Best Budget Digital Cameras

It's surprising the "bang for buck" provided by today's budget digital cameras, the majority are around or under £100, and are from top brands such as Sony, Canon, Fujifilm, Nikon, Olympus etc.

The majority provide 8 megapixels, a 3x optical zoom lens, and a decent sized screen, averaging around 2.5". If you are looking for the best budget digital camera for yourself or as a present then have a look at our Recommended Best Budget Digital Cameras, these digital cameras not only provide excellent image quality but offer additional features such as image stabilisation or high ISO settings:

1 - Canon Powershot A590 IS - available for £113 it's an 8 megapixel camera with every except the kitchen sink - it features a 4x optical zoom lens with image stabilisation, a 2.5" screen, full manual controls and optional lenses! Recommended Read our Review, Get the best prices!

2 - Sony Cybershot DSC-W130 - a compact 8 megapixel Sony camera, available for £130, it has a 4x optical zoom lens with image stabilisation and a 2.5" screen. It takes impressive pictures, and gets your friends smiles! Recommended Read our Review, Get the best prices!

3 - Fujifilm FinePix F40fd - it features a 3x optical zoom lens, an 8.3 megapixel Super CCD sensor with ISO upto 2000, a 2.5" screen, face-detection focus, VGA video recording, and a first for Fujifilm cameras, a the F40fd has a dual memory card slot, accepting both XD and SD memory cards. The camera battery life is rated at 300 shots and the camera is available for £96. Recommended (07/05/07)

4 - The Canon Powershot A550 - from £110 - an update to the A540 - features a 4x optical zoom lens, a 7 megapixel sensor, DIGIC II, iSAPS and 9-point AiAF, Redesigned Shooting Mode dial, 30fps VGA movies with sound, 2.0” LCD with dedicated Playback button. Available now for only £111 from Amazon UK. Recommended (06/05/07)

For more suggestions click here to read the full post.

5 - Panasonic Lumix DMC-LS2 - from £88, this camera provides a 5 megapixel sensor, a 3x optical zoom lens, a 2" screen, and is the cheapest digital camera with optical image stabilisation - this means more of your shots come out blur free, making the excellent image quality even better! Read our Review, Get the best prices!

6 - Samsung Digimax i6 - from £114 including VAT this ultra compact digital camera not only provides a 6 megapixel sensor, a 3x optical zoom lens, and a 2.5" screen, it also doubles as an MP3 player and MPEG4 Video player! Available in black or silver it provides all the entertainment you'll need (and takes great pictures as well!). Read our Review, Get the best prices!

7 - Fujifilm FinePix F20 - from £100. If your budget can stretch to this, then this camera is definitely worth buying, based on the excellent Fujifilm FinePix F30, it features a 6 megapixel sensor, a 3x optical zoom lens, a 2.5" screen, a metal body, and excellent image quality both in good and bad light thanks to Fuji's SuperCCD sensor that provides high ISO settings and low noise. Available for only £100 from Amazon UK

7 - Olympus FE-120 / X700 - when released it was one of the cheapest 6 megapixel digital cameras available, yet the camera still managed to produce excellent image quality. Olympus' FE series of digital cameras continue to offer excellent value for money, why not have a look at it's replacement(s): The FE-230 is an ultra slim 7mp digital camera with a 3x optical zoom lens, and 2.5" screen, it's available for only £109 and may be one of the World's smallest digital cameras!

Previous Best Budget Digital Cameras at Amazon UK - Here are some excellent digital cameras available from Amazon UK sorted by price:

Fujifilm FinePix S5600 / S5200 - from £115. At only £115, this is one of the cheapest Ultra Zoom digital cameras available, with a huge 10x optical zoom lens, it scored highly in our review, with a 5 megapixel sensor it should provide good photos at upto A4/A3 size, and has a 1.8" screen, a rugged SLR-style body and high ISO upto 1600 for blur free photos in low-light. Read our Review, Get the best price!

Canon Powershot A460 - from £79, this is one of the cheapest digital cameras with a 4x optical zoom lens. The Canon Powershot digital camera provides a 5 megapixel sensor, a 4x optical zoom lens which is good if you want a bit more zoom, it has a 2" screen and even comes in a variety of colours. With it being a Canon, it should provide excellent image quality.

Sony Cybershot DSC-W35 - from £109, this is one of the cheapest 7 megapixel digital cameras from a top brand such as Sony. The camera provides a 7 megapixel sensor, a 3x optical zoom lens, and a 2" screen.

For more Budget Digital Cameras, have a look at our Christmas Stocking Fillers, or have a look at our Digital Camera Deal of the Day!

If you have spotted any amazing deals on digital cameras, or would like to see a budget digital camera reviewed here, then please email me. For more digital camera reviews, click here, or view the Top Digital Cameras Reviewed. Updated June 2008.

A word from friends: If you're buying a camera based upon budget (and who isn't?), then it's only right to buy digital camera batteries using the same criteria. There's a site out there that provides helpful info about portable power supply, including Sony laptop batteries and PDA batteries.