No-brainer buys: five digital cameras you won't regret
Lori Grunin,
Senior Editor
April 1, 2009
If Goldilocks went digital camera shopping, these models would be just right for her. Why? Because at least one of them is just about right for almost anyone, especially if you're completely confused about which model to buy. In addition to their relatively modest prices and pocket-friendly designs, they've earned the approbation of both the CNET editors and our readers. With that much going for them, how can you go wrong?
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| Product name | |||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Price | $299.95 to $499.99 | $1,059.95 to $1,299.00 | $277.99 | $599.99 | $689.95 to $699.95 |
| CNET editors' rating |
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| Average user rating | |||||
| Review date | October 28, 2008 | October 02, 2008 | March 03, 2008 | September 03, 2008 | April 28, 2008 |
| The Bottom Line | Simply put, the Canon PowerShot SD880 IS is an excellent point-and-shoot camera. | Like the D80 before it, the Nikon D90 delivers an excellent dSLR for the money. | The Canon PowerShot A590 IS's manual exposure controls and surprisingly sharp pictures make it a great choice for almost anyone looking for a sub-$200 shooter. | Though its lens isn't as wide and suffers from many of the same lens artifacts as its competitors, the Sony Cyber-shot DSC-H50 is a good megazoom camera with a lot of features for experiment-minded snapshooters. | Pentax's K200D entry-level SLR gives a lot of bang for the buck and has better performance than last year's model. Despite low noise and pleasingly detailed images, technically inaccurate colors keep it from capturing the gold medal for image quality. |
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| Features | |||||
| Lens aperture | F/2.8-5.8 | F/3.5-5.6 | F/2.6-5.5 | F/2.7-4.5 | F/3.5-5.6 |
| Optical zoom | 4 x | 5.8 x | 4 x | 15 x | 3 x |
| Light sensitivity | ISO 100 ISO 200 ISO 400 ISO 800 ISO 1600 ISO auto ISO 3200 (2Mpix) | ISO 100-6400 | ISO 80 ISO 100 ISO 200 ISO 400 ISO 800 ISO 1600 ISO auto | ISO 80 ISO 100 ISO 200 ISO 400 ISO 800 ISO 1000 ISO 1600 ISO 3200 ISO auto | ISO 100-1600 |
| Display (projector) technology | TFT active matrix | TFT active matrix | TFT active matrix | TFT active matrix | TFT active matrix |
| Video input type | Digital camera | Digital camera | Digital camera | Digital camera | Digital camera |
| Weight | 5.5 oz | 1.4 lbs | 6.2 oz | 14.6 oz | 1.4 lbs |
| Effective sensor resolution | 10,000,000 pixels | 12,300,000 pixels | 8,000,000 pixels | 9,100,000 pixels | 10,200,000 pixels |
| Still image format | JPEG | JPEG NEF (RAW) RAW + JPEG | JPEG | JPEG | RAW JPEG RAW + JPEG |
| Display (projector) diagonal size | 3 in | 3 in | 2.5 in | 3 in | 2.7 in |
| Manual focus | Automatic | Manual Automatic | Manual Automatic | Manual Automatic | Manual Automatic |
| Full specifications | Full specifications | Full specifications | Full specifications | Full specifications | Full specifications |
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