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 21 ultra compacts for less than $500, and ranks the Sony Cybershot DSC-TX10 the best. Snapsort looked at 30 recent ultra compacts to give this recommendation, they range from $77 to $289, with an average price of $154.

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 55 travel-zooms for less than $500, and ranks the Canon PowerShot SX230 HS the best. Snapsort looked at 75 recent travel-zooms to give this recommendation, they range from $100 to $742, with an average price of $253.

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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 24 super-zooms for less than $500, and ranks the Nikon Coolpix P500 the best. Snapsort looked at 33 recent super-zooms to give this recommendation, they range from $139 to $1,177, with an average price of $412.

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Capture moments in full motion, movies are a great complement to still photos. Snapsort found 137 digicams for movies for less than $500, and ranks the Canon Powershot S100 the best. Snapsort looked at 186 recent digicams for movies to give this recommendation, they range from $21 to $1,237, with an average price of $224.

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 17 waterproof digicams for less than $500, and ranks the Sony Cybershot DSC-TX10 the best. Snapsort looked at 30 recent waterproof digicams to give this recommendation, they range from $75 to $370, with an average price of $218.

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 11 pro digicams for less than $500, and ranks the Canon Powershot S100 the best. Snapsort looked at 16 recent pro digicams to give this recommendation, they range from $180 to $1,237, with an average price of $486.

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