Compact 7 Megapixel cameras for $200
By Jonathan Schlaffer
Not a few years ago, most people would have been after a 5 Megapixel camera for that price, as megapixels, features and size increased, prices went down, down, down. But you should keep in mind expectations of these cameras, they are not Digital SLRs, do not offer much manual control and often do not come with more than a 3x zoom but that’s to be expected from a camera that can stow away in small pockets.
Let’s talk about limitations of this class of camera first, low light performance tends to be not so great, results will vary but only in the most dire of circumstances do you want to use the “high ISO” mode that many of these cameras will feature, you will end up with an image that’s barely worthy of an email or web shot much less something that you can actually print. Always expect to use the flash (with varying results) in low light circumstances.
Those are just a few things to be aware of, the purpose you are reading this article is to nab some excellent deals in cameras, here are two for your approval.
My choice would be the PowerShot SD1000, despite its moniker, it sits at the “low end” of the digital Elph line. It has a 3x optical zoom, 2.5 inch LCD display, optical viewfinder and comes in black/silver or an all silver case. The only other thing worth mentioning is its exceptional point and shoot performance with near record cycling and start up times so it does what it was intended to do, nothing more. It does have a video mode supporting up to 640 x 480 and that’s pretty much standard issue these days but this is no substitute for a digital camcorder (and no, the $149 ones don’t count). Right now the PowerShot SD1000 can be had for around $200 (slightly more with shipping and taxes (if applicable).
The second option is slightly cheaper but skimps on the features and image quality but comes in at around $149. The HP R724 has features comparable to the PowerShot SD1000 but reviews on that model are hard to come by. It probably isn’t as fast or produces images that look as good and should by all counts considered on the basis of “it’s cheap but you get what you pay for.” If you’re lucky, this one can be snapped up for around $120, I’d certainly take it over a Kodak but only just.
I wish I could say there were more to choose from that I would buy, there aren’t but any number of Sony Cybershot cameras come in under $200 but remember, you’ll be paying a premium for Sony memorysticks for those cameras and generally, free memory card offers don’t apply to Sony products.
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