Buyer's Guide HomeHoliday Buyer's Guide 2009

Camera Buyer's Guide	Slim and Stylish
Advanced Compacts	High Zoom
DSLR and Micro Four Thirds

Want to get closer? These cameras, ranging from 7x pocket zooms up to a whopping 26x zoom, will definitely put you in the middle of the action. Many of them offer manual exposure modes for even more creative control. At DCR, we've long been fans of the ultrazoom and pocket zoom category. It's a great pairing of the ease of a fixed-lens camera with the power of a large zoom range. If you want to go big on a gift for the holidays, then this is the category for you.

Less Than $200

Kodak EasyShare Z915

The Kodak EasyShare Z915 features a 2.5 inch LCD, Kodak's integrated smart capture feature, some manual shooting controls, and is powered by AA batteries. It's not hard to find a deal on the Z915 that brings the price below $200.

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$200-$400

Canon PowerShot SX120 IS

The Canon PowerShot SX120 IS updates the PowerShot SX110 and sports a 10x optical zoom, a 10.0 megapixel sensor, and optical image stabilization. It offers shutter and aperture priority modes as well as a full manual shooting mode. We liked the large LCD and the small but worthwhile improvements that Canon made over the previous model.

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Casio Exilim EX-FH20

The Casio Exilim EX-FH20 is a 9.1 megapixel ultrazoom camera with a 20x wide-angle zoom lens. The FH20 uses a high-speed CMOS imager that allows the camera to shoot still images at up to 40 frames per second, and reduced resolution video at an amazing 1000 fps. Other features include a 3.0 inch LCD and HD video recording.

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Olympus Stylus SP-590 UZ

A wide angle lens with a zoom range that stands just above the competition at 26x make the SP590 UZ a veritable Swiss Army knife of a fixed-lens camera. The long zoom range is complemented by an able image stabilization system and advanced face detection technology.

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More than $400

Fujifilm FinePix S200EXR

The FinePix S200EXR couples a 14.3x optical zoom lens to Fujifilm's Super CCD EXR sensor. Our review saw a few extra stops gained in low-light shooting thanks to the innovative sensor. With full manual controls and a camera body that's every bit as sizable as a DSLR, it's a serious toy for the photo enthusiast.

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Sony Cyber-shot HX1

Blazing continuous shooting rates at over 10 fps. Full 1080p HD video recording. Articulating LCD. Need we say more? It's not the perfect ultrazoom, but it's loaded with just enough tempting features to put it on any tech guru's list.

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Buyer's Guide HomeHoliday Buyer's Guide 2009

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