The Ricoh GX200 provides plenty of SLR-style functionality in the body of a point-and-shoot camera. Despite some unfortunate noise issues it is a solid option for those who can afford it.

This is a decent model to choose if you want a long zoom range and versatile controls, yet don't want a bulky digital SLR. It's good for travellers in this respect, despite its soft pictures and slightly underdone colour.

While not a perfect camera, Olympus' SP-560UZ is an excellent choice for users after an ultra-zoom. It combines good pictures with a robust feature set and a fantastic design.

Ricoh's Caplio GX100 is a high end camera for experienced users. While average photographers may not fully appreciate the wide angle shooting and extremely crisp shots it produces, there is no doubt it's a great camera if you can afford it.

If you subscribe to the theory that more megapixels is better, then Casio's Exilim EX-Z1200 will be right up your alley. Sporting a 12.1 megapixel sensor, it captures extremely crisp pictures and offers a range of manual shooting options combined with a sturdy design, making it a strong all around choice.

Another strong ultra-zoom digital camera from Canon, the PowerShot S5 IS is no longer the dominating choice in this market as its predecessor was, but it still offers a good overall package if you can look past some minor flaws.

A strong choice if you're after an ultra zoom camera, the Cyber-Shot DSC-H9 sports a 15x optical zoom and captures some good shots, however it does have issues with haloing and purple fringing, which will be irritating for many users.

The Olympus SP-550UZ is a great camera that will suit people after a little more zoom in their life. The images could have used some minor improvements, but the huge zoom and fantastic design make this a worthwhile choice for some buyers.

While it does have a few things going for it, including a big zoom and comfortable design, the soft edges and colour reproduction issues mean the FZ8 isn't as impressive as it could have been.

Overall the Z850 is a solid advanced camera. It doesn't take the best photographs in the world, but it performed above average in most of our tests and crams a robust feature-set into a relatively small design.

An absolutely brilliant ultra zoom model that combines a 12X zoom lens with exceptional picture quality and all the usual functionality.

If you desperately need an advanced model with a 12X optical zoom then maybe the H2 is for you, but the poor sharpness level and strange design mean there are probably better choices elsewhere.