Cheap Digital Camera Reviews:Casio Exilim, Sony Cybershot, Olympus VG and Panasonic Lumix

We knew we wanted a camera that was under $200; preferably around $100.  We wanted a camera with a digital video mode and one that had a quick photo response and would capture the moment we wanted and not one 5 seconds later.  Here is our story.

The Casio Exilim EX-ZS Series

What happened was our camera of 2 years finally died on us and so we needed to replace it.  It was the second Casio Exilim camera that we had purchased in the past 5 years.  Both lasted us about 2 years each; the average time a mid-line, point-and-click camera lasts these days.  We liked the first Casio Exilim so much that when it died we just bought the same camera again, except after 2 years technology had increased it's mega pixels, making it a better camera.  But after 2 more years the second one also died so we decided to try another brand to see if we liked something else better.

Here is the Casio Exilim; a very good camera:

After the second Casio Exilim broke we decided to try a different brand.  We bought it from Costco because they have a good return policy and we weren't sure we were going to like the Panasonic Lumix even though we spent almost an hour choosing a camera in the store.  It was recommended by the Costco employee and seemed like it was going to be a good camera.  It was almost $100 more than the Exilim but had a touch screen and seemed more high-tech.

I decided to return the camera to Costco because we didn't like it.  Unfortunately, at the end of a field trip with my daughter, the camera fell out of my purse and was run over by a car.  That didn't break the camera entirely; just broke the screen but to fix it cost almost as much as to replace it.  And Costco's "great" return policy doesn't cover accidental damage.  Bummer!  We only used that camera for 2 weeks.  It was like flushing $200 down the drain!

I went to Best Buy for my next camera.  Don't think we are spoiled.  We have 5 kids and had birthdays and holidays coming up and couldn't miss capturing all the great moments.  So we HAD to replace our broken camera(s).

After about only 20 minutes of testing out the different cameras in the $100 price range, the employee told me the Olympus was the best in that category.  I had decided that you never really can tell a good camera until you've used it for a couple of days.  Best Buy actually does have a really good return policy, but it costs you.  You can purchase an "insurance" plan for your device and if it breaks for any reason--including accidental damage--they will replace it.  So I bought the Olympus VG-120 and also the return/replace plan and took it home to give it a go.

Thankfully, we were able to return this camera.  We only owned it for a week and Best Buy's return policy was as good as it sounded.  A week was the soonest I could fit it in my schedule to make the drive back to Best Buy to return it.  We wanted a "cheap digital camera" as in "not expensive" camera, not a "cheap" as in "poor quality" camera.

Maybe I'm not the best person to review this camera since I only owned it for a week but that alone says something about the camera.  It only took me one day to decide I didn't like it.  At least with the Panasonic Lumix there were things I liked about it and I kept wanting to like it and it took me about 8 days to decide that I actually didn't like it.  The Olympus VG-120 is one of the cheaper digital cameras with a decent amount of mega pixels but we decided we would rather pay a little more for a better quality camera.

At Best Buy we spent a little more time and "test drove" a lot of their cameras that fell in the under-$200 price range.  The Sony Cybershot 16 mega pixels camera was what we ended up getting it.  It cost about $50 more than the Olympus but it seemed like a better camera.

Our two favorite cameras were the Casio Exilim and the Sony Cybershot.  They are about equal in price and in operation and function.  They are about the cheapest digital camera you would want to purchase if you are looking for any sort of good quality.  And even at their low price point of around $100, they have high mega pixels and have video recording.

So what's the next camera we will buy when our Sony dies?

I guess that will depend on if it lasts longer than 2 years.  If so, it will have proved itself to outlive the Casio Exilim and we'll stick with the Sony.  If not, we will return it to Best Buy because we bought the 2 year insurance return plan and we will likely buy the Casio Exilim again because it really was a great camera.