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![Canon Powershot SX200]()
Optical zoom is an important feature, as it lets you get a close up picture from a distance. Digital zoom isn't very useful, so you can safely ignore it; all it does is crop your photo for you. Most cameras have 3x to 5x optical zooms, sufficient for most uses. To take candids or on-the-field sports shots, you’ll want a camera with more zoom power, such as this Canon PowerShot SX200. It has a 12x zoom and costs about $400.![Nikon Coolpix S70]()
LCDs really drain the battery, so you’ll want to use them sparingly to get the most shots from each charge. If you're really worried about battery life, this $400 Nikon Coolpix S70 has an advanced OLED panel that should draw less power than an equivalent LCD. You'll pay a little more for this advanced technology, but the extra battery life may be worth it to you.![Nikon Coolpix S1000]()
The $430 Nikon COOLPIZ S1000pj actually has a tiny projector built in, above the camera lens. This lets you share your photos without your friends having to crowd around a tiny screen.![Pentax Optio W80]()
For outdoor use (even snorkeling, as long as you don't go too deep underawter), cameras like this $300 Pentax Optio W80 are waterproof. Pentax claims that the camera is also shockproof and coldproof.![Kodak EasyShare M1093 IS]()
Nearly all digital cameras also take movies, many in high definition. They typically shoot 720p, but some — like this $160 Kodak EasyShare M1093 IS — can take 1080p videos. The result may not be quite as good as movies from a dedicated video camera, but it’s a very convenient feature that you'll use more often than you expect.![Sony Cyber-shot DSC-WX1/B]()
This $350 Sony CyberShot WX1 let’s you sweep across a panoramic view to automatically stitch the images together to make a single picture. The camera can also capture a sequence of shots in rapid succession — up to 10 in a second, for capture action sequences.![Canon Powershot SD1200 IS]()
Many cameras, such as this $200 Canon Powershot SD1200 IS, now offer digital face detection, which will automatically focus and adjust the exposure for a face in the picture, even if it’s not in the center of the frame. Some cameras can even alert you if someone in a group photo blinked.Holiday Gift Guide: Digital Cameras
It seems no event is complete unless it has been thoroughly documented by at least a half dozen cameras, capturing candid snapshots and posed tableaus. And the results then whirl around the ether, posted to Facebook or photo sharing sites by the zillions every day. Join the fun! If you haven’t looked at digital cameras lately, you’ll be find that they do more and cost less than you might expect. Read more
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- Holiday Gift Guide: Digital Cameras
