Top five budget cameras

Snapping up a bargain camera isn’t easy. There are pitfalls aplenty to dodge, and it’s easy to end up with a dodgy bit of kit that either fails to do the job, or costs a packet in the long run.

You can swerve the expense with our round up of the latest and greatest penny-pinching pro cameras. These are top notch snappers, both SLR and compacts, that’ll crank out gorgeous images, without putting your wallet through the wringer first.

Sony Cyber-shot T700
Here’s one picture grabbing penny pincher that won’t break the bank either in the short term, or the long rum. It’s got a neat little trick up its steel sleeve: rather than needing memory cards to beef up its memory its got 4GB of internal storage packed neatly inside, saving you the effort of swapping card, and saving you shelling out for more storage. It doesn’t skimp on quality either with a 10 megapixel count and ISO up to 3200. You can grab one from £150.

Pentax E60
There are plenty of Pentax snappers that will set you back a small fortune, but here’s one camera from the photo genius that’ll have you yanking electronics store workers arms off. This Pentax offers 10.1 megapixels with image stabilization and face recognition along with Image Recovery mode to retrieve accidentally deleted snaps. All for a David Dickinson pleasing £70. Yes. £70.

Canon 1000D SLR
Getting into the professional photography game can be particularly alarming for accountants. But as far as cameras go, DSLR needn’t mean D for debt-ridden. This Canon 1000D 10.1-megapixel shooter packs all the pro features you’d expect, including a seven-point autofocus system, shooting at three frames per second and Live View to see what the camera sees without peering through the viewfinder. At £500 it won’t get you into as much financial fracas as its competitors, but you’ll still have the flexibility to swap lenses, add filters and futz with settings.

Samsung L series
Hey big spender, don’t get crunched by the credit. If you’re looking for a picture grabber that’s small, light and packing serious wealth in terms of features, take a peek at this thrifty snapper from Samsung. It offers 10 megapixels along with face detection and auto contrast balance. Shakin’ Stevens fans will be delighted to know theres also image stabilization on board too. The price? A peanutty £130.

Casio Exilim EX-Z150
Casio may not be top of the photography tree, but that doesn’t stop some of them being damn good, like this big-screened money saver. It manages to squeeze in 8.1-megapixels and crams a 3-inch screen on the back. The 28mm wide-angle lens will ensure you can capture more picture for your pound. Add face detection, 4x optical zoom and a YouTube recording mode for video, and your laughing all the way to the bank.

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