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.

Panasonic's FZ18 is a solid ultra-zoom camera. While the price tag is high, many users would be better served spending that money on an SLR, whereas those after a huge zoom lens and a mass of features along with several beginner-friendly shooting modes may find what they're looking for here.

While the price tag is a little hefty for an 8.1-megapixel model, you get what you pay for with the Panasonic Lumix DMC-TZ11. It packs in a huge 10x optical zoom supported by optical image stabilisation, as well as a 28mm wide angle lens with Panasonic's array of intelligent auto modes, meaning there is something for everyone here.

Sony's Cyber-Shot DSC-T200 is an interesting camera. Its pictures suffer from some sharpness and chromatic aberration issues, but are still good enough for small and medium sized prints.

Another solid touch screen offering from Sony, the Cyber-Shot DSC-T70 is a slightly slimmed down version of the T200. It offers relatively good quality pictures and combines them with a touch screen interface and a slick design.

If you can live without optical zoom and want a classically designed camera to remind you of the good old days, then the GR Digital might be for you. It is, however, extremely expensive.

The Sony Cyber-shot DSC-H3 is a great ultra-zoom camera. Its compact build makes it ideal for travellers and it has a boatload of features along with capturing some fairly good shots.

The DSC-W100 takes brilliant pictures and offers decent functionality. It is only really let down by a weak burst mode.

Nikon's CoolPix S51c offers a good option if you want to quickly and easily share photos with family and friends, however image quality aficionados maybe a little put off by the noise and slightly soft look of the shots.

Nikon's CoolPix S520 doesn't do anything out of the ordinary. It provides decent image quality, a simple set of features and has a nice design, but it does have some speed problems and the pictures aren't perfect.