Best Thin Zoom Cameras

The ELPH 520 HS includes a 12X optical zoom lens, which Canon claims makes the 520 HS the world's thinnest 12X zoom camera. The ELPH 520 HS measures 0.76 inches in thickness.

The sharp-edged design of the Canon PowerShot ELPH 520 HS gives it an interesting look for a point and shoot camera. And it has some good photographic features to match its cool design. The ELPH 520 HS uses a 10.1MP CMOS image sensor, which should improve low light photography results. It has a high-resolution 3.0-inch LCD and full HD video capabilities. The ELPH 520 HS is available in blue, red, silver, and black camera bodies, depending on your location in the world.

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With a 15X optical zoom lens and measuring only 1.3 inches in thickness, the F300EXR is one of the thinnest cameras available with such a large zoom lens, and it offers one of the best combinations of value and performance in this price range.

The EXR image sensor, which helps cameras succeed in especially tough shooting conditions, helped Fujifilm win a 2010 DIMA Innovation Award. The award-winning image sensor is available in the FinePix F300EXR camera.

With the F300EXR, you'll find 12.0 megapixels of resolution, a 3.0-inch LCD, and 720p HD video movie recording.

The F300EXR is a slightly older model that made my list of the best cameras for 2010, so you probably can find it at a discount.

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Having a 10X zoom lens in a camera that measures only 0.9 inches in depth is a great feature for a camera, and it helps to set the T300 apart.

The T300, which is called the T305 in some parts of the world, carries 14MP of resolution, a 3-inch LCD screen, and 720p HD video recording.

You'll have plenty of colors to choose from in the camera body as well, as Fujifilm is offering the T300 in black, blue, gunmetal gray, champagne gold, and red.

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With so many interesting features available in the Nikon Coolpix S800c, it's tough to know what to focus on first.

For starters, the S800c has a 10X optical zoom lens in a camera body that measures only 1.06 inches in thickness. The 3.5-inch OLED touch screen is very bright and sharp. This camera has 16MP of resolution, and it can shoot full HD video.

The Coolpix S800c's on-screen interface is based on the Android operating system for mobile devices, which should make it very easy to use to visit the Web with the built-in Wi-Fi and GPS capabilities.

Upon its announcement in early 2012, it was clear that the Nikon Coolpix S6300 was going to be a strong contender in the sub-$200 digital camera market.

With 16 megapixels of resolution and a 10X optical zoom lens in a camera that measures 1.0 inches in thickness, the S6300 already has a leg up on most point and shoot cameras. This model can shoot full 1080p HD video at 30 frames per second, which is another impressive feature in a point and shoot.

Although the S6300's 2.7-inch LCD screen is little smaller than I'd like to see, there's still plenty to like about the S6300, which is available in four different solid body colors: Blue, red, silver, and black.

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If you like the latest gadgets built into your digital camera, Panasonic has provided exactly the model for you with its Lumix DMC-ZS10. The ZS10 includes a 3.0-inch touch screen LCD, a built-in GPS unit, and a 16X zoom lens in a small, point and shoot camera that measures 1.3 inches in thickness.

Finding one of these features in a camera is always nice; finding all three in a camera -- that carries a sub-$250 price tag -- is pretty rare. Throw in really good image quality and sharp focus, and the ZS10 is a very powerful camera.

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Panasonic has built quite a few very interesting features into a point and shoot camera that measures only 1.1 inches in thickness with its Lumix DMC-ZS20 model.

The ZS20 includes a 20X optical zoom lens, a 3.0-inch high-resolution touch-screen LCD, and a built-in GPS unit. In addition, the Lumix ZS20, which was introduced at CES 2012, includes 14.1MP of resolution and full HD 1080p video recording capabilities.

That's a lot of high-end features in the ZS20, which is a reasonably-priced camera that's available in black, red, silver, or gray/white camera body colors.

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The Samsung PL210 offers many impressive features, including a 10X optical zoom lens in a model that measures only 0.78 inches in thickness.

Few cameras in this price range offer such a large zoom lens. The PL210 also offers some slight wide angle capabilities, with a focal range of 27mm-270mm.

In addition, the Samsung PL210 has a 3.0-inch LCD screen, 14.2 megapixels of resolution, and 720p HD video capabilities. This thin camera is available in silver or black.

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If you're someone who just can't decide between a point and shoot camera that provides great telephoto capabilities or one that can shoot wide angle images, Samsung may be ready to come to your rescue.

Samsung's recently released WB850F provides a 21X optical zoom lens, while it also can shoot at a wide angle of 23mm, providing photographers with the best of both worlds. In addition, it only measures a little over 1.3 inches in thickness, although the main portion of the camera body is less than an inch in depth.

The WB850F has a built-in WiFi capability, which is a nice feature for uploading a photo quickly to social networking sites, as well as built-in GPS.

The WB850F's other photography-related features include 16.2MP of resolution, a 3.0-inch high-resolution AMOLED screen, and full HD video capabilities.

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If a 10X optical zoom lens is one of those "must have" camera features these days, finding one under a $200 price point and in a thin camera (measuring 0.88 inches in thickness) is a great feeling.

One of the more impressive 10X point and shoot cameras you'll find available right now is the Sony Cyber-shot DSC-W690. The W690 offers 16.1MP of resolution, a 3.0-inch LCD, and a 720p HD video option, as well as the previously mentioned 10X optical zoom lens.

The W690 is available in four body colors: Red, silver, blue, and black.