If you're looking for an inexpensive point-and-shoot that offers a nice value proposition, consider the Pentax Optio V20. This little camera shoots 8-megapixel images, offers an impressive 5x zoom and a large 3-inch LCD screen, and sells for a reasonable $250.

The big selling point of this camera is the size of its zoom, given the fact that it's quite a small camera. The 5x lens has a 6.3mm-31.5mm range (equivalent to 36mm-180mm in 35mm photography). You can also boost the zoom range by reducing megapixel count using a function called Intelligent Zoom, which allows 6.3x zoom, with 7.1x available at 4 megapixels, 8.0x at 3 megapixels, and 10.2x at 2 megapixels.

Apart from the lens, the other notable component is the large, bright 3-inch LCD, which makes lining up shots and reviewing the results a pleasure. On the negative side of the ledger, we had a bit of trouble with the flash, since it’s perfectly placed to get blocked by your fingers when shooting.

The controls and menu scheme are clearly laid out and well labeled, making them easy to use. However, this camera is very short on manual controls, as there's no way to set aperture (which runs f/3.5 to f/5.6) or shutter speed (1/2000 to four seconds). The ISO range is impressive, spanning ISO 80 to 6400, though 3200 and 6400 are only available at reduced 5-megapixel resolution.

Performance (read in-depth lab performance at DigitalCameraInfo.com)
The performance of the V20 in our extensive lab tests was more or less on par with many other cameras, with a few areas where it did quite well, and a couple where it was pretty disappointing.

The areas where it excelled were low light and video performance. Results in our tests for color accuracy, dynamic range and image noise were average. The V20 did poorly in tests relating to white balance and resolution. It also performed sub-par on our timing tests, taking almost four seconds to start up, and had inconsistent speed when shooting  in burst mode.

Comparisons (read in-depth lab comparisons at DigitalCameraInfo.com)
We compared the V20 to four other pocket-sized cameras: the Canon PowerShot SD1100 IS, Casio Exilim EX-Z300, Panasonic DMC-LZ8 and Samsung TL34HD.

When taken head to head with the Canon, both have a list price of $250, and both shoot at 8 megapixels, but the Pentax has the superior 5x zoom and larger LCD while the Canon has built-in optical image stabilization. The PowerShot did better in color accuracy and white balance, but not as well with image noise and resolution.

For $300 you can choose  the Casio Exilim EX-Z300, which only has a 3x zoom lens, but has a wider maximum aperture and shoot at 10-megapixel resolution. Like the Pentax, it's light on manual controls and offers middling image quality based on our lab testing. Our review found the controls hard to use and the price hard to justify.

The Panasonic DMC-LZ8 isn't as sleek as the V20, but also offers a 5x zoom and 8-megapixel resolution, along with full manual controls and optical image stabilization. While it had sub-par results for resolution and white balance, it will only set you back $180.

The Samsung TL34HD won our point-and-shoot camera of the year award for 2008. While it doesn't have the same impressive zoom range as the Pentax, and will set you back an extra $50, the Samsung does boast a 14.7-megapixel sensor, a fast 3.6x zoom lens, and overall good results in our lab testing.