A is a no-brainer pick for anyone who just wants an affordable camera to have on hand at all times; most of them even shoot 720p HD video now. In-camera automation is getting better and better, meaning that these cameras basically drive themselves; you don't get manual controls that help you fine-tune your photos, but these cameras normally have very good Auto modes and scene selections that choose the appropriate in-camera settings for your shot.

These cameras usually have small sensors, so don't fall into the trap of buying an inexpensive camera with a very high megapixel count. Packing more megapixels into a small sensor usually leads to image noise, especially when you're shooting at higher ISO settings.

Although they won't offer the same optical zoom reach as a more-expensive camera, a good thing to look for in a basic point-and-shoot camera is wide-angle coverage (ideally around 28mm on the wide-angle end). That extra wide-angle coverage comes in very handy for group shots, arm's length self portraits, and landscape shots.

Different specs are important to different people, but there are a few generalizations we can make when it comes to cameras.