Searching for digital cameras under $100 is simpler than ever these days since technology keeps improving and prices keep decreasing. But there are some industry principles to know first so you fully know what you may be purchasing regarding digital cameras under 100 dollars.
Cameras are divided into various groups, the obvious of which will be old-fashioned film-based cameras and digital cameras. Digital cameras therefore are generally split into two classes, SLRs and compacts. It is this latter group which comprises those digital cameras under $100 to be found.
Increasingly there is beginning to be more and more of an overlap in functions and features among SLRs and compacts, but for now the two continue to be quite different, not the least of which is through their prices.
If you just need something to document a meeting and have only the most casual plans for your photographs, you won't fail with digital cameras under $100. These are simple point-and-shoot affairs providing little control and usually suitable picture quality. A few of the most recent models just recently offered on the market, however, aim to change this state of affairs as makers fight over each turf and strive to distinguish themselves from their competitors. Thus buyers will soon be confronted with the prospect of facial gesture recognition and optical image stabilization among other exotic technologies - all for less than a hundred bucks!
As it is, it is simple enough to find good quality digital cameras for under $100. Again, assume entry-level features and abilities, but enhanced technology is on the horizon that will bring more specialized efficiency quickly - without, we hope, sacrificing the convenience of use for which compacts are so well-known!
Two of the best manufacturers of compacts are Fuji and Olympus. Their "budget cameras" are among the finest in the class, providing real bang-for-the-buck value that make them perennial bestsellers every year. A nice FujiFilm FinePix, for instance, can be found for only eighty dollars, that comes with anti-blur image stabilization with a resolution of ten mega-pixels. Or take the Olympus FE-46, with 5x optical zoom at an incredible ninety dollars - on top of face recognition and AF tracking. And these models are considered entry-level!
Okay, they are definitely simple to use, with all types of help tutorial aides for first-time photographers. Yet they offer features that just a year ago were regarded as mid-range, and one could only think what the next releases in these series will offer regarding digital cameras under 100 dollars.
