The Coolpix S220 from Nikon is the cheapest of the bunch, readily available for $125 or less if you shop around. For that price you get a lot of modern tech -- at least on paper. 10 megapixels are on tap, but video maxes out at a very VGA 640 x 480.

Maximum aperture for the 3x optical zoom lens is an average 3.1, though there is optical stabilization in there. Maximum ISO is 2000, but with considerable noise appearing at anything over 400 it's clear this is a camera best-suited for outdoor shooting.