OfficeMax offers $80 digital camera doorbuster: deal or no deal?

Digital cameras are popular holiday gifts, and finding a good one for under $100 is a difficult task. OfficeMax's leaked Black Friday circular offers the Nikon Coolpix L20 for $80 -- a claimed $50 savings. Is it worth getting up at the crack of dawn? First, let's look at the current price: today the L20 sells for $110 at OfficeMax.com, and hovers around $100 at most online outlets. That's only a $20-$30 savings from what you'd pay today, not $50.

Our take -- there are better cameras out there for the money. Here's why:

A look at the features. The Nikon Coolpix L20 has 10-megapixel resolution with 3.6x optical zoom, a 3-inch LCD and a number of automatic features such as smile and blink detection. An update of the 8-megapixel Coolpix L19, which gets good reviews from a few sources, the L20's initial reviews are mixed.

What the reviews are saying. The Nikon Coolpix L20 gets a glowing review from PC World, where editors call it "one of the best bargain point-and-shoots" of the year, though the lone user review pans it. CNET U.K. is more critical, warning that "its budget nature soon starts to reveal itself." Amazon.com has more than 65 user reviews, mostly raves, but about 10 or so users say their pictures consistently turned out blurry.

Pros:

•  Lots of automatic features
• Stylish

Cons:

• Many users report blurry images
• Not the best camera for the money

Verdict: Wait for a better offer.

If you're looking for a reliable, but inexpensive point-and shoot, the Canon PowerShot A480, one of our top picks in the cheap-digital-camera report, is currently selling for about $100. We predict its price will go down as the holiday shopping season gears up.