Great design ; very compact ; well priced ; very good features for its class

Mediocre photo quality ; slow performance

The Nikon Coolpix S220 is an adequate, inexpensive choice for social network-loving photographers.

Viewfinder ; simple operation ; inexpensive ; excellent photo quality for the money

Mixed performance ; short battery life

Aside from a couple performance quibbles, the Canon PowerShot A1100 IS provides a good point-and-shoot experience with great pictures as a result.

Excellent photo quality for the money ; 6x zoom ; simple operation, good feature set

Mixed performance

The Canon PowerShot A2100 IS offers good photo quality, some extra zoom range, and the convenience of AA batteries in an affordable, pocketable package.

Simple ; cheap ; relatively small ; AA battery powered

Chunky, plastic design ; leisurely performance

The Canon PowerShot A480 may be a basic low-priced compact camera, but at least it takes good photos.

Compact wide-angle lens with 12x zoom ; good build quality ; uncomplicated operation

Mixed performance ; few manual features

With a flexible lens in a pocketable package, the Panasonic Lumix DMC-ZS1 is a pleasing point-and-shoot megazoom--both in design and photo quality.

Attractive, ultracompact design ; easy operation ; well-rounded, basic feature set

Photo quality dips above ISO 200 ; flat buttons can be difficult to press accurately

Simple and stylish, the Canon PowerShot SD1200 IS is a fine back-pocket camera as long as your photo-quality expectations are reasonable.

Relatively speedy ; tiltable LCD ; two custom settings slots on mode dial

Subpar photo quality ; poor battery life

While the Nikon Coolpix P90 brings its performance up to speed with the rest of its class, it now falls behind in photo quality.

Fast performance ; excellent design, LCD ; optical zoom works in movie mode

Short battery life ; photo quality merely OK for the money ; touch-screen not for everyone

Though some will be disappointed by its photo quality, the barely there, high-tech Sony Cyber-shot DSC-T900 is a very good ultracompact camera.

Good, vibrant color ; lots of shooting options, manual controls ; hot shoe for add-on flash ; includes rechargeable AA batteries

Clunky design ; noisy photos

The Kodak EasyShare Z980 has a lot to offer--including a wide-angle 24x zoom lens--but you'll have to overlook its clunky design and noisy photos.

Comfortable design ; reliable auto features ; cheap

Uneven, soft photos ; almost no control over ISO ; cannot use rechargeable batteries

The Nikon Coolpix L100 is a decent entry-level megazoom. Just don't look too closely at the photos and stock up on AA batteries.