When the Canon PowerShot SD700 IS Digital ELPH came out, it sparked hot discussions on how it'd be the ultimate Digital ELPH and being comparable against the Fujifilm F30. The SD700 IS is the successor to the SD550 and the improvements over the SD550 ...

4x zoom lens with optical image stabilization ; 50% increase in battery life over SD550; overall so-so battery life ; Very good LCD visibility ; Unlimited, fast continuous shooting ; Fast performance ; Great 2 cm macro mode ; Nice VGA movie recording ...

LCD resolution lower than competition ; Weaker flash versus the SD550; average flash power ; No manual controls ; Cheap" buttons ; No live histogram; very limited exposure information ; Autofocus could be faster; AF is lagging behind competition ; ...

The Canon PowerShot SD700 IS Digital ELPH features 6 megapixels, 4 x zoom, a large 2.5 inch LCD, ISO 800 high sensitivity, a stylish tri-color body and is the first ever Digital ELPH to feature an Optical Image Stabilizer.

New to the Cyber-shot S-series of entry level cameras is the S600, which replaces 2005's S40. The Sony Cyber-shot S600 features 6 megapixels, a 31 mm "wide-angle" lens, 2 inch LCD and high sensitivity mode. With competition like the Canon A430 and ...

Excellent battery life ; Wide-ish 31 mm lens ; Powerful flash ; Above average performance ; Offers higher ISO sensitivity than most competition ; Unlimited VGA movies at 30 FPS ; Very good image quality; acceptable high ISO shots

No macro mode; minimum focus distance is far ; Terrible LCD resolution ; Tiny packed buttons ; No custom white balance ; Slow and limited continuous shooting ; Red-eye ; No A/V Out port

The Sony Cyber-shot S600 is an entry-level camera with 6 megapixels, a 2 inch LCD, 31 - 93 mm 3X zoom lens and excellent battery life.

When the Canon PowerShot S2 IS came out, it was one of the most anticipated cameras of 2005. This year, Canon decided to throw in only some marginal upgrades to the S3 IS. Those changes include:

Nice 12x zoom lens with optical image stabilization ; Excellent battery life ; Very good LCD/EVF visibility ; Full manual controls with many accessories ; Unlimited, fast continuous shooting ; Fast performance ; Live histogram; looks quite nice too ; ...

Expensive - 6MP ultra-zooms cost less and $499 is for 7MP ultra-zooms; cost of getting rechargeable batteries and large memory card adds on to the already expensive price ; Tiny" 2 inch LCD; low LCD and EVF resolutions ; No jog dial, no zoom/focus ...

The Canon PowerShot S3 IS took the features of the S2 IS and added a few more, enlarged the LCD and painted the body black. Now this black colored ultra-zoom has 6 megapixels, 12x optical zoom, a rotating 2 inch LCD and some other nice features.

And here is a comparison chart of the recent Olympus Stylus series:

7 megapixels in a waterproof and shockproof body ; Large LCD which is visible outdoors and indoors ; Extremely high-speed continuous shooting (though at lower resolutions only) ; Many scene modes ; High ISO capabilities; useable till ISO 400 ; Good ...

No manual controls ; LCD resolution is low ; Slow (for "normal" continuous shooting) and limited continuous shooting ; No optical image stabilization ; Not-close 7 cm macro mode ; Performance lagging behind competition; could be faster and better ; ...

Waterproof and shockproof, the Olympus Stylus 720SW has 7 megapixels, a large 2.5 inch LCD and an internal 3x lens. The Stylus 720SW is the first digital camera to be shockproof - surviving drops of up to 1.5 m.

The Cyber-shot H5 is Sony's more professional ultra-zoom compared to the H2 and is the real replacement for the H1. The Sony Cyber-shot H5 features 7 megapixels, a big 12x zoom lens, full manual controls, a giant 3 inch LCD and high ISO sensitivity up ...

Carl Zeiss 12x zoom lens with optical image stabilization ; Excellent exterior: Professional look, solid build, fits comfortably in hand ; Good battery life ; Large high-resolution 3 inch LCD ; Full manual controls with many accessories ; Useful jog ...

LCD visibility not as good as competition ; Slow and limited continuous shooting ; Manual shutter speed limited to 1/1000 sec, aperture limited to f8 ; Overall performance could be faster and better ; ISO 800 and 1000 need saturation to be turned up ; ...

Sony's high-end ultra-zoom, the H5 does a pretty good job as an ultra-zoom with 7 megapixels, full manual controls and a 3 inch LCD. The camera is nicely built and looks professional - heck, some people even asked me if it was Sony's new digital SLR!

The Canon PowerShot SD550 Digital ELPH is basically an SD500 with several small changes:

Powerful flash ; Great LCD performance ; Unlimited fast continuous shooting ; Excellent movie mode ; Fast read/write speeds ; Improved user interface ; Above average photo quality

Below average battery life ; No image stabilization ; Easily scratched body ; No manual controls ; LCD is lacking resolution ; Movies limited to 1 GB AKA 8 minutes ; Red-eye ; High noise levels at ISO 400, low-light ; Fairly slow autofocus, shot-to-shot

The Canon PowerShot SD550 Digital ELPH is probably your average stylish 7 megapixel camera with 3x optical zoom. In my opinion, it shares the flagship position with the SD700 since it has more megapixels, a larger CCD and more powerful flash.

It's another one of Sony's new W-series cameras of 2006 - The Cyber-shot W70. The W70 features 7 megapixels, a 2.5 inch LCD, 2 cm macro and high ISO capabilities. I found the W50 a great camera but is the W70 an upgrade worthy of the extra $50? How ...

Large 2.5 inch LCD ; Expandable with conversion lenses and filters ; Above average battery life ; Powerful flash with good control (especially with closeups) ; Very close 2 cm macro mode ; Good - not great - high ISO performance (Acceptable up to ISO ...

LCD visibility and resolution not excellent ; No manual controls ; No ISO 80 option on my camera ; Slow and limited continuous shooting ; Lens retracts too soon in playback mode ; Performance could be faster and better ; Redeye ; Movie mode is very ...

The Sony Cyber-shot W70 takes all the features of the W50: a 2.5 inch LCD, high sensitivity mode and great battery life, and tosses in 7 megapixels.

The Fujifilm FinePix V10 is the world's first digital camera with built-in games - yes, you heard that correctly, games. It also features 5 megapixels on Fujifilm's SuperCCD, a big 3 inch LCD, ISO sensitivity up to ISO 1600 and a 3.4x optical zoom ...

Big LCD with good visibility ; Extra zoom of about +20 mm ; Excellent movie mode ; Good image quality with fairly low noise ; Games for the bored photographer

Below average battery life ; Bad design: Nice fingerprints for your LCD, tiny awkwardly placed buttons ; Unimpressive macro mode ; No AF-assist beam ; No manual controls ; Slow, limited continuous shooting ; Photos become wall paintings at ISO 800 and ...

The Fujifilm FinePix V10 is an interesting camera, being the first ever to feature some 4 built-in games. Other than that, it also features 5 megapixels, 3.4x optical zoom and a huge 3 inch LCD.

Nikon's other ultra-thin camera, the Nikon Coolpix S6, sports the same features as the S5 but adds a larger 3 inch LCD and built-in WiFi capabilities. For about $40 more for just 2 extra features, is the S6 a good buy? Find out now.

Seriously stylish ; Built-in WiFi ; Large high-resolution 3 inch LCD ; Rotary dial for quick change of settings; implemented well ; Great ISO performance even at ISO 400 ; VGA 30 FPS movie mode ; Enhanced playback functions ; Good image quality ; ...

LCD visibility just average ; Weak flash ; Below average battery life ; No manual controls ; No image stabilization ; Buffer clearing not fast, overall performance just okay ; Some soft photos, redeye and corner softness ; Below average video quality

The Nikon Coolpix S6 takes all of the features found on the Coolpix S5 (which I've also reviewed) and adds a 3 inch LCD and WiFi. This two-similar-camera release pattern, one with a 3 inch LCD and a smaller LCD variation, seems to be a trend among ...

Canon's entry into the "new" ultra-thin category begins with the PowerShot SD630 Digital ELPH. The Canon SD630 shares some of the new features found on the SD600 which came out at the same time:

Fairly powerful flash ; Large visible LCD ; Fast, unlimited continuous shooting ; Excellent movie mode ; Improved user interface ; My Colors post-processing can be done in playback ; Good high ISO performance (some post-processing may be required, ...

Battery life is below average ; No manual controls ; LCD is not that sharp ; Red-eye ; Large movie file sizes and cannot optical zoom or focus when recording ; Fairly high noise at ISO 800 (countered by post-processing) ; Startup and autofocus needs ...

The Canon PowerShot SD630 Digital ELPH took the SD600's 6 megapixels, 3x optical zoom and other features and threw in a larger 3 inch LCD and touch-control dial.