This 8-megapixel GE A830 compact digital camera is built for consumers on a budget. It has standard features, with a 3x optical zoom lens and 2.5-inch LCD screen. Though it is priced less than $150, it is far from a bargain.

One of the most important things to consider when purchasing a camera is the quality of the images it takes. Our lab tests show the GE A830 has trouble with colors: yellows, greens, and blues look dull and sometimes half the picture is tinted a different shade than the other half.

The A830’s resolution performance is unpredictable; it is impressive in some pictures and substandard in others. Even in decent lighting conditions, the camera produces images fraught with noise. Noise continues to grow in low light, while color saturation and fidelity wanes.

The results of our lab tests translate to bad pictures; blurry shots of your daughter’s soccer goal, overexposed greasy foreheads in your holiday portraits, and discolored pictures of your favorite pajamas.

The A830 has average components with substandard performance. The A830’s 2.5-inch LCD screen offers minimal resolution at just 153,000 pixels. The screen can only be seen well under indoor lighting; step outside and all contrast is lost. The slightly more expensive Fuji FinePix F480 has a larger screen with better resolution.

The GE A830’s built-in flash is the same as the GE A730’s. The flash’s coverage doesn’t reach far and it overexposes subjects close to the camera. Illumination is also inconsistent, leaving dark corners and a bright spot near the top of pictures. In general, users should avoid using this flash.

The camera’s 3x optical zoom lens extends from the front of the camera and makes a horrible electronic noise when it zooms. The Canon PowerShot A560 and Fuji F480 have lenses that reach a little further. The noise and hassle would be worth it if the optics produced crisp pictures, but they don’t.

The A830’s plastic shell is as smooth as an M&M and glossy as a microwave finish – and quite hard to handle. The GE A830 isn’t as attractive as the GE G1, which is a thin, 8-megapixel camera with an internal 3x optical zoom lens and many of the same features. The G1’s price tag is similar to the A830’s too, so if you’re set on a GE and fixed on appearances, don’t settle for the relatively ugly and 1.1-inch thick A830.

The GE A830 is designed to be user-friendly, with a collection of automated modes and a simple layout. It has a dedicated Auto mode along with 14 Scene modes, a Movie mode, and what GE calls a “Manual” mode. It isn’t really manual, though, because it doesn’t allow users to adjust shutter speed or aperture. It does allow access to a few other manual controls, including an ISO range of 80-1600, exposure compensation, metering, and autofocus.

Like many digital cameras released this year, the GE A830 has a face detection system. It is one of the worst on the market, however. It sluggishly recognizes only one face at a time and does so after flashing a creepy smiley face across the screen. Most other digital cameras, including the sub-$200 Fuji F40fd and Canon A570 models, can recognize and quickly focus on up to nine or 10 faces.

The GE A830’s Movie mode is awful. It has standard 640 x 480-pixel resolution that can record 30 or 15 frames per second (fps). There is also an electronic image stabilization system, but it only works when the frame rate is set to 15 fps – so videos are either smooth but bumpy at 30 fps or steady but resemble a flip-book at 15 fps. Most outdoor videos are overexposed and smattered with distracting purple streaks. To top it off, the audio is horrid. Don’t record to the 28MB internal memory either, because videos saved there and played back are further compressed and stutter every few seconds. This Movie mode is worse than one you’d find on a cell phone.

While the GE A830 carries a few notable features such as an in-camera Panorama mode, consumers will have to settle for discolored, noisy still images and streaked video footage to have it. The price of the GE A830 is appealing, but that’s about it. The Canon PowerShot A560 and Fujifilm FinePix F480 are far better choices in this bracket.