Best Digital Camera
Our readers constantly ask us What is the Best Digital Camera for the money? With so many choices, it can be difficult to decide on the Best Digital Camera available on the market today. Not only do these digital cameras differ in price, but their styles and quality also vary greatly.
Thus, we have set out to find the 10 Best Digital Cameras based on quality, price, and functionality. Also, we factor in the digital camera reviews in formulating our list.
You will find that most of the cameras on the list of best digital cameras are compact, point and shoot digital cameras. This is because most of us want simplicity to accompany quality. Who wants a great digital camera that is too difficult to use? In this list, you will find the best compact digital cameras (or best point shoot cameras as they are sometimes called) that money can buy.
That said, many of you are what we call advanced amateur photographers and want a camera that provides a bit more control and greater quality. You will find some of the advanced amateur photographer cameras on the list as well (many over 14MP) as more and more people realize that advanced photography does not have to be technically challenging.
Since technology moves rapidly, we do too! We update our list of the 10 Best Digital Cameras for you everyday so that you can always make the best, and latest purchasing decisions.
So, let’s get started with the list.
10 Best Digital Cameras
This list was updated on Thursday March 11, 2010.
Canon PowerShot SX20IS 12.1MP Digital Camera with 20x Wide Angle Optical Image Stabilized Zoom and 2.5-inch Articulating LCD
With a 20x wide-angle zoom, the 12.1-megapixel PowerShot SX20 IS offers intelligent, versatile shooting power. Switch to Smart Auto mode for effortlessly great results, or shoot stunning HD movies.
CUSTOMER REVIEWS: The latest customer who purchased the Canon PowerShot SX20IS 12.1MP Digital Camera with 20x Wide Angle Optical Image Stabilized Zoom and 2.5-inch Articulating LCD, one of the Best Digital Cameras, wrote a review entitled Worth every penny saying: “I just purchased this camera and have been toying around with it in the house and so far the picture quality has been great! The auto is a little to vivid for my liking, so I just change to custom and turn the color to natural. The zoom is great and easy to focus when you zoom fast. The real test will be when I attend concerts, how well the low lighting shots will turn out! Can’t wait to test it out some more.”
Canon PowerShot SD1200IS 10 MP Digital Camera with 3x Optical Image Stabilized Zoom and 2.5-inch LCD (Dark Gray)
When a camera puts a smile on your face the moment you hold it, imagine how great you’ll feel when you see your first pictures! The PowerShot SD1200 IS Digital ELPH has everything going for it - exuberant color, the sculptured style of Canon’s famed ELPH series - and the innovative know - how that takes you to a whole new level of picture-taking accomplishment. Fun, smart and a style follow you everywhere.
Nikon Coolpix L20 10MP Digital Camera with 3.6 Optical Zoom and 3 inch LCD (Deep Red)
The Coolpix L20 is a great camera for beginners just getting started in digital photography. Easy to use and fully featured the Coolpix L20 will delight it’s users with great pictures, fun features and a huge 3.0-inch display at a surprisingly affordable price.
Panasonic Lumix DMC-ZS3 10.1 MP Digital Camera with 12x Wide Angle MEGA Optical Image Stabilized Zoom and 3 inch LCD (Black)
The ZS3 records HD motion images at a smooth 60 frames per second with 1280 x 720-pixel resolution. It uses the AVCHD (MPEG-4/H.264) format, via AVCHD lite, which stores less data than other formats and thus lets you shoot more minutes of HD motion images before running out of memory.Just set the camera to iA mode, aim and shoot. The camera does all the rest. It automatically determines the most suitable scene mode and helps correct blurring, focus, and brightness problems. With iA mode, it’s easy to get beautiful, clear results. In the ZS3, iA mode cannot be used when shooting motion images.The ZS3 packs a LEICA DC VARIO-ELMAR lens with 12x optical zoom into a compact body. This versatile photographic tool lets you shoot everything from sweeping vistas at the 25mm wide-angle setting to dynamic 300mm telephoto shots. And the lens system’s exquisite rendering ability lets you capture even the subtle nuances of the sights and scenes in your travels.
Canon PowerShot A1100IS 12.1 MP Digital Camera with 4x Optical Image Stabilized Zoom and 2.5-inch LCD (Silver)
Splash Out with Dazzling Color. Brighten your world with the intensely colorful Canon PowerShot A1100 IS. Fashionably slender, this sleek camera body has been specially shaped to make it easy to hold and easy to shoot. There’s a metal-plated front grip that contributes a striking note of elegance and adds to your comfort. Loaded with Features, Packed with Value. 12.1-megapixel digital camera with 4x Optical Zoom and Optical Image Stabilizer. With the PowerShot A1100 IS, dramatic, personal pictures have never been easier to shoot and share. This 12.1-megapixel digital camera lets you create impressive, large photos of family and friends you’ll be proud to display. The high-resolution images taken by the PowerShot A1100 IS can be enlarged up to 13″ x 19″. The PowerShot A1100 IS has a 4x optical zoom lens that makes it easy to get the inspiring, emotive close-ups that will make your images lasting keepsakes. This magnificent lens gives you the power to shoot distant subjects with razor-sharp precision and stunning lifelike color. So you can brilliantly capture a closer shot of a landscape, or a child’s big smile. The PowerShot A1100 IS is equipped with Canon’s acclaimed Optical Image Stabilizer Technology that automatically detects and corrects camera shake - one of the leading causes of fuzzy or blurred shots. Even when zoomed in, you can get the steady, crisp, brilliant images you’ll be proud to shoot and share. And Canon’s Optical Image Stabilizer Technology is so convenient to use. It functions perfectly with or without a flash. A World of Advantages with Canon’s Technology. DIGIC 4 Image Processor has evolved Face Detection Technology that tracks the faces of moving subjects and lets the shooter enter the frame seamlessly with the Face Detection Self-timer. DIGIC 4 Image Processor - Canon’s most advanced image processor, DIGIC 4, delivers evolved Face Detection Technology
Canon PowerShot SD780IS12.1 MP Digital Camera with 3x Optical Image Stabilized Zoom and 2.5-inch LCD (Black)
It may be the slimmest Digital ELPH Canon has ever created, but the impact couldn’t be bigger. The PowerShot SD780 IS Digital ELPH captivates the senses with bold saturated colors and a daringly original design that matches the intensity of Canon’s most innovative camera technology. Even when picture-taking conditions seem pretty unforgiving, you’ve got Canon on your side. So the shots you used to miss are the images you’ll now be sharing, and the movies you never took before will be HD unforgettable.
Sony Cyber-shot DSC-H20/B 10.1 MP Digital Camera with 10x Optical Zoom and Super Steady Shot Image Stabilization
The Sony DSC-H20 is a full-featured point-and-shoot with outstanding high-power zoom capability and fast shutter speed. It includes Smile Shutter technology which captures smiles the moment they happen, as well as Face Detection technology to optimize focus, exposure and color for up to eight faces. Capture detailed images with 10 megapixel resolution, and get in close to the action with the 10x optical zoom Carl Zeiss lens. Intelligent Scene Recognition helps you avoid failure picture, while Sony’s Double Anti-Blur solution (Super SteadyShot optical image stabilization plus High ISO) helps keep your images blur-free. The DSC-H20 completes the package with a 3.0-Inch Clear Photo LCD Plus Display that lets you easily view your images and menu options. Supplied accessories include a rechargeable battery (NP-BG1), a battery charger (BC-CSGB), a multi-connector cable, a lens cap and the CD-ROM software. Memory sticks are only optional.
CUSTOMER REVIEWS: The latest customer who purchased the Sony Cyber-shot DSC-H20/B 10.1 MP Digital Camera with 10x Optical Zoom and Super Steady Shot Image Stabilization, one of the Best Digital Cameras, wrote a review entitled Excellent for tne novice saying: “This is a camera I purchased for my wife who has problems with setting the camera to the proper shot mode. Put this camera in auto and she’s ready to go. All of her shots turned out great. She lost the blury pictures and the dark figures with the bright background. Easy to off load pictures so she can do that herself now. It is bigger than her last sony but she claims this is easier for her to hold steady and the hand hold makes that possible. As far as battery life goes we are getting approxmittly 150 to 175 pictures per battery. However these are batteries she had from her last camera. Overall we are happy with this purchase..”
Canon PowerShot SD1200IS 10 MP Digital Camera with 3x Optical Image Stabilized Zoom and 2.5-inch LCD (Silver)
Sony Cyber-shot DSC-W290 12.1 MP Digital Camera with 5x Optical Zoom and Super Steady Shot Image Stabilization (Black)
The Sony Cyber-shot DSC-W290 camera combines style with power and intelligence. The W290 comes in 4 sophisticated colors and has a stylish look. With the W290 taking great pictures is now easier than ever. The iAuto mode goes beyond the traditional auto mode, thinking and working for you; recognizing scenes, lighting conditions, faces, and automatically adjusts camera settings resulting in clearer images, and faces with more natural skin tones and less blur. The W290 also features HD Movie mode, recording in 720p for capturing your precious moments on video. Compose, review, and share your memories on the large 3.0” (230k pixels) LCD.
Canon PowerShot S90 10MP Digital Camera with 3.8x Wide Angle Optical Image Stabilized Zoom and 3-inch LCD
The pocketable PowerShot S90 gives powerful everyday shooting. Shoot quickly with a lens control ring and get superior low-light performance with a high-sensitivity 10.0 MP CCD and f/2.0 lens.A high-sensitivity CCD sensor gives outstanding image quality in a wide variety of lighting conditions. Even images taken at high ISOs show exceptionally low noise levels and a wide dynamic range.A bright f/2.0 aperture allows exceptional versatility, capturing low-light images and fast-moving subjects at higher shutter speeds. A wide angle of 28mm lets you put more in the frame, while Canon’s optical IS reduces blur caused by camera shake.
CUSTOMER REVIEWS: The latest customer who purchased the Canon PowerShot S90 10MP Digital Camera with 3.8x Wide Angle Optical Image Stabilized Zoom and 3-inch LCD, one of the Best Digital Cameras, wrote a review entitled The Best Point-And-Shoot Camera saying: “The images shot by the S90 is simply phenomenal! It comes mighty close in quality to my DSLR camera, a Canon 450D. (for those unfamiliar with photography lingo, a DSLR, which stands for Digital Single Lens Reflex Camera, is what professional and semi-professional photographers use). I wish to highlight a few points on this camera.
- Phenomenal Image Quality
Most point-and-shoot (or compact) cameras have sensor size of about 1/2.5. The S90 has a sensor size of 1/1.7, much larger than sensors on most point-and-shoot cameras. As a rule of thumb, the larger the sensor, the sharper and better quality the image. (By the way, the S90 has the same sensor size as the G11. My DSLR, a Canon 450D, has a sensor size of 1/1.6.)
With a larger sensor, the image quality of the S90 is simply superb! The images are sharp and there is very little noise in even moderately well-lit environments. Very few point-and-shoot cameras hold a candle to the image quality of the S90.
- Images In Raw Format
The S90 can capture images in JPEG and RAW format. Anyone who is serious or even semi-serious in photography should know how to manipulate images in the RAW format. (Note: there is an option to capture every image in *both* RAW and JPEG.)
RAW vs. JPEG : RAW is an uncompressed and unaltered image as captured by the camera. JPEG is compressed, and the image quality is reduced as a result.
RAW is one of the main selling points of this camera. A vast majority of point-and-shoot cameras do not have the ability to capture pictures in RAW format whereas ALL DSLR (such as the ) are able to capture images in RAW format. Most point-and-shoot cameras save the captured images as JPEG (.jpg) format.
RAW allows post processing. With the right software, you can create stunning images! To learn more about RAW, here’s a list of books:
(1) Raw Workflow from Capture to Archives: A Complete Digital Photographer’s Guide to Raw Imaging (Paperback), (2) Real World Camera Raw with Adobe Photoshop CS4, (3) Camera Raw with Photoshop For Dummies.
- Compact Size
Well, isn’t that the whole point of a point-and-shoot/compact camera? The S90 fits comfortably in the the size of your palm. The S90 will fit in your shirt pocket. To quote an oft-cited saying, “the best camera is the one that’s with you.” The S90 is so compact, you can take it with you at all times.
—
The S90 captures the best quality images I’ve ever seen in a point-and-shoot (or compact) camera. It is small enough you can easily take it wherever you go. I can’t recommend it enough!
.”
Best Digital Camera: Summary
The latest digital cameras are technology marvels. Their small size yet excellent quality allows us to bring our compact digital cameras wherever we go and take amazing pictures at the touch of a button.
Here, we have compiled our list of the Best Digital Cameras based on quality, price, and user feedback. We hope that you no longer need to ask What Is The Best Digital Camera For The Money? because the answer is right here. Tell your friends about this list of the 10 Best Digital Cameras by clicking the “sharethis” icon below.
Thanks for the visit and remember, when buying a new camera, always consult our list because we constantly update it with the latest best digital cameras!
Leave a Reply