Low-res Digital Cameras

Nikon Coolpix L4

The £90 Coolpix L4 is the least expensive of Nikon's low-end L-series line of digital cameras. The L4 has a small, 4-megapixel sensor, a 3x optical zoom lens and a handful of scene preset modes but few high-end settings. Though slow and not very versatile, it produces some pretty good pictures for its budget price

Editor's rating 6.2

Canon PowerShot A430

The 4-megapixel Canon PowerShot A430 is an upgraded version of the bottom-of-the-line 3-megapixel A410, which it replaces as Canon's cheap, no-frills digital camera. Despite some irritating image-quality problems, the A430 is a nice, simple point-and-shoot camera with solid performance and a decent feature set

User rating 8.0

Editor's rating 6.8

Kodak EasyShare Z700

The surprising amount of manual control with programmed, aperture-priority and shutter-priority modes, the 5x zoom lens with unexpected telephoto reach and the Z700's decent image quality all exceed what you might expect from a camera in this class

Editor's rating 5.8

Olympus IR-500

The IR-500 may be a limited digicam, with only a 4-megapixel sensor and a 2.8x optical zoom lens, but it presents its captured pictures and video on its lovely 64mm LCD in a bewildering variety of ways -- it has nine PowerPoint-like transition effects, including zoom, faders, swivels and Venetian blinds and sorted by shooting date as a visual diary

User rating 7.0

Editor's rating 6.6

Sony Cyber-shot DSC-S40

The DSC-S40 makes one compromise to hit such a low price -- its screen is only 38mm across. Otherwise, though, it has an impressive roster of features and capabilities, including a 4.1-megapixel sensor, a Carl Zeiss 3x zoom lens, two burst modes, strong battery life and fast response times

Editor's rating 6.6

Nikon Coolpix 4600

Light on manual settings, the 4600 has several novice-friendly features to make up for it, including Blur Warning, D-lighting, and Best Shot Selector. Add its small size, solid construction and 3x optical zoom, and it's worth considering if you're a casual snapshot photographer on a tight budget

Editor's rating 6.0

HP Photosmart M23

HP's Photosmart M23 has a lovely help system and a low, low price -- but that's about it. Sluggish performance, mediocre image quality and a lack of either optical zoom or viewfinder make it hard to recommend

Editor's rating 5.0

Panasonic Lumix DMC-LZ1B

Priced lower than its 5-megapixel Lumix DMC-LZ2 sibling, this affordable point-and-shoot offers the same 6x zoom lens with optical image stabilisation. Panasonic trimmed about a million pixels to create this 4-megapixel version, but its image quality is almost as good as the higher-res model's

Editor's rating 6.6

Fujifilm FinePix F440

User rating 8.0

Editor's rating 6.5

Casio Exilim Card EX-S100

Editor's rating 7.5

Sony Cyber-shot DSC-L1

Editor's rating 6.8

Canon Digital IXUS 40

User rating 8.0

Editor's rating 7.4

Canon PowerShot A520

The PowerShot A510's grander sibling offers the full range of manual controls that photo enthusiasts require, plenty of scene modes, respectable zoom range, 4 megapixels and a very reasonable price tag

User rating 7.0

Editor's rating 6.8

Canon PowerShot A510

The PowerShot A510 is a veritable bargain, with plenty of automation for beginners and a full complement of manual controls for photo enthusiasts looking for a casual camera

Editor's rating 6.0

Kodak EasyShare LS743

Editor's rating 7.6

Olympus mju-mini Digital

Editor's rating 6.6

Olympus C-770 Ultra Zoom

User rating 7.0

Editor's rating 7.9

Nikon Coolpix 4800

Outgrown your point-and-shoot compact? Not ready to commit to the expense and complication of a dSLR? The Coolpix 4800 could hold the answer. Its 8.3x digital zoom offers plenty of scope without making the whole thing too bulky, and the image quality is great for a 4-megapixel shooter

Editor's rating 6.4