Best Digital Camera Ratings for 2009 Holiday Gifts

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The Canon SX1 is one of the most versatile cameras on the market, with a 560mm optical zoom, flip screen, and HDTV-resolution video.

With the holidays just around the corner, it's a great time for taking advantage of the sales and lowered prices being offered by the camera vendors. Amazon always seems to stay on top of the competition, and is always a great place to look for reviews as well as the lowest prices.

With that in mind, we wanted to take a look through the reviews and find out what was being considered the best cameras available for this holiday season. The choices are so overwhelming, it can literally take hours and days of reading through all the options, features, reviews, and trying to figure out the best camera for you. What I have done is listed what we feel the top picks are for various categories, based on many reviews, and the research I've done recently for my own purchase. I've listed them from least expensive to the most, but that obviously shouldn't be the deciding factor. It's important to note your useage, your level of expertise, the level of quality you require, and the various features you need.

One thing to remember, size isn't everything. For many people 8 megapixels should be sufficient, but 10 or 12 megapixels is optimum. Features to make note of in your decision: megapixels, optical zoom, HD Video, image stabilization, face detection, and red eye removal. These features a re practically a given if you are buying a sophisticated new camera now. One thing you will find, is that the cameras today are excellent, and continuing to get better all the time.

You don't have to spend a lot of money to get a great camera!! For the budget under $200, you can't go wrong with the highly rated Nikon CoolPix S570. Simple, small, stylish, easy to use, and feature-packed for its price, it features wide-angle, 12 Megapixel sensor, image stabilization, a 5X Zoom Lens, and 640 x 480 video recording. It's Nikkor lens, with a 2.7 aperture, helps in low-light situations. One more cool feature is the Smart Portrait System, which makes it a great camera for fun and family. For the price, this is a very solid choice. Available in Red, Black, or Silver.

Check out more reviews and the current lowest prices for the Nikon CoolPix S570

Panasonic Lumix DMC-ZS3 The Panasonic Lumix DMC ZS3 has a powerhouse of features, including a 12 Megapixel sensor (with a 10 Megapixel output, to allow for the 16:9 format), image stabilization, a wide-angle 12X Zoom lens (25-300mm equivalent), and HD Video capability in extremely smooth high quality AVCHD format that can rival any decent camcorder. All of these features makes the Lumix a highly versatile camera, with its only shortcoming being no manual controls. The features and image quality (a Leica lens) of the camera make it well worth the price tag between $300 and $400. You're getting alot for your money.

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Perhaps a surprise brand here, but a solid choice. The key here is the ability to achieve image quality through a Super CCD EXR sensor that combines weds Fujifilm's older Super CCD HR (high resolution) and Super CCD SR (more sensitive) in a single chip. Through a process called “binning” or “pixel fusion, ” the result is very high dynamic range quality and low light capabilities. In that process, you lose some resolution, but gain image quality. Combine that with a 28-140mm Fujinon lens with a 5X Optical Zoom, a 12 Megapixel sensor, some Manual shooting modes, a 640x480 video, this easy-to-use camera is a great choice in the $300-$400 price range.

Check out more reviews and the latest current low prices for the FujiFilm FinePix F200 EXR

My personal latest addition, and one of top consumer groups, is the powerful Canon SX1 IS, featuring an optical zoom that will take you up to 20x, or 560mm. On top of that, it features HDTV 1920 X 1080p video recording capability, a good sized high resolution 10MP Sensor, and a flip-and-twistable LCD screen. Because of these features, the SX1 becomes a unique camera. Even the zoom and video are image stabilized, a huge issue common with many cameras. However, its image quality will still fall short of a true DSLR camera, but with the CMOS processor, normally only found in DSLR's, it comes as close as one can. This camera rocks, and I'm very happy with mine.

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Want the top-rated Digital SLR for top of the line quality? True photographers won’t ever be satisfied with the image quality or the range of controls that a compact digital camera can ever offer. The D300 DSLR can meet and exceed those expectations. The D300 has a 12.3MP DX format CMOS Sensor, 8 fps continuous shooting with battery grip or 51 point autofocus with 3D subject tracking - notable features to say the least about the camera. If you have the money to spend, your $1800 will not be wasted on a camera like this.

Check out more reviews and latest current low Prices for the Nikon D300

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