Another brilliant entry into the SLR range, Olympus' E-500 provides everything one could want in an advanced camera, with a competitive RRP and patented dust reduction to boot.

A pricey camera that offers never before seen technology, but ultimately unless you are a touch screen fanatic, it isn't worth the price tag.

This camera has a big zoom for its size, and features some useful program modes and manual setting possibilities, but if you want super-crisp photos at a resolution higher than 1600x1200, you'll want to look elsewhere.

The DMC-FS3 is capable of producing instant, good quality photos that will more than satisfy its intended user base of casual photographers. If you want to capture great looking shots with a minimum of effort, this compact camera will not disappoint.

Sony's Cyber-shot DSC-W150 is a fairly decent compact cameras with a few niggling issues. Aside from some purple fringing it captures good shots. The interface and shot taking can be extremely slow at times, which is frustrating.

Another strong compact camera from Sony, the Cyber-Shot DSC-T20 will suit fashion conscious buyers who want a stylish point and shoot model that captures great pictures

Kodak's EasyShare Z8612 IS has a few things going for it, including a large zoom that is backed up by optical image stabilisation. However, its images exhibit a fair bit of fringing and it can at times be quite slow.

While the Kodak EasyShare M893 IS carries a relatively low price tag, it can be slow at times while the image quality leaves a little to be desired at times.

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.

Ricoh's R7 is a great compact camera for those after a speedy model with a big zoom and optical image stabilisation. There are units out there that take better pictures but this model is more than adequate in that regard.

Nikon's CoolPix P60 is a good all around enthusiast compact which packs in a basic manual shooting mode with good image quality and a fairly petite design.

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.