Pixiq

Last week somone asked me to recommend a camera for under £100. Suffice to say, it’s a very crowded market and if you’re not sure what’s what, it must be damned confusing. Let alone that if you walk into one of the major retailers the most help that the sales staff can provide is to tell you how many bloody megapixels the things have. Still, there are some nifty little cameras out there sub £100, but if you’re able to spend a touch more, say £120, you can lay your hands on an entirely decent point-and-shoot.

To that end, we’re running a series of review round-ups looking at compacts just a smidge above entry level and between £100 and £120. Mostly, that’ll get you a wide angle lens somewhere around 28mm, some 5x optical zoomage, a bit of HD movie action (maybe 720p), some fun filters and effects, and not a whole lot of manual control (if any). Oh, and 14 megapixels. If you’re interested in that sort of thing.

First up on the journey of compact camera wonder is Canon’s A3200. It seems to have impressed the reviewers, for what it offers and at the price. But as ever, we leave you to judge for yourself!

Cameras.co.uk says ‘One or two test shots in this batch that are weaker than I would like to see. Not surprisingly these occur when the lens is pushed to its extremes. On the whole picture quality is good for a camera in this price range.’ – Read the full review at Cameras.co.uk

Camera Labs says ‘Looks-wise, this isn’t one of Canon’s finest efforts, with angles converging all over the place, but in operation it works effortlessly well. The dial is easily gripped between thumb and forefinger and the click action is very positive. As with all Canon mode dials, you can turn it through 360 degrees so to get from Program mode to Movie mode you just keep turning, there’s no need to reverse and go back the way you came.’ – Read the full review at Camera Labs

Digital Camera News says ‘When you want to change the camera settings you can access more advanced controls through the functions area. If you find menus confusing there is an automatic setting you can use to decrease the number of menu options available. Alternatively you can switch to Easy Mode and disable the menu altogether.’ – Read the full review on Digital Camera News

ePHOTOzine says ‘Although not packed with features, the PowerShot 3200 IS takes excellent pictures for an extremely reasonable price. The mode dial makes using the camera even easier than most compact cameras and the filters make it really easy to add that extra bit of creativity to your images.’ – Read the full review at ePHOTOzine

Lets Go Digital says ‘A genuine Canon 28mm wide-angle lens with 5x optical zoom provides great flexibility in all situations, whether recording family gatherings, holidays or evening events. The versatile zoom range will ensure everyone fits in the frame, or can get closer to subjects for intimate portraits. The integrated lens-shift optical Image Stabilizer – an unrivalled advantage of Canon cameras – reduces the effects of camera shake, which can add blur to images shot in low light or at the telephoto end of the zoom.’ – Read the full review at Lets Go Digital

PhotographyBLOG says ‘The Canon Powershot A3200 IS is an easy to use camera with a relatively decent build quality. It has a metal shell on a plastic chassis. It’s a good size with all the controls falling to our fingertips. The plastic tripod bush will probably wear out earlier than a metal one but users of this camera will be less likely to use one on a regular basis if at all. The built-in flash and high ISO 1600 performance means that the photographer using this camera will opt for those modes before investing in legs.’ – Read the full review at PhotographyBLOG