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The Best Budget Digital Cameras

Updated on February 5, 2014

Are Digital Cameras Any Good?

Not everyone has a big budget to use when deciding to buy a camera, and of course the vast majority of us are not professional photographers ,most of us just need something handy lying around to get that snap or film of the kids or something nice and portable to take on holiday.

Nowadays we have a great choice when choosing a camera, today's digital cameras are far better that they used to be, the early digital cameras did not compare to film cameras, the pictures always looked pixelated and blocky but now the digital cameras seem to be getting better every year.

What Does MP Stand For? And How Many MP Do I Need?

MP stands for Megapixels. The amount of megapixels your camera needs depends entirely on what you plan to use it for. If your plan is to take pictures and upload them to your computer then a camera with only 3 or so megapixels will be fine, however if you intend to print quality large pictures then go for the camera with a higher amount of megapixels, at least 7.

What Does LCD Mean ?

A cameras LCD ( Liquid Crystal Display ) is the view screen which you look through to take a picture, using the LCD we can also browse pictures that we have already taken and navigate the cameras menu. Look for an LCD of over 2.5 inches.

Is Zoom Length Important?

When looking to buy a digital camera ignore any digital zoom length in ads it is " optical zoom " that is important, all digital zoom does is crop the image in the camera. The higher the cameras zoom number the closer you can zoom in on visible objects, the maximum optical zoom on a compact digital camera is usually around 10.

The Kodak C195 in silver.
The Kodak C195 in silver.

Kodak C195

The Kodak C195 14 MP , 5 X Zoom and 3 inch bright LCD.

The cheapest camera that i will review here. I especially liked the look of this camera and think its looks belie its budget price. The camera features one button upload to make it easy to upload your photographic masterpieces to Youtube or Facebook or straight to your email address and pictures are of a good standard.One small gripe though, the feature buttons seem a little on the small side and may cause a little difficulty for someone with large hands, but apart from that minor ergonomic gripe, the Kodak C195 is very good value for money and a camera i can highly recommend at the price. 4/5

Nikon Coolpix S3500

Nikon Coolpix S3500 COMPACT DIGITAL CAMERA. 20MP, 7 X Zoom, 2.7 LCD.

Nikon Coolpix S3500
Nikon Coolpix S3500

I took some really sharp pictures with this model and the flash seemed to work really well. The camera has some fun features such as " selective color" which enable you to go a little bit creative and all in all it is good fun to use. My one major criticism of this camera would be that the processing seemed a little slow, there was a distinct pause between pressing the shutter and the photo actually being captured, this obviously does not cause a problem when photographing static objects but could cause problems when trying to capture movement. I could still recommend this camera though and believe it to be good value at the price. 3.5 / 5

Fuji Ax650

FUJI AX650 16MP 5 X Zoom 2.7 LCD.

The Fuji AX650
The Fuji AX650

Out of all the cameras reviewed here this one was probably my personal favorite, i found it easy to use and the pictures that i took outside were particularly good. The guy who borrowed me this camera said that he had been getting rave reviews from customers who had bought it however one lady had said she had had problems setting the date /time etc and she found the menu puzzling, i can honestly say i thought this camera easy to use and believe it to be tremendous value for money. 4.5 / 5

Fuji Fine Pix JV500

Fuji Fine Pix JV500 Digital Camera, 14 MP, 3 X Zoom, 2.7 LCD.

Fuji  JV500
Fuji JV500

Probably my least favorite of all the cameras reviewed here, but that is not to say that it is a bad camera by any means especially for the price. My major problem with this camera was its weight, it is very very light, this is okay as long as you have very steady hands but for someone who has minor handshakes it can make a big difference to the quality of your photographs. The camera comes with a rechargeable battery but this seemed to run down quite quickly. The JV500 when all said and done is a decent no nonsense camera but did seemed to lack a bit of robustness. 3 / 5

Canon Powershot A4000
Canon Powershot A4000

Canon Powershot A4000

Canon Powershot A4000 IS Digital Camera, Pink, 16MP, 8 X Zoom, 3 inch LCD.

Not bad at all for the price and is even available in pink for the ladies who would like a feminine looking camera. The pictures taken by this camera during daylight were very good but i struggled for a decent photo in low light conditions A very easy to use and handle camera and uploading pictures to your computer is child's play. 3.5 / 5

As when buying anything you pay your money and take your choice. When it comes to cameras and musical instruments i am lucky as i have friends who own a camera shop and music shop respectively and so i am able to try before i buy so to speak. All of the cameras reviewed here are very good value for money but if i had to recommend one it would be the Fuji AX650, i thought this a brilliant little camera for the price. Hope my review helps.

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