The best Digicams for less than $500

Ultra compacts are some of the smallest cameras you can buy, great for slipping into your pocket for a night on the town. Snapsort found 28 ultra compacts for less than $500, and ranks the Sony Cyber-shot DSC-WX70 the best. Snapsort looked at 31 recent ultra compacts to give this recommendation, they range from $88 to $498, with an average price of $214.

See more of the best ultra compacts for under $500.

Travel-zooms are great for travel, packing a lot of zoom into a small package. Snapsort found 79 travel-zooms for less than $500, and ranks the Panasonic Lumix DMC-ZS20 the best. Snapsort looked at 84 recent travel-zooms to give this recommendation, they range from $100 to $482, with an average price of $242.

See more of the best travel-zooms for under $500.

Super-zooms have the most zoom you can get, often up to 30x, so you can get great close ups no matter the distance, great for sports, animals, etc. Snapsort found 27 super-zooms for less than $500, and ranks the Nikon Coolpix P510 the best. Snapsort looked at 32 recent super-zooms to give this recommendation, they range from $153 to $1,101, with an average price of $362.

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Capture moments in full motion, movies are a great complement to still photos. Snapsort found 169 digicams for movies for less than $500, and ranks the Canon Powershot S100 the best. Snapsort looked at 197 recent digicams for movies to give this recommendation, they range from $77 to $789, with an average price of $228.

See more of the best digicams for movies for under $500.

If you're spending time on the beach, or on the water, waterproof cameras let you go anywhere without worrying. Snapsort found 23 waterproof digicams for less than $500, and ranks the Sony Cyber-shot DSC-TX200V the best. Snapsort looked at 28 recent waterproof digicams to give this recommendation, they range from $99 to $498, with an average price of $249.

See more of the best waterproof digicams for under $500.

Pro digicams have advanced features for the photographer such as wide apertures and large sensors. Snapsort found 10 pro digicams for less than $500, and ranks the Canon Powershot S100 the best. Snapsort looked at 14 recent pro digicams to give this recommendation, they range from $188 to $828, with an average price of $449.

See more of the best pro digicams for under $500.