanksgiving.

Best Buy offers the Sony Alpha NEX-5 kit (recently replaced by the 5N) for $499.99, reduced from a current price of $649.99. The Canon EF-S 55-250mm and 75-300mm zoom lenses are available now for $150 and $100, respectively. They're nice gift options for anyone who got a Rebel DSLR last Christmas with a single 18-55mm lens bundled. And if it's the DSLR kit you're after, the big yellow tag will sell the Rebel T3 bundled with an 8GB memory card for $479.99.
Dipping below the $100 mark is the Nikon Coolpix S3100 at Meijer. It will be offered in store and online for $94. And for just a little more at $119 the Coolpix S6100 is also offered, featuring a 16 megapixel sensor and 720p HD video.

Staples is offering an even 50% off all Lowepro (and Hello Kitty) camera cases and has the Kodak EasyShare Max for $229.99. They're also knocking $20 off the price of the budget Canon PowerShot A1200 with 4x optical zoom - it will cost $79.99.
Walmart has an online deal for a Nikon D3100 bundle including a 16GB card, Targus tripod, choice of camera bag and an additional zoom lens for $660. They've also got the Sony Cyber-shot DSC-H70 with 10x optical zoom for $129.99 and this purchase includes 100 photo prints.

We'll be adding deals to this page throughout the week, so come back for the latest scoop on all of the digital camera savings. And don't forget about Cyber Monday - we'll have a listing of online deals for everyone who stayed in the safety of their own home on Black Friday.