Best Digi Cam for around $500?

[snakelet]

Hi all,

I know very little about digital cameras, but I have some money to spend on one, and I'm looking for something pretty affordable. Does anyone have any opinions on the Canon Powershot A70?

http://www.powershot.com/powershot2/a70-60/specs.html

http://www.futureshop.ca/catalog/pro...WLBS=fs%2Dweb3

Apparently you can do some manual focusing, or use it with auto focus. I want to use it for pretty much everything, though a close up focus would be nice for shooting my snakes. What is a suitable macro ability for something like that? Also, how can i tell what the time span is between when the button is pressed to when the camera takes a picture? I've used a really crappy Kodak digi before that took 3 seconds before taking the picture, which was pretty much useless for anything involving movement.

Thanks

Leanne