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Finding top rated digital cameras is relatively easy because there are so many great cameras on the market today. That being said, because there are so many highly rated digital cameras to choose from, it can be hard to decide which one to buy. This article will help you find the right, top-rated digital cameras for your digital photography needs. These mini reviews will tell you which are the best cameras in terms of features, image quality, size, user friendliness, and more. You'll also find that many of these top rated cameras also shoot in HD video.
To help with your digital camera purchase, we have listed below some of the current most popular and best rated digital cameras for 2012 including top rated cameras under $200, compact cameras, super zoom and D-SLR, along with brief reviews.
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Compact Point and Shoot Digital Cameras:
 
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Canon's Powershot G12 is a high-end, 10MP compact camera with a 28-140mm (equivalent) built-in zoom and aperture range of f/2.8-4.5. It has an articulated 2.8-inch LCD and offers high res 720p stereo video, ISO up to 12,8000 and 5x optical zoom. You can take photos in 10:9, 4:3, 1:1, 3:2, 4:5 format sizes so there is less cropping. Shooting modes include HDR which takes several shots then combines them for greater detail. Shoots in RAW mode. The hybrid IS compensates for camera shake and angular shift. Image quality is outstanding, as are the controls, with dedicated EV and ISO dials. The menu is easy to use and the camera feels solid. While small, it is not compact. It's close to an SLR without the increased size. Capture images and video to SD/SDHC/SDXC memory card, MultiMedia Card, MMC Plus Card, HC MMC Plus Card. This is one of the year's top rated digital cameras. It rates very highly from both professional reviewers as well as users.
 
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16MP 28mm wide-angle lens, 5x Optical Image Stabilization Zoom. DIGIC 4 Image Processor with Canon Face Detection producers faster, "cleaner" images. Great image quality and value for the money. "Smart Auto Mode" shooting is truly easy to use and automatically selects from 32 predefined shooting settings. It's a great choice for someone who plans to primarily shoot in the auto mode. There is an interesting new feature: a Discreet Mode for taking pictures in places where normally it's not welcomed, like museums, at performances, and other places where light and sound would not be wanted.
The Canon PowerShot 3300 IS produces sharp images and also shoots 720p High Definition. The 3 inch PureColor LCD and wide viewing angle is bright and has good contrast. ISO of 400-6400 makes shooting in low light much better. A somewhat complicated menu, but if you mainly use the auto mode it's probably not an issue. The 3300 IS is small and will easily fit in your pocket. It comes in fun colors including silver, blue, red, black and pink. Overall a well-designed, easy to use point-and-shoot that produces brilliant photos. This is a popular camera priced at less than $200.
 
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This is no ordinary compact digital camera. The 10.1 megapixel DMC-LX5 is stylish, responsive and excels under low-light conditions such as indoor lighting. Recommended by the Tech Guy Leo LaPorte, the DMC-LX5 features a F2.0 24mm ultra wide-angle Leica DC Vario-Summicron lens and an ultra-sensitive 1/1.63-inch CCD. The camera also features a wide-range of accessories and manual controls. It is one of the best high-ISO compact cameras available. While it won't replace an SLR, this would be an excellent choice for professional photographers and serious amateurs looking for creative shooting and high performance.
 
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At under $200, this is a bargain price for a touch screen digital camera that produces very good images. The touch screen is responsive and the camera is easy to operate with an intuitive interface. Low-light shooting is pretty good. The speed is just ok, nothing special. Although there is a 3-inch display, perplexingly it only displays at 2.5 inches when shooting at the max resolution. The design is rather cool looking, with curved edges and flat surfaces. and it comes in black, sliver, pink, violet and red.
Super Zoom Digital Cameras
 
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The Panasonic Lumix DMC-FZ40 super zoom is excellent value for the money. This is a hybrid digital camera featuring a 25mm ultra-wide angle Leica DC Vario-Elmant lens, a 24x optical zoom and an array of manual operations and RAW shooting. Image quality is great with vibrant color, and the zoom is astounding. There are lots of scene settings as well as extensive manual control. Focusing is quick, start-up is quite fast. The camera is well-designed with high power Image Stabilizer. Takes AVCHD Lite HD movies with 1280 x 720-pixel resolution (means higher quality while storing less data than Motion JPEG.) The camera is lightweight yet solid, has a bright 3 inch LCD screen and an excellent menu system. It captures images to SD/SDHC memory cards. Cons: Some noise when shooting in ISO 1600 and up, can't take photos while shooting movies.
 
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The stylish Canon Power Shot SX230 HS has a thin, compact design with great zoom and a nice feature set. It offers versatile shooting and produces crisp, vibrant prints. It has a big 14x wide-angle optical zoom (f/3.1 to 5.9, 28-392mm at 35mm equivalent) and optical image stabilizer to detect and correct for camera shake. The high-resolution 3-inch vari-angle LCD offers better viewing. The Smart AUTO feature analyzes and selects from 32 predefined shooting settings. . Shoots 1080p (24fps) and /720p(30fps) HD movies and comes with an mini USB and mini HDMI.
Pros: Good feature set, excellent image quality, intuitive menu, good low-light shooting, durable and lightweight design. Cons: can't refocus while shooting video, battery life is rather short.
 
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The Sony Cyber-shot DSC-HX9V is feature-rich, including innovative scene modes for low light shooting, panorama sweep and 3D shooting, and the terrific 1080p, 60fps video is smooth and crisp with very good audio capture. It has a 24mm wide angle, 16x zoom lens ((24mm to 384mm in 35mm film equivalent), and GPS for geotagging. The 3-inch LCD is brilliant and sharp. It does have a few things missing that it should have, including RAW mode and aperture/shutter priority mode. The DSC-HX9V is fairly compact but with it's huge zoom it's not exactly going to fit in your back pocket and maybe that's an ok tradeoff for the mega zoom.
Waterproof Cameras
 
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The Fuji Finepix XP20 stands up to water, snow, and dusty trails and you can buy it for less than $200. This camera takes nice, crisp outdoor photos but indoors images are not as sharp. There is one touch underwater movie recording, Motion Panorama with automatic stitch, face detection and 720p HD video recording. Wonderful for water activities such as snorkeling. When changing the battery or SD card do it away from a sandy area, though, just like you would with any other camera. Although waterproof, the camera is not indestructible. Keep in mind that in order to get a camera that works underwater, you will likely have to sacrifice a few other features. It is priced under $200, so it would not be too painful to use this as a supplement to your main digital camera.
SLR Digital Cameras
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EOS Rebel T2i with
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This HOT new 18 MP SLR is lightweight and features a 3-inch LCD and EF-S 18-55mm f/3.5-5.6 IS Lens.The CMOS (APS-C) sensor and DIGIC 4 image processor produces outstanding images with exceptional clarity and speed of up to 3.7 frames per second. ISO range of 100-6400 (expandable to 12800) for shooting from bright to dim light. The EOS Movie mode offers manual exposure control and HD recording 1920 x 1080. Compatible with SDXC memory cards. A great choice for under $1000.
 
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The Nikon D3100 is a top rated digital camera and at 14.2MP the is an outstanding entry-level SLR with loads of top-notch features and excellent image quality, producing prints 20x30 inches and larger. The lens offers fast, accurate autofocus, brilliant color, excellent contrast, and sharp detail. The shutter response is extremely fast and the 11-point auto-focus delivers crisp, vivid photos. The full 1080p HD video (1920x1080) records brilliantly. The menus is intuitive and the Nikon Guide Mode offers assistance. The D3100 is lightweight and has a compact design.It has a 3-inch LCD and active-D lighting. The scene recognition system will auto optimize for exposure, focus and white balance. There are also six auto exposure scene modes, picture control including Standard, Neutral, Vivid, Monochrome. The D3100 also features in-camera editing without the need for a computer.
Recommended Merchants:
Find the right camera for you direct from Canon. Canon features frequent special offers and discounts.
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