A digital camera is a must these days. If you ask me, I would suggest some amount of discretion when it comes to limiting your resources to one device, namely a high-end mobile phone. An MP3 player, a camera and your phone are exclusive, no matter how much people try to convince that convergence is the way to go. Even the cheapest digital camera will give better results than your phone cam. Today I will help you choose a camera that will give you value for money – at an affordable price. These cameras have been selected not for their form factor or jazzed-up looks; I've been rather more practical in my approach. Let’s go!

Canon Powershot A590

Apart from being a complete one-point shooting solution, this one comes with the best manual controls this side of 12K. If you are a budding photographer, you will feel right at home. It’s got a slightly smaller LCD screen at 2.5-inch, but the megapixel count is 8.0. The A590 offers 4x optical zoom, with optical image stabilization that allows shooting in full zoom. The main reasons I selected it for this list: manual controls and the accuracy of the scene modes. The camera also allows manual focusing, only digital though. The lens offers a zoom range equivalent of 35-140mm, while the aperture ranges from f/2.6-f/5.5. I like this camera because it’s fast and doesn’t leave waiting for that micro-second when your subject is inconveniently whizzing past you. The camera takes two AA batteries. We used two alkaline batteries, which offered over 130 pictures (after which I lost count). The camera costs Rs 10,500 with a 1GB card. Totally worth it!

Kodak M1033

Kodak has been at the forefront of breakthrough technologies for ages now. Obviously, there had to been one from its stable. Though I’m not a big fan of Kodak cameras, this one is worth a mention.
The manual modes aren’t anything to talk about, though I chose this one for mere convenience. There is something called the smart mode. What it does is select the right scene mode for you. So you can go ahead and trust the camera's instincts, and be completely at ease when your lazy genes kick in.
It takes less than a second, virtually no lag-time at all, to shift from one scene mode to another. The fact that the 3-inch LCD screen, which will make your pictures look ten times better than on the computer, can display 230,000 pixels is something to flaunt for sure. The camera comes with a rechargeable Lithium-ion battery, which is really power-hungry. On a full charge it gave me 44 pictures. So this is the only downside of the camera. The camera costs Rs 11,000, down by a good 1K from when it was launched. It’s ultra-compact and lets you click good pictures without any worry at all.

Fujifilm Finepix S5800

The only difference between this one and the S5700 is the megapixel count. A slightly upped 8.0MP (from the former's 7.1) is surely what you were hoping for? However, this is the last thing to get this digicam a place in our list. What brings it on board is the cool performance and the ability to live up to its superzoom qualities with panache. It comes with 10x optical zoom, but sadly there's no optical stabilization mechanism. However, if you are interested in macro shots, you will be happy to know it has a good super macro mode, which enables shooting from as little as 1cm.
The good thing is that the S5800 is completely customizable, with manual exposure, white balance and manual focus. The image quality is good, with nice sharp and crisp pictures. This is what you should aim for if you want a superzoom. It uses four AA batteries given the right type used, it will fetch you more than 150 pictures. It costs Rs 7,900, and things don't get better than this. I particularly love the low battery consumption of this camera.

Conclusion

Instead of confusing you with multiple options, I've given you the best in each category: prosumer, ultra-compact, and superzoom (in that order). These cameras are exclusive and there’s absolutely no further comparison required to choose the best. The winner is of course the one among the lot that you like best. Do bear in mind that our choice of camera is driven largely by performance and ease of use. And your opinion matters, so do let us know your thoughts by leaving a comment below.