What is a good camera for 300$ or under?

http://www.dpreview.com/reviews/specs/Canon/canon_a580.asp

You may want to check out this thread.

I strongly recommend the Lumix. It’s really inexpensive and takes amazing pictures for a point and shoot. You can sometimes find the highest end models on sale for 250.00.

Are you looking for anything in particular? ie, a big zoom, touch screen, certain megapixels, sleek design, whatever…? That tends to help in narrowing it down, since there are soo many cameras to choose from.

Thanks guys for all your answers.

@deni I am looking for a small attractive compact camera with good picture quality. I don’t need one of those huge ones with the gigantic lens.

I HIGHLY reccomend the Nikon CoolPix L100

I’ve had it for over year. Amazing quality. And amazing pictures.
http://reviews.cnet.com/digital-cameras/nikon-coolpix-l100/4505-6501_7-33517678.html

Canon SD1200IS for $150 should satisfy most
Canon SD980 $300 if you feel like throwing some cash and get a larger focal range.

The Nikon L100 is not a very compact camera. Anyone who wants an ultra zoom for more bulk would love it though.

i agree with @arpinum. the Nikon L100 is not very compact so if you are looking for a small camera, i wouldn’t suggest it. Although it is fairly light.

@tyrantxseries has a great suggestion with the a580. Takes AA batteries, has everything you might need. A bit bulkier than the SD line, it won’t fit into a pair of skinny jeans, but still a good choice. Only problem with this cam is that the recycle rate on the flash is poor.

I thought it was discontinued? If you can find it, it might be $60—$70, and would be the best digital bargain camera.

I disagree about geting one that takes AA batteries. Almost every small camera now takes the lithium battery, for a reason, because that battery will last weeks and allows for a bit of a sleeker design. And…it’s just far less of a hassle.

This one looks good to me, plus its canon
http://www.usa.canon.com/consumer/controller?act=ModelInfoAct&fcategoryid=145&modelid=18144

You can get AA lithium batteries. I agree the non-AA batteries are sleeker, but more expensive. Again, I liked it as a budget camera.

If you’re looking for something modern, convenient and efficient – the Sony Cybershot and Nikon Coolpix range have some nice compact cameras. I’m sure all manufacturers have nice compact cameras, but these are the ones I have used specifically and would recommend. The most important thing to look for in a camera is the image sensor. Pay no mind to mexapixels – unless there is an insanely high amount, because this usually means all the data is crammed into a tiny image sensor. Six mexapixels is more than enough in a compact point and shoot camera.

@jambon_777 You specifically asked for a digital camera, but have you considered a film camera? In comparison to digital point and shoot cameras, film cameras are superior in dynamic range, resolution, and tonal quality, amongst a myriad of other things. 35mm SLRs are the easiest to learn, however if you’d like something a little more compact a rangefinder would be sufficient. Both of these can be had for well under $300 – usually well under $100. You mentioned that you didn’t want to carry around a large lense, so I’d suggest getting a prime! 50mm lenses are super cheap and easy to come by in any old camera shops, and because they usually have “fast glass” – they perform exceptionally well in low-lighting without the aid of a flash.