A solid camera that has some nice features and takes reasonable quality pictures.

Nikon's CoolPix S710 would be a fantastic compact if not for its incredibly slow performance. Its shots look good, with excellent detail and well-balanced colours. It also sports a bevy of nifty features. However, the speed issues really damage the user experience.

A good, high-end compact camera, the Samsung NV 100 HD has a few image quality issues but they can be overlooked. The manual shooting modes combined with the touch-screen interface will be enough to attract some users. Its price tag is perhaps a little high, but touch screens don't come cheap.

Olympus' Tough 1030SW doesn't take massive leaps ahead of its predecessors, but it does introduce a few minor improvements and remains a good choice for users after a unit that can take more than its fair share of punishment.

Apart from not being a particularly speedy camera, the M310W acquits itself admirably.

While image quality isn't the FX33's strong point, it still produces perfectly fine small prints, and thus its novice-friendly feature set and speedy operation makes it a good choice for those after a happy snap camera.

The PowerShot S70 costs more than many point-and-shoots, but the payoff of a wide-angle lens, 7.1 megapixels, and superior picture quality will be worth it for advanced hobbyists.

Nikon's P5100 is a solid advanced camera and while it has a few issues, most notable is the difficulty in high contrast shooting scenarios and a very slow burst mode, it provides an adequate option for users after manual functionality in a sturdy and slim body.

A rare misstep for Canon, the PowerShot A450 captures exceptionally accurate colours, but falls down in several other areas, resulting in less than crisp pictures.

Much lighter and smaller point-and-shoot cameras are available, but the S60 is a great choice for people seeking a camera that has powerful creative controls.