I'm sorry, but the Amazon Big Spring Sale compact camera deals are boring...so I found better ones

Canon PowerShot V1 on a wooden surface — (Image credit: James Artaius)

The point-and-shoot camera’s rise in popularity has brought a rise in prices along with it – and a decline in the number of discounts on the pocketable format.

Amazon’s Big Spring Sale is going on now, but most of the compact camera deals that I found feel a bit lackluster. There are a lot of cameras without a brand attached. (And several that look like they used AI to generate the product images. Gross!)

There are a few gems among Amazon’s discounted point-and-shoot cameras – like the Chuzhao if you’re looking for a retro toy camera or the Kodak Pixpro C1 if you want that retro lo-fi look for $99.

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But these are the best point-and-shoot deals that I’ve found so far – and not all of them are from Amazon.

If you want a cheap compact camera with a retro look that gets you off your screen, the Camp Snap is a fantastic option. The images remind me of a digital version of disposable film in that they're soft, imperfect, and have direct flash. But I loved the simple build with no screen so I could focus on snapping photos without distractions.

The camera is cheaper at B&H than at Amazon as of this writing, but if you want more color options, you can also find the discount directly from Camp Snap.

Read the full Camp Snap review

The Instax Mini Evo is one of my favorite cheap cameras, thanks to the retro design and long list of creative tools. It's a digital camera with an instant printer built in. The resolution won't match pricier cameras, but I love the creative tools that include light leaks and double exposures.

The camera itself isn't on sale, but B&H has a bundle with a 20 pack of film for less than the camera alone, or Adorama has a bundle for a little more that also includes a microSD card (which are pretty pricey right now) and case.

Read the Instax Mini Evo review

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With more than a decade of experience writing about cameras and technology, Hillary K. Grigonis leads the US coverage for Digital Camera World. Her work has appeared in Business Insider, Digital Trends, Pocket-lint, Rangefinder, The Phoblographer, and more. Her wedding and portrait photography favors a journalistic style. She’s a former Nikon shooter and a current Fujifilm user, but has tested a wide range of cameras and lenses across multiple brands. Hillary is also a licensed drone pilot.

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