Best Digital Cameras for Under 100 Dollars

Any photographers agree that digital cameras are now producing photographs of outstanding quality even cheap digital cameras can fulfil most family photo needs. In certain situations it may be possible to take a good enough of a quality of a picture with a cheaper camera if it is what a particular publisher or editor wants.

A cheap digital camera is a great second camera, or spare to keep in your car, or boat, or to take advantage of some other unexpected photo opportunity. Cheap digital cameras also make a wonderful gift for young children and teens. So choosing a cheap digital camera and not spending more money on a model with unnecessary functions is the best idea.

Best Digital Cameras under $100

• Nikon Coolpix L22 12.1MP Digital Camera with 3.6x Optical Zoom and 3.0-Inch LCD (Full Details)

The Nikon Coolpix L22 is a great little camera. Featuring a 3.6x zoom lens, a 3-inch, electronic vibration reduction, face and smile detection plus Nikon’s Best Shot Selector, Motion Detection and post-capture D-lighting technologies. The L22 offers sensitivity ranging from ISO 160 to 1,600 equivalents and powered by two AA-sized batteries.

Start-up and shut-down times as well as zooming are very fast for a camera that costs less than $100. Auto-focus speeds are perfectly acceptable. Data transfer to a computer is catered for with a USB 2.0 High Speed connection. These are said to be good for 240 shots to CIPA standards, while Nikon's own EN-MH2 AA NiMH rechargeables should offer 420 shots.

Nikon Coolpix L22 has a zoom lens that’s actually pretty sharp. It produced images of perfectly acceptable quality for a camera that will almost exclusively be used for snapshots. It does an excellent job when looking at the price tag. It handles most snapshot situations without a problem. The L22 has two additional multi-shot modes. Best Shot Selector shoots continuously for up to 10 frames then selects and saves the sharpest one. Multi-shot 16 which shoots 16 images in continuous mode then arranges them in a single image on a 4x4 grid.

The Nikon L22 provides two movie settings, recording at resolutions of 640x480 and 320x240 pixels, both at 30 frames/second. Sound is recorded, and the clips are saved in AVI format. The maximum length of a single movie is 29 minutes or when the file reaches 2GB.

• Canon PowerShot A495 10.0 MP Digital Camera with 3.3x Optical Zoom and 2.5-Inch LCD (Full Details)

The Canon PowerShot A495 is an affordable entry-level digicam featuring a 10-Megapixel imaging sensor, DIGIC III image processor, Smart Auto scene selection and a 2.5-inch LCD screen. 1/2.3"-type CCD image sensor coupled to a 3.3x optical zoom lens that offers focal lengths ranging from 37mm wide angle to a 122mm telephoto. Maximum aperture varies from f/3.0 to f/5.8 across the zoom range. The Powershot A495's display has a resolution of 115,000 dots. This stylish model is available in 3 colors - Silver, Red and Blue.

The Canon PowerShot A495's sensor allows sensitivities ranging from ISO 80 to ISO 1,600 equivalents. 7 white balance modes are available - Auto, Manual and 5 presets. The Canon A495 can capture video at VGA resolution. The A495 stores images on SD, SDHC, SDXC, MMC, MMC+, HC MMC Plus cards and draws power from two AA-sized batteries. Connectivity options include USB 2.0 high-speed data and NTSC/PAL standard definition video.

Image quality from Canon PowerShot A495 is excellent for an entry-level model. The camera produces excellent exposures and bright, vivid colors. At ISO 80 with or without the flash, you can see the incredibly sharp details from one side of the image to the other. The flash is surprisingly powerful as it did a descent job of lighting image from 6ft.

Shooting video with the A495 produces good results. The video shows very little artifacting and noise, even in less than optimal lighting conditions. Audio is also recorded thanks to a built-in microphone. When playing the movies back, they run smoothly whether watching on a computer or playing it back on the camera.