The Nikon P60 is a compact all-around camera that features a moderate 5x zoom. The 36-180mm zoom range just falls a bit short of the traditional 50-200mm portrait range, and close-up opportunities are somewhat limited with only a 36mm wide-angle.

Shutter lag on the P60 is slightly above average, although it still won’t be very easy to react quickly or precisely time your shots. The high-ISO ability is slightly below-average, so while you may be able to freeze your kids’ and pets’ motion in low-light, the result will be very noisy.

The Canon A590 IS is the budget camera in Canon’s A-series, offering a small 4x zoom that only provides a 35-140mm zoom range, falling well short of the ideal 50-200mm range for portraits. Close-up opportunities are also limited by the 35mm wide-angle.

Shutter lag on the A590 is about average, so you may have some difficulty reacting quickly and precisely timing your shots. The high ISO ability of the A590 is about average, but typical of Canon cameras leaves in a lot of noise in order to retain detail. This results in images that are easier to edit later, but extremely grainy pictures straight out of the camera.

The Fujifilm J50 is an entry-level ultracompact camera that packs a big (for its size) 5x zoom lens. Covering the 37-185mm range, the J50 falls just short of the typical 50-200mm range but covers it better than most cameras in this class.

Shutter lag on the J50 is a little slow, making it difficult to react quickly or time your photos precisely. The J50’s high-ISO performance is also slightly below average - while you’ll still be able to freeze motion in low-light situations, the images will tend to be noisy and blotchy.