Compact Digital Camera Reviews – What’s Real and What’s Not?

So you want to buy a compact, digital camera. Reviews to help you make the right choice are plastered all over the internet, but many of these were done to sell you the camera. Firstly, stay away from “reviews” connected to the manufacturer. The “review” is no more than a thinly disguised sales pitch.

If a manufacturer is directly involved, the negative points are likely to be withheld.

So where do you find real, quality compact digital camera reviews? Look for comparison sites, photographic journals, or go offline and buy a photographic (or computer) magazine. These reviews tend to be objective, normally done by professional photographers.

Look for reviews that simply do not pull any punches. Real compact digital camera reviews will evaluate a standard set of performance features, and give an honest opinion on each. There is a load of “compact digital camera reviews” that are simply junk, trying to get you to buy a specific camera.

Which Camera is the Top Rated Compact Digital Camera?

The answer is based on who it is that’s buying the camera. I have also spent hours looking at users’ reviews of those same digital cameras. These are reviews by people who have actually slapped down their hard-earned cash to purchase a camera. With all this research, I have come up with a short list of categories and the camera or cameras that rise to the top in each category.

Best Budget Camera – a digital camera with plenty of megapixels and user options that also takes great pictures for less than $125.

Panasonic Lumix LZ8 IS.

Best Mid-Range Camera – qualifications here are picture quality, ease of use, a variety of wide angle and zoom ranges, and of course price (around $250).

Best Over All Compact Digital Camera – this is the camera that the pros would choose for quality and control. Best Choice… Panasonic Lumix LX3 (highly recommended by every user and review web site).