The PowerShot SX10 IS ($399) is the follow-up to the Canon's enormously popular PowerShot S5 ultra zoom digital camera. The SX10 retains a the basic features of the S5 (big zoom lens, rotating LCD, manual controls, nice movie mode), and expands on ...

Very good photo quality (in good light) ; Whopping 20X optical zoom lens, with a 28 - 560 mm range ; Optical image stabilization ; Generally snappy performance ; Flip-out, rotating 2.5" LCD display ; good low light visibility ; Full manual controls, ...

Noise reduction visible at ISO 80 ; noticeable detail loss above ISO 200 in low light, ISO 400 in good light ; Occasional purple fringing ; Low light focusing could be better ; Doesn't support filters and conversion lenses like its predecessor ; Easy ...

, which is quite similar to the SX10, with the main differences being a larger LCD, faster continuous shooting, a 1080p movie mode, and an HDMI port. Why this model wasn't brought over to the States is unclear

The Canon PowerShot SD880 IS Digital ELPH ($299) is an ultra-compact camera packing a wide-angle 4X zoom lens, a large 3-inch LCD display, optical image stabilization, and a VGA movie mode. It replaces the PowerShot SD870 IS, with these notable new ...

Good photo quality ; Stylish, compact metal body ; comes in silver and gold ; 4X, wide-angle lens ; Optical image stabilization ; Fast startup time ; snappy performance overall ; Nice 3-inch LCD display ; great outdoor and low light visibility ; Face ...

More noise reduction than older Powershots, especially in low light (though this won't affect most people) ; Images are soft around the edges ; Flash recharging could be faster ; Current zoom setting not shown on LCD ; No optical viewfinder ; More ...

Canon includes a 32MB Secure Digital memory card with the PowerShot SD880 IS. That holds a grand total of six photos at the highest quality setting, so you'll want to pick up a larger card right away, in the event that you don't have one already. The ...

The Sony Cyber-shot DSC-W150 ($249) is a compact camera with a 5X optical zoom lens, image stabilization, 2.7" LCD display, optical viewfinder (yay), VGA movie mode, and more.

Very good photo quality ; ISO 800 still usable ; 5X optical zoom lens with nice 30 - 150 mm range ; Optical image stabilization ; Compact metal body comes in four colors ; Large and sharp 2.7" LCD display ; good outdoor and low light visibility ; ...

Noise reduction smudges fine details, even at ISO 80 (though it's not too bad) ; Redeye a big problem (but at least you can fix it) ; Lens is on the slow side ; Clunky user interface ; No manual controls ; 10 minute movie clip limit ; Flimsy plastic ...

Like most point-and-shoot cameras these days, Sony built memory right into the DSC-W150, in lieu of bundling a memory card. The W150 has 15MB of memory, which won't hold very many 8 Megapixel photos. Therefore, you'll want to buy yourself a Memory ...

The Coolpix P6000 ($499) is the flagship camera in Nikon's compact digital camera lineup. It features a 13.5 Megapixel CCD, a 4X wide-angle zoom lens, image stabilization, 2.7" LCD display, full manual controls, a hot shoe, and RAW format support. In ...

Good photo quality at low ISOs, and in good light ; Well built, fairly compact, easy to hold (for the most part) ; Optical image stabilization (known as Vibration Reduction here) ; Sharp 2.7" LCD is visible outdoors and in low light ; Full manual ...

Noise reduction smudges fine details and solid areas of color, even at lowest ISO ; noticeable detail loss at ISO 400 and above ; Occasional highlight clipping ; Lens is slow at the telephoto end ; Unusual RAW format has huge file sizes, slow shot-to ...

. Second, you can't use an off-the-shelf battery to get you through the day when your rechargeable dies

At first glance, the Casio Exilim EX-FH20 ($599) may look like just another super zoom camera. It has a big lens (20X), a 9 Megapixel sensor, a 3-inch LCD, manual controls, RAW image support, and all the gimmicks you'd expect on a modern digital ...

20X optical zoom lens, with great 26 - 520 mm range ; Sensor-shift image stabilization ; Stunning ultra high speed continuous shooting and movie modes ; handy precapture feature ensures that you don't miss a shot ; Large 3-inch LCD display ; easy to ...

Images are soft/fuzzy, with smudged details, even at ISO 100 ; image quality drops rapidly at ISO 200 and above ; Expensive ; Strong purple fringing at times ; Autofocus system often struggled to lock focus ; no multi-point AF feature ; Slow startup ...

One camera I really wanted to put on the above list is the Kodak EasyShare Z980. Unfortunately, battery life numbers are not available yet for that camera. In the group of cameras that remain, the Exilim EX-FH20 turns in strong numbers, coming in ...

The Sony Cyber-shot DSC-T77 ($299) is a stylish, ultra-slim camera that features a 4X optical zoom lens, image stabilization, numerous point-and-shoot features, and a large 3-inch, touchscreen LCD. The T77 comes in a host of fashionable colors, ...

Slim, stylish body (comes in 5 colors) contains a 4X zoom lens ; Optical image stabilization ; Good image quality in ideal conditions ; Widescreen 3-inch touchscreen LCD display ; Good performance in most areas ; Lots of point-and-shoot features ; ...

Noise reduction smudges details, mottles sky at low ISOs ; unimpressive high ISO image quality ; Some corner blurriness ; Redeye a problem ; Design annoyances: sliding lens cover, tiny buttons and zoom controller, inability to remove memory card when ...

In a nutshell: the T77 is the thinnest model, the T700 has a big screen and a fancy 4GB photo album, and the T500 has a more powerful lens plus an HD movie mode

The PowerShot SD1100 IS Digital ELPH ($249) is the long-awaited follow-up to Canon's PowerShot SD1000, which was one of the most popular ultra-compact cameras of the last few years. The SD1100 has several significant improvements over the SD1000, ...

Very good photo quality (in good light) ; Stylish, ultra-compact metal body ; comes in five colors ; Optical image stabilization ; Snappy performance ; Sharp 2.5" LCD has good outdoor and low light visibility ; Optical viewfinder (a rarity these days) ...

Noisy images in low light ; some NR artifacting at low ISOs in good light ; Corner blurriness and purple fringing an issue ; Zoom setting not shown on LCD ; Flash a little slow to charge ; More manual controls would be nice ; Flimsy door over memory ...

The PowerShot SD1100 Digital ELPH is known as the Digital IXUS 80 IS in some countries

The Canon PowerShot SX100 IS ($299) is a compact, low-cost ultra zoom camera. It offers many of the features found on the PowerShot S5 IS (see our review), for $100 less. The main differences between the SX100 and the S5 are with regard to lens power ...

Very good photo quality (though see issues below) ; Good value for the money ; 10X optical zoom lens with optical image stabilization ; Fairly sharp 2.5" LCD with good low light and outdoor visibility ; Full manual controls, plus plenty of scene modes ...

Noticeable detail loss from noise reduction above ISO 200 (in low light) and ISO 400 (in good light) ; highest sensitivities not usable ; Redeye a big problem (though you can remove it in playback mode) ; Weak, slow-to-charge flash ; No multi-point ...

Despite using half the number of batteries, the SX100's battery life numbers are just 10% below those of its big brother, the PowerShot S5. In the group as a whole, the SX100's battery life is about 15% above average

The Canon PowerShot SD890 IS Digital ELPH ($399) is the "big zoom" model in this popular series of ultra-compact cameras. It features a 5X optical zoom lens, with a focal range of 37 - 185 mm, which is considerably more than you'll find on most ...

Very good photo quality (in good light) ; 5X optical zoom in a compact, stylish body ; Optical image stabilization ; Generally snappy performance ; Optical viewfinder, a rarity in this class (even though its tiny) ; Redeye not a problem thanks to ...

Images are on the noisy side in low light ; Some corner blurring ; LCD very difficult to see when wearing polarized sunglasses ; Lens is on the slow side (in terms of aperture) ; Sluggish flash recharging ; Difficult to access power button ; More ...

Canon is one of the few camera manufacturers who still puts a memory card in the box along with the camera. In the case of the SD890, you'll get a 32MB card, which holds just six photos at the highest quality setting. Thus, you'll want to buy a larger ...

The Canon PowerShot SD790 IS Digital ELPH ($349) is an ultra-compact camera features a 10 Megapixel CCD, 3X optical zoom lens, image stabilization, and a large 3-inch LCD display. It's the follow-up to the PowerShot SD750, which was introduced in ...

Very good photo quality (in good light) ; Stylish, compact, and sturdy metal body ; Optical image stabilization ; Generally snappy performance ; Large 3-inch LCD display with very good outdoor / low light visibility ; Redeye not a problem thanks to ...

Some corner blurriness, vignetting, and purple fringing ; Images are on the noisy side in low light ; Zoom setting not shown on LCD ; Slow-charging flash ; No optical viewfinder ; More manual controls would be nice ; Can't swap memory cards while ...

The PowerShot SD790 is known as the IXUS 90 IS in some countries