Top 5 Digital Cameras

No two ways about it--digital cameras are hot. Rapidly improving resolution and falling prices have propelled digital cameras out of the "expensive toy" category and have made them perfectly practical (though still relatively expensive) tools for making photographs. New, well-built 1-megapixel cameras now sell for less than $300, and 2-megapixel models can be found selling for less than $500. Nearly every major digital camera manufacturer offers high-end, 3-megapixel consumer cameras priced at less than $1000.

Other compelling reasons for going digital include the ready availability of photo-quality ink jet printers that can produce stunning color images, as well as a glut of new online photo sites that make viewing, printing, managing, and sharing your images more convenient than ever.

When the PC World staff considered these factors, plus the exploding interest in digital imaging and an often-confusing array of choices (price, design, size, and features vary), it became obvious that it was time to start a monthly ranking of top digital cameras. In this first round, we start with a Top 5 list of digital cameras that sell for less than $500. Next month, we will follow up with a Top 5 of digital cameras that are priced at $500 and up. You can also check out our upcoming December print issue (on shelves in early November) for "Sharp Shooters," a combined roundup of digital cameras priced at less than a thousand bucks. As always, our goal is to help you choose the most appropriate model for your needs. (For more help, see "How It Works: Digital Cameras.")

Toss Out Your Film?

Nearly every story about digital cameras starts out with the declaration that film is dead. Don't believe it. The average snapshooter is, and will be for some time, more comfortable with loading film and getting prints from the local drugstore. More-serious photographers also prefer the high quality of 35mm slides, which offer results that even 3-megapixel cameras can't match. Also, the pros often use large-format cameras, which provide much higher resolution than can be generated by 35mm film.

But for everyone in between, strong arguments exist for switching to digital, especially if you're a graphic artist, a realtor, or an insurance agent who frequently needs to make images for business purposes. Leading the list of reasons to convert to digital is the lower long-term cost: Once you've bought a camera, there's no film to buy, and no expense or delay for processing. You can fire off a bunch of shots and not feel guilty about wasting film. After you've looked at your shots on your PC, you can print only your best images.

Convenience is another selling point for digital cameras. Digital photography eliminates the extra step of having to scan your photos before you can e-mail them to friends or post them on your Web site. Most digital cameras also have an LCD panel that allows you to review your shots and delete the ones that didn't work out. If you spot an imperfection in one of your pictures, such as an errant finger or a subject with red-eye, you can take another shot on the spot (or fix it later with your image editor). And many cameras allow you to send images to your TV, a convenient way to put on a quick slide show.

How to Choose One

Picking the right camera for your needs can be a daunting task. To start, ask yourself a few basic questions:

• How much are you willing to spend? A higher price tag gets you more resolution and more features.
  
  
• How much resolution do you need? One of the most common misconceptions about digital cameras is that higher in-camera resolution results in better images. For a standard 4-by-6-inch print, there's little difference in image sharpness among 1-, 2-, and 3-megapixel cameras. The differences really start to show when you make enlargements. If you plan to make lots of sharp 8-by-10 prints, you should buy a 3-megapixel camera. Two-megapixel cameras create fine 5-by-7-inch prints and adequate 8-by-10-inch prints.
  
  
• How much control do you want? If you're taking simple snapshots, you probably don't need manual focus, manual exposure control, or a bunch of flash settings.
  
  
• How many shots are you likely to download at a time? If you're taking just a few shots every time you go out, you can get by with a camera that has a serial-port connection. On the other hand, if you're taking dozens of images at a time, you'll want a camera with a Universal Serial Bus port. You might also consider a SmartMedia or CompactFlash reader that plugs directly in to your PC, which eliminates the need to hook your camera to your PC.
  
  
• What kind of batteries will you use? Some cameras use proprietary, rechargeable batteries. Often using lithium-ion chemistry, such batteries typically last fairly long on one charge and are easily recharged. However, they also tend to be expensive. All of the cameras we reviewed for this month's chart use AA batteries, which are easy to find but can become costly if you tend to do a lot of shooting. The best compromise is to use rechargeable AAs and have plenty of them in your bag.
  
  

How We Ranked Them

After making careful assessments of each camera's features, picture quality, and ease of use, we ranked the cameras by their overall value.

Most cameras priced at less than $500 compromise in one or more areas. They may limit the resolution to 1 megapixel or less, offer few manual controls, or come with 8MB or less of memory. But if you're looking for simplicity and a low price, one of these cameras might be just what you need.

Our Best Buy, the 1.3-megapixel, $299 Olympus D-360L, does a good job of rendering color and has lots of extra features, such as manual focus, 2X digital zoom, and white balance controls, as well as a macro mode. Hot on its heels is Epson's PhotoPC 650, a 1.1-megapixel, $260 camera that offers extraordinary ease of use, as well as a handy USB cable that allows you to download images to your PC directly from a CompactFlash card.

Next month, we'll look at digital cameras priced at $500 and up. Those big boys typically offer higher resolutions (from 2.1 megapixels to over 3 megapixels), advanced exposure controls (such as aperture-priority or shutter-priority automatic selection), a manual focus override, and more memory. Some allow lens swapping, and some may offer external flash units.