Olympus SP-510 UltraZoom
Price £188
Tel 020 7253 2772
Web www.olympus.co.uk
Sensor resolution 7.1MP
Lens 10x optical zoom
Size 105 x 100 x 80mm
This camera offers something for everyone at a reasonable price. If you're used to using a film-based SLR, you'll appreciate the extensive manual controls, the traditional SLR-style switch layout, and the impressive picture quality. You can even manually focus this camera. Neither the electronic viewfinder nor the screen offer the clarity of an optical viewfinder, but the area that you focus in on is greatly magnified on screen to help you find that pin sharp setting. Novices are also in for a treat, thanks to an array of scene modes and an innovative 'guide' mode. This lets you set up the camera by selecting suitable statements, such as "I want to take a picture of a moving object".
Verdict The next best thing to a digital SLR, at a much more manageable price.
Rating: * * * * *

Pentax Optio T20
Price £194
Tel 01753 792 731
Web www.pentax.co.uk
Sensor resolution 7MP
Lens 3x optical zoom
Size 95 x 20 x 60mm
This camera's touch-sensitive screen is a little confusing at first, but soon becomes intuitive. We had mixed feelings about the photographs produced, since the landscape scene mode produced rather dark images. But pictures were incredibly sharp, and this sharpness was compromised only under high magnification. There are lots of scene modes, and a clever manual focus option.
Verdict The touch-screen eases operation once you're used to it.
Rating: * * *

Polaroid a300
Price £64.99
Tel 08706 003 030
Web www.argos.co.uk (Catalogue ref 560/5084)
Sensor resolution 3.2MP
Lens No optical zoom
Size 95 x 20 x 60mm
This is by far the cheapest model we tested, and proves that you get what you pay for. It feels very much like a basic compact film camera but with a digital sensor. There doesn't appear to be any form of focusing, either manual or automatic. And the gloomy test shot didn't give us great faith in the auto exposure. The only manual control offered is exposure compensation, but tweaks to the brightness don't show up on screen, making it hard to tell how much adjustment is needed. It's also got the smallest screen on test, and the contrast always appears to be either too dark or too bright.
Verdict Not one for the serious photographer.
Rating: *

Fuji Finepix F30
Price £185
Tel 0870 084 1310
Web www.fuji.co.uk
Sensor resolution 6.3MP
Lens 3x optical zoom
Size 95 x 25 x 55mm
This camera sets itself apart from similarly priced models thanks to its ISO 3200 setting, which means you won't need to use a flash even in dimly lit surroundings. Often super sensitive sensor settings result in unacceptable noise in the picture, but this was surprisingly muted when we tried it out. In fact, it would only be a problem if you were turning the photo into a very large print. As is so often the case with Fujis, there are plenty of automatics settings to help novices obtain impressive results. But experienced snappers will appreciate the shutter and aperture priority modes. Only a cold cast to our test shot gave us cause for concern.
Verdict A good compact camera that excels in poor lighting.
Rating: * * * *

Pentax K100D
Price £465.50
Tel 01753 792 731
Web www.pentax.co.uk
Sensor resolution 6MP
Lens 18-55mma
Size 140 x 125 x 100mm
This SLR camera shares many of the benefits of Canon's 350D. Serious photographers will love the manual control this camera gives you over focusing, manual exposure, and aperture and shutter priority. Yet novices are also catered for with fully automatic operation and a section of popular scene modes. Shutter and aperture performance are similar to that of the Canon 350D (see over page), but this one didn't give such a stunning wide-angle performance. This suggests that the image sensor might be physically smaller. The K100D's best features are its high-sensitivity ISO 3200 setting and the no-shake technology.
Verdict Great all-round optical performance.
Rating: * * *

Canon IXUS 65
Price £169
Tel 01737 220 000
Web www.canon.co.uk
Sensor resolution 6MP
Lens 3x optical zoom
Size 90 x 20 x 57mm
We loved the image this camera produced. From an exposure and colour balance point of view, it was incredibly similar to the Canon 350D's yet costs almost half the price. But the smaller lens couldn't match the wide angle or overall sharpness. Its controls are similar to an SLR's, with many buttons doubling up to provide fast access to frequently used functions. Pressing the select button gives immediate on-screen access to scene modes, and controls such as ISO speed, focus mode, and exposure compensation. But there's no real manual control, and very few scene modes either.
Verdict Despite a clear image there aren't many manual options, making this best for novices.
Rating: * * *

Canon EOS 350D
Price £426
Tel 01737 220 000
Web www.canon.co.uk
Sensor resolution 8MP
Lens 18-55mm
Size 130 x 130 x 100mm
This is definitely the best camera overall for serious photographers, especially those who are upgrading from film-based SLRs. But whatever your level of experience, the wide-angle lens and high-resolution sensor will give you superb results – as our test shots proved. Its very user-friendly, and as well as fully automatic operation modes you can also choose from portrait, landscape, motion, night, and close-up modes. Advanced photographers will love the 1/4000th-of-a-second max shutter speed, a pin-sharp lens, and manual focusing that's made easier by a very clear optical viewfinder.
Verdict The all out best performer, but it comes at a price.
Rating: * * * *

Samsung Digimax i6
Price £149.99
Tel 08706 003 030
Web www.argos.co.uk (catalogue ref 560/3921)
Sensor resolution 6MP
Lens 3x optical zoom
Size 100 x 20 x 60mm
The Digimax is the only camera to include an MP3 player. The test shot gave a bright, natural image but it wasn't very sharp. Little is offered in the way of manual control, but there are plenty of scene modes and you can set the focus to emphasise your subject and blur out the background. The max ISO 400 rating restricts use in low light.
Verdict The low max sensor sensitivity lets down this good performer.
Rating: * * *

Nikon Coolpix L3
Price £124.99
Tel 08706 003 030
Web www.argos.co.uk (catalogue ref 560/5149)
Sensor resolution 5MP
Lens 3x optical zoom
Size 90 x 25 x 60mm
Some people would have loved the rich blue and green hues achieved on our test landscape shot, but it was far from a natural look. Even worse, there appeared to be no way of toning the colours down. The camera's landscape scene mode actually promises these vivid colours, but fully automatic mode produces almost identical results. The Coolpix is definitely geared more towards novices, since there's a mind-blowing array of automatic scene modes but virtually no manual controls. The scene modes seem to influence everything from exposure to focusing, although the results are generally impressive.
Verdict A fairly competent digital camera that's sometimes a little bit too clever for its own good.
Rating: * *

Kodak EasyShare Z650
Price £179.99
Tel 08706 003 030
Web www.argos.co.uk (catalogue ref 560/5503)
Sensor resolution 6.1MP
Lens 10x optical zoom
Size 95 x 95 x 70mm
If you're used to using small film-based SLRs you'll like the traditional SLR switch layout that makes it a doddle to use and the fact that it sits comfortably in the hand. There's a great range of manual controls, including full manual exposure, plus aperture- and shutter-priority modes. The only omission is manual focus, but then neither the screen nor the electronic viewfinder offer the clarity needed for good results. For novices, there's a range of scene modes, but our test landscape shot seemed a bit washed out and softly focused.
Verdict Average test shot results, but incredibly easy to use.
Rating: * * *

Fuji Finepix S5600 zoom
Price £145
Tel 0870 084 1310
Web www.fuji.co.uk
Sensor resolution 5.1MP
Lens 10x optical zoom
Size 110 x 125 x 80mm
You really have to look twice at this camera to see that it's not a true SLR, and it has one major disadvantage compared to the similar bridge-style cameras we tested by Olympus and Kodak. The lens doesn't retract inwards when the camera is switched off, making it as bulky to carry as a true SLR. Its controls are laid out in an intuitive SLR style, and there are extensive manual overrides for creative photographers. We weren't impressed with the slow manual focusing, however, and while we liked the test shot, it had a cold blue/green cast.
Verdict Another good alternative to a basic digital SLR.
Rating: * * * *

Olympus Mju 725 SW
Price £257.77
Tel 020 7253 2772
Web www.olympus.co.uk
Sensor resolution 7.1MP
Lens 3x optical zoom
Size 90 x 60 x 20mm
This seems a bit expensive for an average-spec compact camera, but what you're paying for is the sort of rugged construction that will make it very appealing to outdoor types. The sturdy metal casing makes it capable of withstanding drops from as high as 1.5m. And the camera is waterproof up to a depth of 5m. Olympus has even added three new underwater scene modes. The ISO 1600 max sensor speed is good enough for most low-light situations, though the automatic exposure seems to favour slightly darker image, as seen in our test shot. There is a lack of manual controls, which makes this camera less suited to experienced photographers.
Verdict Possibly the toughest compact digital camera available.
Rating: * * * *