Can you find photographic happiness for under $150 $120? Believe it or not, you can!
“I have a budget of $120 or less. What kind of camera should I get?” Among my snapshooting friends, this is one of the questions I get most frequently. The answer is, you can get a very capable camera for less than $120! And to those who say "I don't need a camera, I can use my cell phone," even these cameras offer more picture-taking capabilities, and are easier to operate, than almost any smart phone on the market.
Many snapshooters who don't want to be bothered with confusing features will find these cameras to be just fine for their needs. But they are also ideal for teens and pre-teens. Unless you are buying for a precocious budding photographer who wants DSLR-like control, budget cameras are the best way to go.
The problem with sub-$120 cameras is that there are so few unbiased equipment reviews; on the other hand, overall quality has improved in this competitive category. Shopping by features may be the best way to go. You may be surprised at how many of these cameras have state-of-the-art technology like face detection and anti-shake. We'll show you what kinds of features give you the most bang for your buck--and how to avoid buying a camera that will disappoint you.
A few sweeping generalizations
When shopping for a $100-and-under digital camera, understand that there are some features you won't find. Here's a punch list of what to expect...
Ruggedness: The cameras are not as rugged as higher-end models (although a handful are ruggedized) and should be handled with relative care.
Optics: Lens quality might be a bit lower than more expensive cameras. But you can expect optical zoom in the 3x-5x range.
ISO: With notable exceptions, ISO range will be limited, and noise levels above ISO 200 will likely be high (this is true even for pricier compact digital cameras). I recommend doing most of your shooting at the lowest ISO, with higher ISOs reserved for emergencies when you would otherwise get no picture at all.
Overall Image Quality: Don’t be blinded by high megapixel counts—actually, your overall image quality will be better if you get a lower-megapixel camera, as long as it’s at least 6MP. You can make a sharp 8x10 print out of a 6MP image, and since 95% of snapshooters never make prints larger than 4x6 inches, you should be fine since most compact digital cameras currently available are at least 10MP.
Shutter lag: Budget-priced cameras will not react as quickly when you press the shutter release, and may take a bit longer than pricier models to store the image to the memory card. Don't expect to successfully photograph sports and action with these cameras.
While speed, ruggedness and image quality may be deal-breakers if you're an enthusiast or professional, these cameras are designed for snapshooters. Even the most pedestrian of these cameras should be sufficient for snapshots, making them ideal gifts. All will produce prints that are superior to those made on camera phones.
Compact Camera or Camera Phone?
Most cell phones today have built-in cameras. Are they a reasonable replacement for a low-end digital camera? In most cases, no.
In most cases, camera phone lenses don't zoom optically, and the sensors are even smaller than those in compact cameras, which means pictures with unacceptable graininess at any setting. Even the least expensive of the cameras described here will give you much better image quality and performance than most camera phones.
Most camera phones are phones first, and accessing the camera controls takes more steps than simply hitting the "power" button. Control over simple things like focus and exposure are either non-existant or buried in the menu (the Apple iPhone is a notable, expensive exception). Only a handful of high-end camera phones have a built-in flash, making it virtually impossible to capture decent low-light images.
The strongest argument in favor of camera phones is that it means you have one less gadget to carry, and that they make it easy to share photos on Facebook, flickr, and email. But remember the phrase "jack of all trades, master of none"?
Features to look for
Even the least expensive model has a 3x optical zoom lens, typically in the 38-110mm (35mm equivalent) range, and focuses automatically. Some models have wider zoom lenses that start at 28mm, which lets you capture a wider field of view. Flash will generate enough light for close portraits, but that's it. Flash controls should include auto and a way to override the flash when you don't want it, and a way to turn it on when you need it. Red-eye reduction preflash and face recognition are standard even on budget-priced cameras.
Look for a camera with at least some "scene" settings, which optimize the camera's exposure settings for specific occasions such as when shooting sports, landscapes, and portraits. As the price rises, models may offer a dozen or more such settings
Exposure is automatically set, but make sure the camera has variable shutter speeds and a range of apertures. Finally, while you might think you have to sacrifice LCD monitor size to save money, this is not necessarily the case. Monitors are in the 2.5-to-3-inch range.
Red flag specifications
Here are some specs that should raise red flags that a particular inexpensive digital may produce disappointing results. Beware cameras that boast only "Digital zoom" (as is the case with some camera phones) and do not offer an optical zoom as well. Digital zoom merely enlarges the picture, increasing pixel size and reducing image quality. While this is not much of a problem for cameras in the $75-$120 range, the el cheapo cameras ($50 and under) likely won't have optical zoom lenses. Cameras that don't zoom optically likely also won't focus, either. Just like single-use cameras, these sport simple lenses that are focused from about 4 feet to infinity, more or less.
Those are some general rules, and now you can go browse Adorama's compact digital camera department on your own if you wish. However, we've picked the following six models (ranging from lowest to highest prices) as sterling examples of how you can get a reasonably good camera without breaking the bank.
Canon Powershot A2200
Price: approximately $110.
What's the deal: The A2200 will automatically and intelligently select proper settings for the camera based on 32 pre-defined shooting situations. The camera includes Creative Filters like Fish-Wye Effect, Miniature Effect, Toy Camera Effect, Monochrome, Super Vivid and Poster Effect. A new Discreet mode disables the the camera's sound, flash and AF assist beam for shooting in quiet situations. If you want to take picture of yourself or in a group, Smart Shutter with Face detection technology will automatically trigger the shutter when someone winks, smiles or when a new face appears in the frame. Shooting group shots has never been easier!
What it has: 4.1 MP sensor that allows images to be enlarged up to 13" x 19", 4x wide Optical Zoom lens (28-112mm, 35mm equivalent), powerful Lithium-ion battery that charges up quickly, bright 2.7-inch LCD screen with wide viewing angle, 720p HD video recording, Built-in flash with a range of 13 feet at wide angle, 6.6 feet at telephoto and recharges in around ten seconds. Available in Red, Black, Blue and Silver.
Scene modes: Smart Auto, P Program, Live View Control, Easy, Blur Reduction, Portrait, Landscape, Kids & Pets, Smart Shutter, Low Light, Beach, Foliage, Snow, Fireworks, Long Shutter
What it lacks: Speed, an optical viewfinder.
Who it's for: Creative snapshooters who like options.
Casio Exilim EX-ZS10
Price: approximately $100
What's the deal: If you’re looking for an inexpensive camera that offers good basic features and high resolution images, the Casio S8 is worth considering. The camera delivers both high-resolution still images and HD video, as well as a zoom lens that starts at a wide enough angle to include everyone even if the shooting quarters are tight. This is a simple, easy-to-use camera designed for those who just want to pick up the camera and shoot.
What it has: 14MP resolution sensor, up to 720p HD video, a 5x zoom that starts at 26-130mm zoom lens (35mm equivalent), 2.7-inch LCD monitor.
What it lacks: Optical viewfinder, longer-range zoom
Who it's for: Social networkers, snapshooters, kids and teens, gearheads
Fujifilm FinePix AX300
Price: approximately $120
What's the deal: Don't let the AX300's plain exterior fool you. Inside this camera is more than just high-resolition still and HD video capture capability. Such modern amenities as smile/blink detection, intelligent flash (which controls the amount of flash lighting a scene and balacing it with the existing light), face detection, scene recognition (which figures out what kind of scene you're photographing and sets the camera accordingly) and tracking autofocus (which keeps focus on people moving through the frame) are among features that are typically found on more expensive cameras. After you've shot, the camera offers tools to make it easy to upload photos and videos to Facebook, YouTube and other social networks.
What it has: 14MP CCD sensor, 2.7-inch 230k dot resolution LCD, 5x zoom lens, 720p HD video, Image Search, Smile/Blink detection, Face Detection, tracking autofocus. Intelligent Flash efficiently controls light output. Tagging technology and smart image search, easy uploading to social networks and image share sites, in-camera album creation, red-eye removal during playback. Exposure compensation +/- 2 EV.
What it lacks: Optical viewfinder, manual exposure control.
Who it's for: Snapshooters who want higher-quality images but want the camera to do all the exposure calculations.
Kodak EasyShare Mini M200
Price: Approximately $80
What's the deal: A credit card-sized, no-frills camera, the Mini M200's 10MP sensor will give you fine image quality in prints up to 8x10 inches or even larger, while its modest 3x zoom lens starts off at 28mm, a wide enough view to take in more in tight spaces while a small front mirror lets you check your pose for self-portraits. Plug it into your computer and hit the Share button to email your photos to friends or to share your images on social networks and online galleries. Facial recognition means auto tagging of up to 20 pre-tagged faces, while the camera will automatically boost ISO to help reduce camera shake. Available in Purple , Red , Blue .
What it has: 10MP sensor, 28-85mm (35mm equivalent) optical zoom lens, 2.5-inch 230k resolution monitor, 32MB internal memory, facial recognition tagging, shutter speeds 1/4-1/1400 sec, close-up focus to 1.9 inches, ISO range 100-1000. VGA-quality videos.
What it lacks: Long zoom lens, optical finder.
Who it's for: Kids, teens, social network savvy snapshooters on a budget.
Nikon Coolpix L24
Price: Approximately $100
What's the deal: Featuring an unusually large LCD screen for a sub-$100 camera, the Coolpix L22 is powered by easy-to-find AA batteries and offers ample resolution for typical snapshot-sized prints. There are 16 scene modes that will fine-tune exposure for specific shooting situations, and a “smart portrait” mode that catches your subjects when they’re smiling. Face priority will focus on up to 12 faces in a scene.
What it has: 4MP sensor, 3.6x lens (37-134mm, 35mm equivalent), 17MB internal memory, Scene Auto Selector analyzes the scene and chooses the best shooting mode, VGA-quality video recording, Vibration Reduction, macro shooting up to 2 inches, standard color, vivid color, black-and-white, sepia and cyanotype color modes. ISO range 80-1600. Available in Red, Black and Silver.
What it lacks: Fast reaction time, optical finder, long battery life.
Scene modes: Portrait, Landscape, Sports, Food, Night Portrait, Party/Indoor, Beach/Snow, Sunset, Dusk/Dawn, Night Landscape, Close-up, Panorama Assist, Museum, Fireworks Show, Copy or Back Light modes
Who it's for: Snapshooters who like easy-to-use products.
Olympus VG-110
Price: approximately $80.
What's the deal: With so many 14 and 16MP compacts around, why do I recommend this 12MP model? Isn't lower resolution worse? Actually, no. With such a small sensor, squeezing an extra couple of million pixels in creates problems with image quality, especially when shooting in low light without the flash on. That's why I like the Olympus VG-110. Its 4x zoom lens gives you image-making flexibility you won't get on your smart phone. Magic Filters let you create special efects such as pop art, pinhole or drawings. Not sure what you're doing? In-caemra guides describe features as you choose them. It comes in Silver, Black, or Red.
What it has: 12MP CCD sensor, 2.7-inch 230k dot resolution LCD, 27-108mm optical zoom lens (35mm equivalent), ISO range 100-1600, shutter speeds 4-1/2000 sec, program exposure with +/- 2 EV compensation, built-in flash, macro focus to 2 inches. Intelligent auto, digital image stabilization via ISO boost, face detection. Magic filters: Joining, Pop Art, Pin Hole, Drawing, Fish Eye and Soft Focus are the new Punk, which creates a two tone image with a classic punk rock feel, Watercolor, which transforms images into frame-worthy paintings and Sparkle, which adds a twinkle to your photos. VGA-quality movies with mono sound.
What it lacks: Optical viewfinder, longer zoom range, manual exposure control, HD Video.
Who it's for: Snapshooters who appreciate better image quality.
Panasonic Lumix DMC-S3W
Price: $90
What’s the deal: The Panasonic S3W offers zoom lens that starts at an unusually wide angle and aperture (28mm f/2.8) for a camera in this price range. What’s even more surprising is that the camera is under an inch thick and a very light .3 pounds with a battery and memory card. So, this is a good camera for travelers who want a camera that will offer some optical flexibility but still fit in a shirt pocket. Forgetful shooters rejoice, this camera comes with 70MB of built-in image data memory in case you forget your memory stick at home. Intelligent Auto Exposure (iA) maximizes your chances for a good exposure while High-Speed AF is claimed to maintain focus on moving subjects. Available in Black , Red, Blue , White , and Violet.
What it has: 14.1MP CCD sensor, 28-112mm (35mm equivalent) zoom lens, focus to approx. 2 inches, ISO range 100-6400, white balance for wide range of subjects, 2.7-inch LCD, 230k dot resolution, Intelligent Scene Selector, 720p HD movie recording at 30 fps, optical image stabilization.
What it lacks: Optical viewfinder, larger monitor.
Who it’s for: Snapshooters and travelers who prefer keeping the flash off.
Pentax Optio RS1500
Price: approximately $100.
What's the deal: The Pentax Optio RS1500 is a plain-looking camera, but not for long! The camera is designed for custom exterior “skins” that let you personalize the camera. But this camera’s beauty is more than skin-deep: Features normally found on pricier cameras include both a wider-than-average zoom lens and a generous-sized LCD monitor, plus the ability to capture HD video. Operation is set-it-and-forget-it, and with the interchangeable skins (Pentax is promising a way to print out your own skins on a template soon) this might be a fun camera for kids and teens. Available in Silver or White.
What it has: Eight starter skins, 14MP CCD sensor, 28-110mm (35mm equivalent) optical zoom lens, 3-inch, 230k dot LCD monitor, 720p HD video at 30fps, Auto Picture Mode, Face Detection, Li-ion battery, ISO range 100-800, shutter speeds ¼-1/200 sec, 18MP of built-in memory.
What it lacks: optical viewfinder, longer zoom range.
Who it's for: Snapshooters who like to customize whatever rigs they're carrying.
Samsung ST65
$99
What's the deal: While the ST65 looks like a typical basic point-and-shoot camera, it has one talent that others lack: The ability to compensate for camera motion while shooting 720p HD video. The camera automatically realigns each video frame as you shoot, resulting in surprisingly steady handheld results. It offers a wide variety of scene modes, including "Beauty Shot Self-Portrait, which automatically removes blemishes and imperfections. The camera can even do voice recording up to 10 hours.
What it has: 14MP CCD sensor, 5x zoom lens starting at 27mm (35mm equivalent); 2.7-inch LCD monitor, built-in flash, Perfect Portrait System: Face Detection, Blink Detection, Smile Shot, Beauty Shot, Self Portrait, Red-eye Fix. Shooting features/modes: Image Edit (Resize, Rotate, Trimming), Photo Style Selector (Normal, Soft, Vivid, Forest, Retro, Cool, Calm, Classic, Negative, Custom RGB), Smart Filter (Miniature, Vignetting, Fish Eye 1, Fish Eye 2, DeFog, Sketch Effect), Image Adjust (Brightness, Contrast, Saturation, Red Eye Fix, ACB), Special Effects (Face Retouch Level 1-3, Color Filter Elegant, Add Noise); Image Adjust (Sharpness, Contrast, Brightness, Saturation, ACB), Photo Style Selector (Normal, Soft, Vivid, Forest, Retro, Cool, Calm, Classic, Negative, Custom RGB), Smart Filter (Normal, Miniature, Vignetting, Fish Eye1, Fish Eye2, DeFog, Sketch Effect); Smart Auto (Portrait, Night Portrait, Backlight Portrait, Macro Portrait, Night, Backlight, Landscape, White, NaturalGreen, BlueSky, Sunset, Macro, Macro Text, Macro Color, Tripod, Action Fireworks), Auto, Smart Movie, Movie, Program, Dual IS, Scene Shooting Modes
What it lacks: Optical finder, faster lens.
Who it's for: Amateur videographers and casual snapshooters who like to play with lots o'modes.
Sony Cyber-shot DSC-W510
Price: approximately $90.
What's the deal: Sony, in its ongoing efforts to re-imagine the point-and-shoot camera, has packed a lot of features into this tiny 12MP camera: Sweep Panorama lets you capture wide vistas by simply panning the camera; Intelligent Scene Recognition automatically figures out what you’re photographing and adjusts the settings accordingly; when shooting people, face detection can detect up to 8 faces in a scene, while smile shutter waits for someone to smile before tripping the shutter. Lots of good tech hiding in the background, like Steady Shot image stabilization and shake reduction, makes good snapshots and high-quality images easy to attain Available in Silver, Red , Pink, and Black.
What it has: Easy shooting mode, Intelligent Auto, Dynamic Range Optimizer, Natural Flash combines flash with ambient light, 4x optical 26-105mm (35mm) lens, Intelligent Scene Recognition, Face Detection, Smile Detection, Blink Warning, Shake reduction. 12.1MP sensor, 2.7-inch, 230k resolution LCD, image stabilization, Li-ion battery. VGA movies. Shutter speeds 2-1/1,500 sec, ISO 80-3200, close focus to 1.3 inches.
What it lacks: Optical viewfinder, long-range zoom lens.
Who it's for: Snapshooters and people who shoot people a lot.
