Best Cheap Digital Cameras Under a $200 Budget

Colorful sub-$200 cameras have been a staple of Canon PowerShot cameras for quite a few years, and the recently announced PowerShot ELPH 100 HS camera follows that formula. The ELPH 100 is part of Canon's new "HS System," short for high sensitivity. Canon designed its HS cameras to work well in low light.

For a camera in its price range, the ELPH 100 includes some nice features, including a 3-inch LCD screen and full 1080p video capabilities. You'll find a 12.1MP CMOS image sensor with the ELPH 100, further improving low light performance. It would be nice if the ELPH 100 had a larger optical zoom lens than 4X, though.

Canon is offering the ELPH 100 in five body colors -- blue, gray, pink, orange, and silver.

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Canon mixed vibrant and traditional camera body color options with its PowerShot SD1400 IS camera. Canon offers this model in traditional silver and black, along with non-traditional colors in orange and pink. The SD1400 IS is an extremely thin model, too, measuring only 0.70 inches in thickness.

The SD1400 IS includes 14.1 megapixels of resolution, optical image stabilization, a 4X optical zoom lens, a 2.7-inch LCD, and the ability to shoot in 720p HD video.

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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. The T300 measures only 0.9 inches in thickness.

The 10X zoom lens is a great feature for a camera in this price range.

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Tough cameras seem to be much more plentiful lately, and Fujifilm has adding to its tough family of models with the recently announced FinePix XP30. I had a chance to review the FinePix XP10 last year, and the XP30 seems to have a lot in common with the XP10, while upgrading some key features.

For example, the FinePix XP30 is offering 14 megapixels of resolution, a 5X optical zoom lens, a 2.7-inch LCD, and underwater video recording through a dedicated button. The XP30's tough features include working in up to 16.4 feet of water depth, surviving a fall of 4.9 feet, and working in temperatures as low as 14 degrees Fahrenheit. You'll find the XP30 in blue, black, green, orange, or silver.

GE is matching a mid-level optical zoom lens with a thin camera in its E1680W digital camera. The E1680W carries some nice features, including an 8X optical zoom lens, a 3.0-inch LCD (shown in this photo), 16 megapixels of resolution, and the ability to shoot 720p HD video. It measures 0.7 inches in thickness at its thinnest point.

GE is offering three different body colors with the E1680W: Black, silver, or red.

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Olympus has packed plenty of features into a sub-$200 camera with its 14MP SZ-10 digital camera. The SZ-10 offers an 18X optical zoom lens, which is nice to find in this price range. You'll also find a high-resolution 3.0-inch LCD with the SZ-10.

OIympus has included the ability to shoot 720p HD video, to use WiFi to connect to a computer, and to shoot in a 3D photo mode, all of which are impressive features for this price range.

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Panasonic has touted the Lumix DMC-FH7 -- called the Lumix FS22 in some parts of the world -- as a great point and shoot camera for portrait photography and, thanks to this camera's "cosmetic" modes, it does work well for portraits of people.

In addition, you'll find a touch screen LCD with the FH7, which isn't common in the sub-$200 price range. These two features alone make the FH7 a pretty good camera.

I found in my FH7 review that this camera's image quality in indoor photos isn't as good as it could be, as images are a bit flat, but this thin camera compares well versus others in this price point.

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Panasonic offers beginning photographers a lot of features to like in the Lumix DMC-FP8. Its image quality is very good, especially in macro mode, and its response times are as good as you'll find in a point and shoot camera. The only slightly disappointing features with the Lumix FP8 include its 2.7-inch LCD. However, with a recent price drop on this model, it's a very good value. The FP8 shoots at 12.1 megapixels of resolution, offers a 4.6X optical zoom lens, and includes a 2.7-inch LCD.

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Samsung's line of DualView cameras works well for shooting self-portraits, as you can frame the photo using the LCD screen on the front of the camera. One of the newest  in this family is the Samsung DualView PL170.

The specification list for the DualView PL170 includes:

• 16MP of resolution
• 5X optical zoom lens
• 720p HD video
• 3.0-inch LCD on back
• 1.5-inch LCD on front
• Measures 0.75 inches in thickness
• Available in black only

I had a chance to review the DualView TL225 last year, and it was a lot of fun to use. The PL170 looks like a lot of fun, too.

Samsung's SL820 digital camera is another strong model worth consideration from this under-rated camera manufacturer. The SL820 includes a very easy-to-use menu structure, which is great for beginning photographers. The camera's shooting features are nice, too, with 12.2 megapixels, a 5X optical zoom lens with limited wide angle capabilities, and a 3.0-inch LCD. You may find the SL820 in silver, black, and red.

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If you commonly experience problems with motion blur and camera shake ruining your still images and videos, Sony hopes its recently released Cyber-shot DSC-H70 digital camera can help you fix those issues.

The H70 -- which is currently available in black, blue, red, or silver -- features two special modes to help with camera shake and motion blur. In addition, the Cyber-shot H70 offers a 10X optical zoom lens, 720p HD video capabilities, and a sweep panorama mode.

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With the Sony Cyber-shot DSC-HX5, you'll find a very good mix of automatic and manual control photography features. It has a 10X optical zoom lens, and it includes a built-in GPS receiver.

The HX5, sometimes called the DSC-HX5V and the DSC-HX5B, is one of the nicer cameras you'll find this holiday season, even though it is a slightly older model. It also won a TIPA award as the best compact camera, and it made my list of the best cameras for 2010.

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