A digital camera loaded with sophisticated features can cost a small fortune. But maybe you'd prefer a simple point-and-shoot camera -- one without all the bells and whistles -- that takes decent pictures without breaking the bank.

For its August issue, PC World magazine tested 5 bargain cameras that sell for between $120 and $130. Four of them were rated "very good."

"These cameras tended not to take photographs that were quite as sharp as more expensive models," says editor Eric Butterfield, "but it's likely that most people if they're just taking casual snapshots would not notice the difference."

PC World named the 5 mega pixel Canon Powershot A460 a best buy. The Powershot A460 rated good for image quality and battery life and very good for overall design.

One nice feature, the editors liked -- it has a super-macro mode and that's kind of unusual for a camera in this price range. It lets you you get a very close to a small subject.

The Canon Powershot A460 sells for around $130.

Let's look at the other three bargain cameras PC World rated "very good."

The Nikon Coolpix l10: The editors say the l10 is "sleek and provides custom white balance, panorama mode, and face recognition autofocus." The one downside -- the LCD screen is small.

The Kodak Easyshare C653: PC Words says it is "easy to use, delivers high-quality photos, and offers in-camera panorama stitching." But, battery life is short.

And the Fujifilm Finepix A610. This model has good image quality and good overall design, but the editors say it sucks up the batteries and has "limited controls, such as exposure compensation and white-balance presets."

The HP Photosmart M537 was at the bottom of the ratings. It only earned a "good." The M537 comes with an antishake mode and generous software bundle. But the editors say its image quality was "disappointing."

For More Information:

Bargain Cameras: Basic but Capable