These are great cameras for vacationers or for everyday use, due to their versatile combination of zoom range and portability. They're small enough to bring anywhere, and they offer enough optical zoom to cover anything from wide-angle scenery to faraway shots of sporting events or wildlife.

Although many pocket megazoom cameras have manual controls such as aperture and shutter priority, not all of them do, so be sure to check the specs if you'd like those features. These cameras normally have very good optical image stabilization to bolster their high-zoom lenses.

Strengths: Better image quality than most fixed-lens cameras; manual controls over shutter speed and aperture settings; usually has a wide aperture at wide-angle end of the zoom; good secondary camera for DSLR owners; good learning tool for novice shooters

Weaknesses: More expensive than a basic point-and-shoot; can be more complicated to use than a basic point-and-shoot; smaller optical zoom range