The Canon PowerShot A495 is a bargain for anyone concerned more with photo quality than features.

For some, an elegant shooter's design and high-quality low-ISO photos may more than adequately compensate for the Olympus E-P2's sluggish performance.

The PowerShot A3000 IS is a good budget-friendly Canon compact if nothing else.

A fast, inexpensive dSLR with better-than-average low-light quality, the Pentax K-x nevertheless has some flaws, such as unreliable image stabilization, to watch out for.

The Sony Cyber-shot DSC-W330 is an OK pocket camera, but a little more money will get you a lot more features.

There's a lot to like about the Nikon Coolpix P100, but you'll need to keep your photo quality expectations in check to really enjoy it.

A sweet little wide-angle compact, the Sony Cyber-shot DSC-W350 should make a lot of snapshooters happy.

A sweet little wide-angle compact, the Sony Cyber-shot DSC-W350 should make a lot of snapshooters happy.

If you're a Live View-oriented shooter who doesn't care about color accuracy, the Sony Alpha DSLR-A550's good performance and decent noise profile make it attractive for the money. Otherwise, you can find a better camera.

As long as you and your subject aren't in a hurry, the Casio Exilim is a respectable budget-priced ultracompact.