Best Cheap Digital Cameras Under a $100 Budget

Canon has created a camera that's pretty easy for beginners to use with good entry-level photography features. It works especially well for shooting photos in outdoor lighting. A below-average LCD screen is the biggest disappointment, and the A495's shutter lag will cost you a few spontaneous photos. However, the camera's other features are good enough for a model in its price range. I like the PowerShot A495's clean, sharp look. It's available in red, blue, or silver camera bodies, trimmed in a curved black stripe along the side and top of the camera. The lens retracts completely inside the camera. The PowerShot A495 is a little thicker than some new models, measuring 1.2 inches.

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Beginners looking for an easy-to-use, inexpensive digital camera don't have to settle for a used model or one that was released a few years ago. Instead, they can consider the recently released Canon PowerShot A800 digital camera, which carries an MSRP of only $89.99. You'll find the A800 in red, black, blue, and silver body colors.

The PowerShot A800 doesn't contain specifications that will rival other, more expensive new cameras. The A800 offers 10.0 megapixels of resolution, a 3.3X optical zoom lens, a 2.5-inch LCD screen, and motion JPEG video capabilities. 

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Casio is aiming the recently announced Exilim EX-Z16 digital camera at beginning photographers who are looking for a low-priced camera that's very easy to use.

The Exilim Z16 doesn't offer any advanced photography features, as it contains a 2.7-inch LCD with a 180-degree viewing angle, 12.1 megapixels of resolution, and a 3X optical zoom lens. The Z16 makes fully automatic photography easy, as well as making uploading Web-ready video to YouTube easy.

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Even though the Digital Blue U-Turn Camera is a children's camera, parents might find themselves borrowing the U-Turn from time to time, just because it is such a fun camera to use. The U-Turn has a cool morphing feature, and its camera body can twist to allow easy self-portraits.

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The photographic features you'll find in Fujifilm's FinePix JV200 camera aren't going to "wow" you, but, considering you probably can find the JV200 for less than $100, it's worth considering.

The JV200 carries 14MP of resolution, a 2.7-inch LCD screen, and 720p HD video recording. The JV200's 3X optical zoom lens is a bit disappointing, though. 

You'll find the FinePix JV200 in six different body colors -- pink, blue, red, champagne gold, silver, and black.

The CW450t's touch screen LCD is smaller than most I've seen, measuring only 2.7 inches diagonally, but it's still impressive to find a touch screen in a camera in the sub-$100 price point.

You'll find 25 scene modes with the CW450t, along with 12.2 megapixels of resolution, a 4X optical zoom lens, and AVI video. The CW450t's camera body -- available in blue and merlot -- measures 1.13 inches in thickness, and the CW450t made my list of the best cameras for 2010.

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Kodak has included 14.5 megapixels of resolution, a 5X optical zoom lens, and a 2.7-inch LCD with its EasyShare M590. It also includes 64MB of internal memory, which is handy, and 720p HD video capabilities.

The M590 is available in purple, blue, red, and silver, and you easily can share your photos using a variety of options, such as Facebook, YouTube, Flickr, or via e-mail. A large number of dedicated buttons on the back of the M590 help make this one of the easiest cameras to use currently on the market.

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You'll find a 3-inch, high-resolution touch screen LCD with Nikon's Coolpix S4100 camera. You can control many of the camera's shooting functions through the touch screen LCD.

The S4100 has other powerful features, including 14 megapixels of resolution, a 5X optical zoom lens, and 720p HD video capability through a dedicated video button.

The sleek S4100 measures only 0.8 inches in thickness, and Nikon is offering it in four colors (red, silver, black, and plum) in the United States. Elsewhere in the world, you'll find purple and gold S4100s.

The Stylus 7010's 7X optical zoom lens is a very nice feature for a camera in this price range, as is the camera's 12 megapixels of resolution. The Stylus 7010 has a few drawbacks in its image quality, and a few of its features are a little confusing to use. However, its response times are pretty good. It's a good-looking camera available in numerous colors with a small camera body.

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Think of the Pentax Optio RS1000 as the "chameleon" camera, as it can change its look to match your mood. The RS1000 ships with 11 different skins that fit on the front of the camera, with holes for the lens and flash. Additionally, Pentax has teamed with Skinit.com to allow you to design your own skins for the camera.

The RS1000 has some nice photography features, too. It offers 14 megapixels of resolution, a 4X optical zoom lens, and a 3.0-inch LCD screen.

For a sub-$100 digital camera, the Samsung ES80 should provide a nice set of features for beginning photographers.

The ES80 is offered in three body colors -- red, black, or silver -- and it measures only 0.82 inches in thickness, making it a nice option for beginners. You'll find 12.2 megapixels of resolution, a 5X optical zoom lens, a 2.4-inch LCD screen, and 720p HD video capabilities with the ES80.

The Kidizoom camera from Vtech is more of a toy than a serious camera, but, for children, it will be a fun option. Younger children will enjoy the Vtech more than pre-teens and older children interested in photography, because the Kidizoom offers only the most basic photography features. Its photography options only are good enough to shoot photos to share by e-mail or to make tiny prints.

If you're looking for a children's camera with a few more features, such as a built-in flash and slightly more resolution, take a look my review of the Kidizoom Plus, which costs about $20 more than the Kidizoom.

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