The PowerShot G10 ($499) is the flagship camera in Canon's point-and-shoot lineup. Its highlights include a 14.7 Megapixel CCD, 5X wide-angle zoom lens, image stabilization, a high resolution t3-inch LCD, and more manual controls than you can shake a ...

Very good photo quality (in good light) ; Nice 5X zoom lens with 28 - 140 mm range ; Optical image stabilization ; Solid, well built body, with easy-to-access ISO and exposure compensation dials ; Generally snappy performance ; High resolution 3-inch ...

Lots of noise reduction in low light ; images get noisy quickly in good light after ISO 400 ; No white balance bracketing or fine-tuning ; Continuous shooting mode won't win any awards for speed ; Lack of HD movie mode a disappointment ; Design ...

Unlike its predecessor, the PowerShot G10 does not come bundled with a memory card. That means, unless you've got one already, you'll need to buy one along with the camera. The G10 supports SD, SDHC, MMC, MMCplus, and HC MMCplus cards, and I'd stick ...

The Canon PowerShot A590 IS is a entry-level camera that doesn't skimp on features. It offers a 4X optical zoom, image stabilization, a 2.5" LCD display, full manual controls, and a VGA movie mode. Not a bad deal for a camera selling for around $160!

Excellent photo quality in good light ; Great value for the money ; Slightly more zoom power than typical cameras in this class ; Optical image stabilization ; Snappy performance ; Very good low light focusing and LCD visibility ; Full manual controls ...

Low light photos have too much noise and noise reduction artifacting ; Movie mode frame rate has dropped to 20 fps since previous model ; Low LCD resolution ; Zoom setting not shown on LCD ; Flash a little slow to charge ; Plastic tripod mount

The PowerShot A590 is just shy of the top spot for battery life in this class (when equipped with decent NiMH batteries, that is). It offers a roughly 10% improvement over its predecessor, as well

The Kodak EasyShare M1093 IS is an ultra-compact camera that packs a 10 Megapixel CCD, 3X optical zoom lens, optical image stabilization, 3-inch LCD, and a high definition movie mode. You might expect a camera with those specs to be on the expensive ...

Decent photo quality, if you stick to small prints and low ISO sensitivities ; Good value for the money ; Ultra-compact, well built body ; comes in three colors ; Sensor-shift image stabilization ; Large, sharp 3-inch LCD display (though see issues ...

Noise reduction smudges fine details, mottles the sky, and gives images an overall soft look ; colors tend to be oversaturated ; Redeye a big problem ; countermeasures did not work in my tests ; Poor HD video quality ; Low light focusing not always ...

Due to some tough competition, the EasyShare M1093's battery life turns out to be below average. It's not bad as ultra-compact cameras go, but do note that other cameras perform better in this area

The Canon PowerShot A2000 ($229) is an entry-level camera with a pretty nice point-and-shoot feature set. The A2000 features a 6X optical zoom, image stabilization, a 3-inch LCD display, face detection, and plenty of scene modes. It also comes in a ...

Very good photo quality (in good light) ; Good value for the money ; 6X optical zoom lens in a relatively compact body ; Optical image stabilization ; 3-inch LCD with good low light visibility (but see issues below) ; Redeye not a problem thanks to ...

A real step down from the PowerShot A720 (for reasons described above) ; Lots of noise reduction in low light ; images get noisy in good light after ISO 400 ; Flash is slow to charge ; Slow lens (in terms of max aperture) ; LCD has poor viewing angle ...

You take a few steps forward on the A2000 (larger/sharper screen, better battery life, redeye removal), but take even more back compared to the A720. The A2000's lens is slower, there are fewer manual controls, the optical viewfinder is gone, and ...

The Panasonic Lumix DMC-LZ10 ($249) is a fairly compact camera offering a 10 Megapixel CCD, a wide 5X, 30 - 150 mm lens, a gorgeous 2.5" LCD display, widescreen movie recording, and more. It, along with its little brother (the DMC-LZ8) are the ...

Very good photo quality, less noise reduction than previous models (though see issues below) ; Wide-angle, 5X optical zoom lens ; Optical image stabilization ; Compact, generally well constructed body ; Sharp 2.5" LCD display with excellent outdoor ...

Images a bit noisy, especially in shadows ; noise reduction still very present in low light ; Redeye a big problem ; Poor low light focusing ; No optical viewfinder ; Not much built-in memory ; Plastic tripod mount ; No USB 2.0 High Speed support ; ...

above the group average. To top it off, the LZ10 uses AA batteries, which are my favorite

The Canon PowerShot G9 ($499) is a high-end fixed-lens camera offering almost every feature you could imagine. It replaces the PowerShot G7, which was a disappointment compared to previous models, in this reviewer's opinion. The new G9 takes care of ...

Very good photo quality if ISO is kept low ; 6X zoom lens with optical image stabilization ; Cool rangefinder-style body ; built like a tank ; Huge 3-inch LCD with excellent outdoor and low light visibility (though see issue below) ; Full manual ...

Lots of noise reduction above ISO 200 (in low light) and ISO 400 (in good light) ; useless ISO 1600 and 3200 settings ; On the expensive side for a fixed-lens camera ; Redeye still a big problem (though you can remove it in playback mode) ; Custom ...

Since the two cameras have much in common, I will be reusing portions of the PowerShot G7 review here

The Panasonic Lumix DMC-LX3 ($499) is not your typical compact camera. Other cameras offer more pixels, more zoom, and bigger LCDs. So what makes the LX3 so interesting? It has a fast, 24 - 60 mm Leica lens with optical image stabilization. Three ...

Very good photo quality, low noise though ISO 800 in good light ; Fast, ultra-wide 24 - 60 mm lens ; Optical image stabilization ; Fairly compact, well-built metal body ; comes in silver and black ; Very sharp and bright 3-inch LCD display ; Full ...

Noise reduction smudges details, even at low ISOs (though better than previous models) ; Camera tends to underexpose ; Some redeye ; No real telephoto power ; No fluorescent white balance preset, or WB bracketing feature ; No optical viewfinder ; ...

Most cameras have built-in memory these days, and the DMC-LX3 is no exception. Panasonic supplies 50MB of built-in memory on the LX3, which is quite an improvement from the 13MB offered on the LX2. Even so, you'll want to buy a memory card right away, ...

The Casio Exilim EX-Z750 ($440) is an ultra compact camera with a 7.2 Megapixel CCD, 3X optical zoom lens, large 2.5" LCD display, high quality movie mode, and much more. For better or for worse the market is suddenly becoming crowded with small, high ...

Very good image quality (with proper adjustments) ; Ultra-compact metal body ; Large 2.5" LCD display (though see issues below) ; Robust performance ; Full manual controls (though see issue below) ; AF-assist lamp ; good low light focusing ; Excellent ...

Images are oversaturated ; a little too sharp as well ; Redeye a problem ; LCD doesn't "gain up" in low light ; screen resolution could be higher ; Flash is pretty weak, though Flash Assist helps ; USB requires use of camera dock ; Can't swap memory ...

To charge the battery just pop the camera into the cradle and you're set -- it takes about 3 hours to fully charge the NP-40. An external battery charger is sold separately

The Casio Exilim EX-Z55 ($449) is an ultra-compact 5 Megapixel camera with a large 2.5" LCD display and class-leading battery life. A slightly cheaper model, the EX-Z50 ($399), has a 2-inch screen and slightly lower battery life. Both cameras make up ...

Very good photo quality (though see issues below) ; Ultra-thin, stylish metal body ; Big LCD for a small camera (see issues below) ; Robust performance ; Tons of scene modes ; Amazing battery life ; Cool playback mode features

Softness around edges and corners of photos ; moderate barrel distortion ; Redeye ; LCD only "gains up" in certain Best Shot modes, most of which require a tripod ; LCD resolution isn't great either ; Poor low light focusing / no AF-assist lamp ; Can ...

The EX-Z55 has a built-in lens cover so there are no messy lens caps to worry about. As you can see, the camera is quite small

For a long time, if you wanted a "big zoom" camera, you had to buy a bulky ultra zoom model. Things have started to change though, with ultra-compact, high zoom cameras from Canon, Casio, Pentax, and Sharp now available.

Very good photo quality (though see issues below) ; 7X zoom in a compact body -- wow ; CCD-shift image stabilization (though see issue below) ; Good build quality for the price ; memory card slot on the side ; High res 2.5" LCD display ; Snappy ...

A little too much noise reduction applied, especially at ISO 200 and above ; occasional blown highlights ; ISO locked at Auto in shutter priority mode ; only three aperture choices available at any time in A/M modes ; Weak flash ; Mechanical image ...

photos at the highest image quality setting (why do they even bother?). With that in mind, you'll want to buy a larger memory card, and fast. The camera supports SD, SDHC, MMC, and MMCplus memory cards, and I'd suggest starting with a 1GB card. While ...