Techblo's Top 5 Under $200 Digital Cameras

This is Our Special Edition for this Holiday Season: Top 5 Under $200 Digital Cameras
[Only Compact and Ultra-Compact Form Factors are suggested here under]

Canon PowerShot A630: Canon leads the Digital Camera arena and this is a steal for under $200 coupled with a underwater waterproof casing this is you perfect Snorkeling Vacation Camera! Canon A630 is the best in category with a 8Mega Pixel resolution complemented by a 4X optical zoom. 80 to 800 ISO range allows you to shoot in bright beach light and in very low light conditions, wonderful 9-point Auto focus allows you to capture a large group of friends in your small camera - with great face clarity! That is enough of cream for a under $200 camera, and this monster give you more, like a Tilt and Twist LCD, Manual and Preset White balance, Lens thread with adapter facility (so you can add a tele zoom lens), stores in the most common SD Memory card and supports MMC as well, runs on typical AA cells(so you never short of them), video out to view your pictures directly on a TV Screen, and hey it is quite heavy enough for a steady shot(315grams) !

Casio Exilim EX-Z70: Under $200 this is a very cute little camera that sits in your pocket without bothering you, providing 7.0MP, 3X zoom, Video Clip capability, and very easy to use menus. This ultra compact digital camera has to be driven by a Lithium Ion rechargeable battery and that sets you back by the limitation of it's charge. Otherwise this is just a wonder and we recommend this for the traveler who likes a light weight camera. [I suggest this for Traveling Elders, Parents, and Grand Pa's - Ideal Çoz it is light and easy to use]

Nikon Coolpix L12: This popular Nikon Coolpix model gives you a 3X Zoom on a 7.1Mega Pixel camera. This camera comes with a great feature called IS (Image Stabilization) which is good for minimizing camera shake. Perfect for a vacation, where you are not a focusing on a perfect shot, but a shot to register the moment! So go ahead enjoy the moment and point-and-shoot leaving the rest to the IS of this camera. Manual white balance, Continuous drive, and a large 2.5" LCD screen makes this edge out in the under $200 category. [A bit advanced model, for the enthusiastic traveler]

Fujifilm FinePix A610: Just announced Jan'07 this is a wonderful compact digital camera, with great user reviews all over the world, very popular and less expensive (under $150) delivering crisp pictures and great prints. The 2.5" large LCD display and the 3X Zoom makes it a great camera with power to shoot video, and the best part is it runs on 2 AA batteries and you are safe on your trip, with AA batteries all around the world.

Panasonic Lumix DMC-LZ7[party-goers camera]: Lumix LZ7's got a good grip, and it fits well in your bag/pouch, small enough to fit your pocket too. Loaded with a mega 7X Zoom and 7.1MP effective pixel rate, this camera comes with ISO settings from 80 to a Mega 3200(HI ISO) to shoot best at low light conditions. If you are the type that parties a lot during holidays, or everyday - this is the best bet under $200 to shoot low light pictures. The 60 sec Min shutter means this is made for low light conditions in mind, and it serves the purpose very well, beating the other competitors for this specific feature. Runs on AA(2) batteries sporting a large 2.5"LCD and an added advantage of Image Stabilization. [I would call this the party-goers digital camera]

Note: I would never suggest a Sony Product for the fact that it makes use of a proprietary "Memory Stick" for storing data. This sets you back tying you to this Memory Stick in all your digital equipments, meaning you have to use Sony Products only or use different memory cards for each of your equipment. I would not suggest this, you better look for the Equipment that sports a common memory card like the "SD Memory" or the "Compact Flash". This saves you hundreds of dollars and saves you in certain situations - you can swap memory cards from your mobile to your camera, or MP3 player or PDA.