For the price, the SD1200 packs in the right amount of features for casual photographers. More-experienced photographers will be pleased with the image quality, but the lack of aperture and shutter priority, plus the limited zoom range, may leave them ...

Compact, slim design; good image quality in automatic mode

Image quality suffers above ISO 200; viewfinder is too small to actually use

The SD1200 IS received a Very Good rating in our lab's jury tests for imaging quality, earning particularly high marks in terms of lack of distortion, color accuracy, and overall exposure quality

Gavin Stoker takes a look at five digital SLR cameras (plus a camera that shoots SLR-quality pics) and finds out how they stack up as camcorders.

The video recording capability seemed at first like a gimmick (do serious photography enthusiasts—the traditional audience for such cameras—really want to shoot movie clips, too?), but the feature now makes sense with the the growing popularity of ...

For non-professional photographers who want to frequently take action shots, the Exilim EX-FH20 is a godsend that helps reduce what seems like guesswork.

Easy to use; very good overall image quality; good variety of high-speed video capture modes

Awkward use of the EVF for settings; flash doesn't automatically pop up; can't record audio or zoom while in high-speed video mode; jaggies become more apparent while using zoom in STD/HD movie mode

The Exilim EX-FH20 looks and feels like a small entry-level SLR, with its oversized lens and pop-up fill flash, and its big, beefy right-handed grip. But the camera works like a point-and-shoot. The mode dial has only five settings: Flash CS ...

SD memory card wirelessly transfers pics from your camera to your iPhoto library.

Unlimited geotagging; works great with iPhoto's Places; easy to set up and use; affordable

Relies on Wi-Fi networks for geotagging, so location data may not always be applied if no networks are within range of where you're shooting; additional WebShare service must be purchased for use with online services

The workflow is simple. Once you set-up the card using the included USB reader and Eye-Fi Manager software, you put the card in your camera, fire off a few frames, leave the camera on, and if you're on the same local area network as your Mac, you can ...

Kodak's EasyShare Z915 is a point-and-shoot camera that's a great learning tool for aspiring photographers.

10x zoom lens with optical stabilization; great range of features; can zoom while shooting video

Disappointing battery life; disappointing video quality; EasyShare software not compatible with Snow Leopard

Though the 10X optical zoom range is impressive, it's only one of several features that make this budget-friendly camera an outstanding bargain. The Z915's Kodak Retinar zoom lens doesn't offer much at the wide-angle end (35mm wide angle to 350mm ...

The sleek, solid-colored PowerShot SD780 IS performs very well, with great image quality, a powerful flash, nice high-ISO shots in low light, and more.

Great features, flash, and low-light performance ; stylish

Small controls, LCD, and zoom range ; no wide-angle lens or manual controls

This is a very slim-and-stowable camera, measuring just 0.7 inches thick and 3.4 inches wide; it's about the size and thickness of a half-deck of playing cards. A durable plastic body surrounds the metal lens casing, and the contoured edges of the ...

If you don't mind the additional weight and size, and you can overlook the slight shortcomings in imaging, the EasyShare Z980 is a decent buy.

Handy additional vertical shutter button ; shoots in RAW and JPEG

Image quality a bit below average ; on/off switch is difficult to use

My first thought on seeing the Z980: “Yikes, this is bulky.” When I loaded the four AA-type rechargeable batteries, I felt the same apprehension about the weight. But once I started using the camera, I came to appreciate the solidness and comfort that ...

Canon's PowerShot SX200 IS is one of those rare point-and-shoots that is as easy to use as it is versatile.

Excellent zoom lens and image quality ; HD video and fun in-camera features

Bulky size ; HDMI/AV port door is a bit flimsy

To get this kind of power in a fixed-lens model a little over a year ago, you needed to buy a megazoom camera that was nearly the size of a digital SLR. These days, the SX200 IS represents a growing trend among point-and-shoot digital cameras: high ...

This well-designed pocket camera offers some nice-looking specs, but it offers lackluster image quality.

Very good battery life ; well-designed interface and controls

Subpar image quality ; uneven flash exposure

Those aren't groundbreaking specs, but they hit many sweet spots for a sub-'00 camera. Alas, the cost-cutting measures needed to happen somewhere, and in the case of the DSC-S980, the trade-off is lackluster image quality

The Sigma DP1 and DP2 feature image quality that's truly on the same scale as entry-level SLRs, but they have clunky controls.

Excellent image quality ; SLR quality in a point-and-shoot form ; can easily isolate subjects with shallow depth of field ; solid camera construction

Images shot above ISO 800 are overly noisy ; Sigma raw files not supported by Aperture or iPhoto ; Sigma's raw processing software is limited and clunky ; slow to focus and save images ; mediocre LCD

Before continuing, it's important to note that the lens is the primary difference between the two Sigma cameras. The DP1 has a 16.6mm (28mm film equivalent) f/4 lens and the DP2 has a 24.2mm (41mm film equivalent) f/2.8 lens. The wider, slower lens on ...