Top 5 Digital Cameras Under $500

Canon PowerShot SD1100 IS Digital ELPH
Canon's Digital ELPHs have always looked good. More importantly, they take fine snapshots and we've always been a fan. This affordable 8-megapixel model has optical image stabilization to take the shakes and blur out of your images. It also has a 3x optical zoom (38-114mm), a 2.5-inch LCD screen and Face Detection to ensure great people shots.
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Nikon D40
The reason we're including this still-available graybeard is the fact it's the only D-SLR with an MSRP below $500. Yes, you can still find the Canon Rebel XT even cheaper but it's really behind the times-avoid it. The 6.1-megapixel D40 is a very easy-to-use D-SLR and is perfect for anyone making the next step beyond a point-and-shoot. The response time for any D-SLR leaves P&S cameras in the dust. You'll immediately appreciate the difference.
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Sony Cybershot DSC-W300
This speedy point-and-shoot digicam has a whopping 13.6MP sensor so you can make huge prints or do some serious cropping. We liked playing with it. It has a 3x optical zoom (35-105mm), optical image stabilization, intelligent scene recognition for truly aim-and-forget operation along with Sony's Smile Shutter that takes a picture as soon as your subject smiles. Pretty cool stuff.
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Kodak EasyShare Z812 IS
Good ol' Kodak. You won't find anything scintillating from this crew but they do make decent, affordable cameras. A case in point is the 8.2MP Z812 IS with a 12x Schneider Kreuznach Variogon lens that equals 36-432mm in 35mm terms. The digicam takes solid prints, has optical image stabilization and Face Detection. A nice touch-it records 720p videos at 30 frames per second.
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Canon PowerShot SD870 IS Digital ELPH
Although this baby has been around for almost a year-ancient in digicam terms-it's still a winner. Favorite features are the wide-angle 4x optical zoom (28-112mm) and a huge 3-inch LCD screen. The wide-angle setting lets you take attractive landscapes and get more friends into group shots. And that big screen makes it easy to frame them all.
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