Canon PowerShot A510

I spent ages researching a camera which would be suitable for quality snaps rather than serious photography, at a good price and with manual controls should they be required.

This camera has not disappointed. I personally do not find 3 megapixels limiting, as I only print to 6 x 4. At this size, using mid range resolution and compression, the image quality is excellent. On a 256MB card (the 16MB card which comes with the camera is not enough), these settings will allow the recording of several hundred images. There are lots of features which are not needed and some are plain daft, such as the different sounds available when you make the shot, but I guess most digital cameras have these. Personally I would prefer something much more basic. Still these are small quibbles. Video? Forget it. If you want to shoot video, get a video camera. The instruction manual is actually pretty good and offers a sensible step by step approach to using each function. Even so, in practical terms the controls on the camera itself could be more logical. But you get used to it. The zoom control is tricky to use (a rocker control would have been preferable), and precise framing is difficult. Batteries perhaps don't last as long as you might expect so always carry spares and don't use the LCD, which eats power. Sadly, fewer cameras now incorporate a viewfinder, something which any self respecting photographer should always use. All in all? I got what I wanted (and some things I didn't) and so far this camera has served me very well indeed.

I'd recommend the Canon PowerShot A510 digital camera for obvious reasons stated above. Even though there are better and more mega-pixel cameras on the market, the A510 has to be the first choice for entry level digital cameras. It has a lot of features to offer for this price, and the results are great. Colors are captured as they are, and there are no purple tinges or extra whites. High resolution pictures are quite good, although they show a bit of snow when enlarged. It can print 4x6 or A4 size prints perfectly on photo paper. That means it has enough mega-pixels to serve you.

The 4x optical zoom is very handy, but don't be fooled by the 12x digital zoom or whatever anyone says. It's no comparison to the analog optical zoom. All cameras of this range only have 3x, but this one (and its successors, 520, 610, 620 etc) have 4x. Great for some far shots.

Macro photography, or close-ups aren't too good, although the autofocus shows you how the picture would be taken. You can't do much if you want to snap it. But lets be honest, we use cameras at length, and self photography can be done from mobile phones!

Lots of features, shooting modes (13 of them), full auto and full manual operation, you can control almost every aspect of snapping .. exposure, white balance, shutter speed etc. No in-built editing capabilities though; only pre-defined effects which are quite adequate.

If you don't want to spend a lot and yet have a digital camera that will get you good snaps and give you lots of options, this is the one!