Best Digital Camera Under $400 of 2016

By Matt Staker. Last updated Jun 21, 2016.

The $400 price point sits nicely between the best compact cameras and the budget higher end cameras with interchangeable lenses or the micro-four thirds platforms. These higher end cameras are often the best buys at or below $400.

The sub-$400 price range covers bridge cameras and different kinds of compact digital cameras including basic point and shoots, travel zooms, rugged models and other pocket cameras. Most of these top rated models are the fixed lens cameras.

With the LCD screen size of at least 3 inch, the best digital camera under $400 can capture images of at least 14 Megapixel resolution and Full HD 1080p videos. Also, some of these SLR-like digital cameras possess an optical zoom of over 6x.

Check out our product listing of the best digital cameras under $400 of 2016 are majorly available from brands including Panasonic, Canon, Nikon and Sony under the Lumix, Powershot, Coolpix and Cyber-shot product lines respectively.

Browse All Top Digital Cameras Under $400 of 2016 »

Nikon Coolpix P900

	#1	#2	#3	#4	#5
	Nikon Coolpix P900	Sony A5100	Sony Cyber-shot DSC-WX500	Olympus SH-2	Canon PowerShot SX710 HS


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Release Date	Apr 2015	Sep 2014	Sep 2015	May 2015	Dec 2014
Camera Type	SLR-like (bridge)	Rangefinder-style mirrorless	Compact	Compact	Compact
Optical Zoom	83.3 x		30.0 x	24.0 x	30.0 x
Resolution	16.0 Megapixel	24.0 Megapixel	18.0 Megapixel	16.0 Megapixel	20.0 Megapixel
Image Sensor Type	BSI-CMOS	CMOS	BSI-CMOS	BSI-CMOS	BSI-CMOS
LCD Screen Size	3.0 in.	3.0 in.	3.0 in.	3.0 in.	3.0 in.
Image Sensor Size	2.5 mm	28.2 mm	2.5 mm	2.5 mm	2.5 mm
	I've included several samples in the slideshow below so you can see that, while subjects can look good at smaller sizes, once you start to blow things up you lose a lot of detail. CNet.com	world’s smallest, lightest interchangeable lens camera PhotographyBLOG.com	The ordering of some settings is slightly odd though, with key options like ISO sensitivity, metering and white balance relegated to the third page of the camera settings tab. PhotographyBLOG.com	fantastic travel camera Steves-DigiCams.com Rating Unavailable	With such an impressive performance it's a shame the SX710 HS's image noise levels let the side down somewhat. PhotographyBLOG.com