1. If you find yourself looking at pictures and wondering, “Was he four years old or five years old when we went to Disneyland?”, then the Panasonic Lumix DMC-LX1 could be just the camera for you. Among its 14 scene modes is a Baby mode that records the exact date within the image file information. When pictures are uploaded, you will know that the picture of your son was taken when he was 3 years, 5 months, and 16 days old. This system helps keep pictures organized and helps your memory later on in life.

The 8.4-megapixel Panasonic LX1 has another interesting feature: its image sensor is formatted to record widescreen pictures and movies. The 16:9 format can be changed to the more traditional 4:3 or 3:2 for prints, but the widescreen option allows for nice landscapes, wide family portraits, and movies that will make you want to eat popcorn while watching. The Leica 4x zoom lens has an optical image stabilization system that keeps those movies from looking jumpy and reduces the amount of blur in pictures. The lens has a 28 mm focal length at its widest, so families don’t have to organize themselves into three rows of standing, kneeling, and sitting to fit into a tiny frame. The Panasonic LX1 has a 2.5-inch LCD screen on its 4.2 x 2.2 x 1-inch body.

The camera comes packaged with several software programs, including one that has templates to easily make and print calendars and photo books. This digital camera sells for about $500 and even has a flip animation mode where kids can snap lots of shots of blocks or clay and then string the pictures into a movie clip.

 

2. Imagine traveling on vacation without a single complaint. Whether your family is on an airplane or driving through the plains, the Fujifilm FinePix V10 can keep the kids busy. This digital camera has four video games on it with all kinds of difficulty levels. The games include a maze, a puzzle of a previously taken picture, bouncing blocks to reveal an image, and a Star Wars-type game hat involves shooting spacecrafts. If you or your kids will be using the games extensively, you’ll want to get a power adaptor to hook up to the V10 as its battery lasts for only 170 shots.

The 5.1-megapixel Fujifilm V10 has great imaging capabilities too. It has a 3.4x optical zoom lens, a flash that extends to 14 ft, and ISO sensitivities from 64-1600 to get great nighttime shots without the flash. There are six scene modes, one of which takes two pictures – one with the flash and one without – in case you’re not sure which way would look better. The V10 takes clean images with accurate colors and can do so even in low light. It has hardly any shutter lag at all, so you won’t have to wait and wait for the camera to take the pictures after you’ve pressed the button. The 3.3 x 2.5 x 0.9-inch metal camera is sturdy and flat, so it can travel in a pocket or bag without incurring damage.

The back of the V10 has an enormous 3-inch LCD screen with 230,000 pixels; all of the controls are laid out horizontally below the screen much like typical video gaming devices. The Fujifilm FinePix V10 originally retailed for $349 when it was announced in early 2006 but now sells for under $300.

 

3. If your computer’s desktop is as cluttered as the refrigerator door, you may need a digital camera that can organize your pictures and help you to share them easily. The 4-megapixel Kodak EasyShare-one does this for a relatively skimpy price tag of $199. This camera shoots and stores pictures into its 256 MB of internal memory; you can view the pictures on the huge 3-inch touch-screen and manipulate them with the tiny stylus. Pictures can be filed into albums or automatically loaded into a calendar within the camera.

The Kodak EasyShare-one comes with a WiFi card that searches for wireless networks and once found, can email pictures directly from the camera. It can also wirelessly transfer pictures to your computer, where the included Kodak EasyShare Software keeps them organized by date. The EasyShare-one takes decent pictures in bright light, but doesn’t do as well in darker situations. It has 16 scene modes including a Children mode that uses fast shutter speeds to freeze your kids’ legs as they run across the yard. Your kids will then love to gather around you and check out the pictures on the big screen. This compact digital camera comes with a two-year warranty and a leather carrying case for its 4.1 x 2.5 x 1-inch frame.

 

4. If your kids regularly destroy objects and you don’t want your digital camera to be one of them, the Olympus Stylus 720 SW could be for your family. This camera is water proof to depths of 10 ft and shock proof from falls of 5 ft. Don’t tell your kids that; they may start chucking it at the walls from 6 ft away. Still, a little drop on the pavement here or a little dip in the sink there won’t ruin your pictures and camera.

The 7.1-megapixel Stylus 720 is built with rubber seals throughout its 0.8-inch thin body. The flat camera has a 3x optical zoom lens, a 2.5-inch LCD screen, and 19 MB of internal memory. There is a help guide for beginners, so if you or your teenagers are just getting into photography this is a good place to start. The Olympus Stylus 720 SW has 23 scene modes including Available Light Portrait for photographing newborn babies and Auction for photographing outgrown baby clothes to sell online. The 720 can record movies, but they look choppy because of the 15 frame-per-second recording rate. Once pictures and videos are taken, they can be viewed in a slide show from the playback mode. The digital camera has a single track it can play for background music, as well as a host of fades and other transitions to mix things up a bit.

 

Unfortunately, the 720 SW is notorious for producing blurry pictures. The Olympus Stylus 720 SW retails for $399 and is great for parents who want their kids to use a camera - it is slobber-proof and tantrum-proof - but don't necessarily care about the quality of the images.

 

5. The Canon PowerShot A620 is part of one of the best-selling series of digital cameras. It has a fairly basic feature set and takes decent pictures too. The A620 has 7.1 megapixels and a 4x optical zoom lens on a camera body that isn’t meant to be crammed into a pocket, but is still compact. The body measures 4.1 x 2.6 x 1.9 inches and has a 2-inch LCD screen on the back that folds out and rotates.

The A620 runs on four AA batteries, which are convenient when vacationing. It’s much harder to find specialized lithium-ion batteries at a gas station, but AA batteries can be found just about anywhere. The Canon A620 is easy to use and its menu system is organized nicely. The camera offers more manual control than most compact models too; it has a fully manual mode along with its priority, program, automatic, and 11 scene modes. It has a Kids & Pets mode and My Colors modes that allow pictures to be taken in black-and-white, sepia, or with various other color filters.

The Canon PowerShot A620 is made with family portraits in mind too. It has a custom self-timer that can be set to delay for 0-30 seconds, then it takes 1-10 pictures. This will eliminate the ever-obnoxious sprint from the camera to the group over and over and over again, and will hopefully eliminate complaints from the kids about the group shot taking too long. The A620 was released last year at a retail of $399, but it can easily be found online for about $250 now.

 

6. Perhaps you want gorgeous pictures from a camera that can fit in a diaper bag. It’s hard to find a good camera that small, but the 1.1-inch thick Fujifilm FinePix F30 keeps subjects focused. The 6.3-megapixel camera takes very clean pictures with its automatic and semi-manual modes. It has aperture and shutter speed priority modes for parents who prefer a little more control, but it also has 16 scene modes and a fully automatic mode. One of the scene modes is Natural Light, so you can snap shots of your adorably innocent sleeping children. If you’re not sure whether to use the flash or not, there is a Natural Light & With Flash scene mode; this snaps two consecutive pictures, one with the flash and one without.

The FinePix F30’s flash isn’t the type to make faces white out into nothingness though. Instead, it is equipped with an i-Flash system that meters light on the subject as well as background light, then adjusts the output accordingly. The flash is powerful too, extending to 21 ft. The Fujifilm F30 has a 3x optical zoom lens and a 2.5-inch LCD screen with great resolution. It is one of a handful of small digital cameras that can take a picture right after you press the button; most take a half-second or so to focus.

The speedy F30 lets you record up to 30 seconds of audio with each picture, so you can snap a shot of your son singing and dancing and record his rendition of “Twinkle, Twinkle Little Star” as well. The F30 has ISO sensitivity options from 100-3200, so if you don’t want to use the flash you don’t need to. The battery lasts an incredible 580 shots too, so you don’t have to worry about recharging every other hour. The Fujifilm FinePix F30 retails for $349 and is the best option for snapping great pictures from a compact digital camera.

 

7. For those parents who appreciate lots of easy to use scene modes in a very portable package, the Casio Exilim EX-S600 is about as small as it gets. At only 0.63 inches thin, this digital camera has a 3x optical zoom lens, a 2.2-inch LCD screen, and 34 scene modes. There is a Children mode, but the scenes get more interesting than that. An Old Photo mode makes the colors vibrant, straightens right angles, and allows for cropping and copying of the original version.

The 6-megapixel Casio S600 also has an anti-shake mode that works while shooting stills and video. The camera’s movie mode is one of its best assets: it records television-quality clips and has an interesting feature. The Past Movie mode records five seconds prior to the moment you push the shutter release button, so you’ll never miss a moment again. This digital camera also allows you to snap full-resolution pictures in the middle of recording a movie. This Exilim comes in trendy silver, orange, and blue colors and is flat enough to stash in a pocket. The Casio S600 retails for $399 and would be good for occasional photography with its portable frame.

 

8. If you want a long zoom lens but need it in a body that is easier to carry around, you could try the Kodak EasyShare V610. The 6.1-megapixel digital camera is one of the smallest models with a 10x optical zoom lens. It is trendy and stylish and very easy to use. The V610 has two lenses stacked vertically: one measures 38-114 mm and the other 130-380 mm. There is a little jump in the zoom range when crossing between the lenses, but that is the sacrifice that is made for portability. The 10x zoom can be used in the movie mode, where the jump is more noticeable. Still, it is much better than not having any zoom or being limited to 3x zoom like on so many other compact models.

The Kodak EasyShare V610 has a metal body with a 2.8-inch, 230k pixel LCD screen on the back. The camera is only 0.9 inches thick and it has a Bluetooth chip so images can be wirelessly transferred to computers, printers, cell phones, and other Bluetooth devices. The camera takes decent pictures in bright light with its 22 scene modes, but doesn’t do well when the sun goes down. The V610 has Kodak’s Perfect Touch technology to remedy some of its lighting woes. In the playback mode, you can apply the technology to fix lighting issues and eliminate red-eye. It is also there that movies can be trimmed and pictures can be filed into albums. The V610 has a red Share button that is easy to find and makes printing and transferring pictures simple.  The EasyShare V610 sells for just under $400 now. 

 

9. If you don’t have small children hanging on your neck at all hours of the day, perhaps you could try hanging a Canon PowerShot S3 IS there. It makes a great companion to parents who just want one device instead of buying a digital camera and a camcorder – and don’t mind that it can’t fit in a pocket. The 4.5 x 3.1 x 3-inch body is shaped like a single lens reflex camera but its lens doesn’t come off. The S3 has a 12x optical zoom lens that accepts conversion lenses and is optically stabilized to keep pictures and videos focused and steady.

The 6.1-megapixel digital camera has incredible hybrid capabilities with its long lens and stabilization system. It has a movie mode that records at television-quality and offers plenty of options. You can change the audio sampling rate, the microphone level, and the wind filter. The 12x zoom works while recording, and movie recording can be executed from any mode with the MovieSnap button. Indeed, this camera’s movie mode has its own button so that you don’t have to flip around the mode dial to record a quick clip. It also allows you to capture full-resolution still pictures while recording movies.

The Canon PowerShot S3 IS snaps great still pictures too. Its colors are nearly perfect, it has a full spectrum of manual to automatic functionality, and it has 12 scene modes. The camera has a camcorder-like LCD monitor that folds out and rotates. The sturdy runs on four AA batteries, which are always easy to find in a bind. Alkaline batteries get only 110 shots, but Canon’s branded NiMH batteries last 550 shots. The Canon PowerShot S3 IS snaps great pictures, records awesome video, and retails for $499.

 

10. For parents who have outgrown their first digital cameras and want something that will give them a little more control, there is the Sony Cyber-shot DSC-H5. This digital camera has 7.1 megapixels and a 12x lens that allows you to stand on the edge of the soccer field and still be able to zoom in and grab a good shot of your kid’s goal. The H5 has a fully manual mode, priority modes, an auto mode, and 7 scene modes. Despite its manual functionality, it is still easy to use. All of the menus are in text, so there’s no guessing what different icons mean. There is even a help guide to explain the different modes and features.

The SLR-shaped Sony H5 will need a separate camera bag as its 4.5 x 4.3 x 3.7-inch frame just won’t travel well in a tote bag with coloring books and all those Cheerios crumbs. The back of the camera has a 3-inch LCD screen that is nice for when your entire family wants to gather around and look at the pictures you just took. The 12x lens cannot come off, but optional conversion lenses can be attached to get a wider angle or for even more zoom. The camera takes decent videos, but only with the Sony Memory Stick Pro Duo media. In the playback mode, videos can be divided into two clips. This is perfect for those lengthy videos where you spend 10 minutes persuading your kid to take a step, then the step happens in about 2 seconds. The Sony Cyber-shot DSC-H5 makes a great camera for parents who want more manual control; it retails for $499 and can be found for about fifty dollars less online.