Small and powerful -- thanks to an 8.1-megapixel sensor -- the P50 is suitable for almost all situations and it even has a decent manual mode to tinker with.

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.

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.

A very small, very stylish camera that is a great offering for beginner photographers.

With its sleek design and interesting control scheme, as well as a few nifty features, the Samsung NV24HD is a fairly solid compact camera.

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.

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.

The IXUS 960 IS is a great compact camera from Canon. Consumers looking for a high-end camera to back up their SLR or to take their photography to the next level will love this unit.

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.