Best Standard Point and Shoot Digital Cameras - Under $450, 1 to 4 x Optical Zoom

'The grip-less camera feels surprisingly good in the hand, thanks to thoughtful ideas like a small but well placed  thumb rest on the rear panel.'

'carry-anywhere all-purpose camera'

'The best part about the Olympus XZ-1 was the fact that its image quality backed its hardware, and the camera proved itself a well-equipped tool that excelled when it came to manual controls.'

'Large image sensor'

'Luckily, the T90 has more to offer than just widescreen-ready images. '

'pretty sleek looking camera'

'The T90's svelte body is available in a range of colors including pink, brown, blue and black.'

'Luckily, the T90 has more to offer than just widescreen-ready images. '

'pretty sleek looking camera'

'The T90's svelte body is available in a range of colors including pink, brown, blue and black.'

'highly desirable camera'

'The White Balance control on the camera was very impressive.'

'It's great for shooting rooms, landscapes, and portraits, but it falls short in the telephoto department, making the Panasonic LX3 a difficult choice for an all-around camera, unless you're used to short to medium focal lengths.'

'perfect compact camera'

'if you want the convenience of AA batteries, an optical viewfinder, optical image stabilization, and a low price, this camera has them and takes good photos, too. '

'Despite its low price, it's a great pick for those who prefer to shoot using auto settings exclusively. '

'With 10 megapixels and a 4x zoom lens, plus Canon's excellent image stabilization (IS), the Canon PowerShot A1000IS is a great little camera with lots of capability in a svelte, compact package. '

'Consumers liked them because they were affordable, relatively compact, user-friendly, feature rich, and sturdily built. '

'The Sony Cyber-shot DSC-T900 is immediately impressive.'

'good, fast snapshot camera'

'Easy navigation Sony has simplified the display of options on most of these cameras to make it easier for customers to use them.'

'if you want the convenience of AA batteries, an optical viewfinder, optical image stabilization, and a low price, this camera has them and takes good photos, too. '

'Shooting features remain strong on the A1100, however, and the camera is newbie-friendly.'

'The results were impressive, and the PowerShot A1100 IS proved itself as a compact that can handle a starry sky with a little help from a tripod.'

'Build quality is first rate'

'if you want the convenience of AA batteries, an optical viewfinder, optical image stabilization, and a low price, this camera has them and takes good photos, too. '

'Shooting features remain strong on the A1100, however, and the camera is newbie-friendly.'

'The results were impressive, and the PowerShot A1100 IS proved itself as a compact that can handle a starry sky with a little help from a tripod.'

'Build quality is first rate'

'great camera'

'an "Easy" mode which reduces complexity of the on-screen information overlay and disables all external controls except for the shutter button, flash button and zoom lever.'