A brilliantly designed unit, the MJU 780 will please a variety of consumers with its optical image stabilisation, 5x optical zoom and high ISO sensitivities. Its pictures aren't the best on the market but they are more than adequate for most uses.

Olympus's MJU 820 doesn't capture brilliant pictures, but its combination of a stylish and sturdy design along with some nifty features and funky guide mode make it a reasonable happy-snap camera for novice users.

A camera that caters very well to advanced amateurs and more serious photographers, it offers almost a full range of manual controls, but lacks some of the presets that please beginners.

A competant but not oustanding budget offer, the Coolpix L4 will more than suffice for occasional snapshots.

Nikon's diminutive 5.1-megapixel camera is simple to use, and it delivers more-powerful features than you'd expect from a camera priced at under $300.

This camera would serve most people's needs, but is not exceptional. We would only really recommend it if you do a lot of macro photography.

Bland styling and a small LCD display detract for an otherwise impressive package.

The UDC-7M performed poorly in almost all of our tests, producing noisy, soft shots that had noticeable haloing. We'd recommend you steer clear of this unit if you're after a compact camera.

The UDC-5M is an improvement on Uniden's seven megapixel UDC-7M, but is still just an average camera, offering decent image quality at a reasonable price.

While the pictures could be a little sharper, the Digital IXUS 75 excelled in all other areas and is a brilliant choice if you're after an all purpose camera to throw in your pocket and forget about.

A disappointing compact camera from Nikon, the Coolpix S200 has numerous imaging issues which mean that it's smooth, stylish design isn't enough to make it an attractive option.

Another great compact camera from Canon, the PowerShot A550 won't compare to some more high-end units, but considering the price tag and the features on offer, it's an excellent value-for-money product.