Nikon Coolpix L20 10MP Digital Camera (Navy Blue)

The $129.95 Nikon Coolpix L20 is a budget-friendly compact camera with a 10-megapixel resolution, 3.6x zoom lens, and 3-inch LCD. It's a very basic point-and-shoot, but it does have a few extras--such as that large LCD--to make it worth considering.

The L20 is small at 3.8 inches wide by 2.4 inches high by 1.2 inches deep, but it has the added convenience of AA batteries as its power source. It's fairly lightweight, too, at 4.8 ounces without batteries and SD/SDHC memory card. You'll only get about 240 shots from two alkaline AA batteries, but going with a pair of lithium batteries will get you approximately 630 shots. NiMH rechargeables are also an option.

Shooting options include Nikon's Easy Auto mode with Scene Auto Selector (it'll automatically changes up to six scene modes to match the scene you're shooting), 16 user-selectable Scene modes, face detection of up to 12 faces, and Smile Mode and Blink Warning (the camera detects up to three smiles and automatically fires the shutter while warning you if one or more subjects has blinked). There is a Movie mode as well that records at VGA-quality at 30 frames per second.

There is no optical image stabilization--nor would I expect there to be at this price point--but Nikon does give you its Motion Detection option, which detects camera shake or subject movement and makes adjustments to reduce image blur.

We have not reviewed the L20, but have tested a model with similar features from Nikon, the Coolpix S220. Also, if you're interested in exploring options from other manufacturers in this price range, check out our roundup of 10-megapixel cameras with 3x zooms.