While it has its share of flaws, the combination of rugged, waterproof design with GPS capabilities and an 8 megapixel sensor makes the Ricoh Caplio 500SE an attractive proposition for outdoors photographers.

The image stabilisation technologies combined with the large zoom and above average image quality make the TZ3 a great compact camera, particularly for travelers.

Canon's A570IS is a brilliant advanced camera, combining exceptional image quality with all the features you'd expect. It packs in two technologies, image stabilisation and face detect, that are sure to make an impression on consumers.

The D80 is one of the best cameras on the market, offering exceptional image quality and a bevy of features. The default lens has some chromatic aberration issues, but aside from that, we have no issue recommending it.

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.

It is stylish, and does have some decent features, but the CoolPix S6 really falls down with regards to image quality. There are better deals elsewhere in the compact camera space.

The Nikon D40 is a great entry level SLR, and a good competitor to Canon's EOS 400D. It captures high quality pictures, has speedy operation and great low light performance, making it a wonderful choice for the budding enthusiast.

Overall, the Megxon MX7 isn't really worth your money. It's poor image quality and slow operation combined with the distorted audio from the music player make this a disappointing product.

The PowerShot A640 is an excellent all round advanced camera. While its features aren't quite as robust as some more expensive models, for this price tag, it's a good buy.

The IXUS 850 IS is a very speedy camera that sports a stylish design and offers good colour representation. Image quality problems including chromatic aberation and noise at higher ISO levels do however impact on it's performance.

While the form factor of the IXUS i7 is quite appealing, the image noise has a severe impact on the picture quality.

While the FZ50 is a reasonably strong advanced camera, a combination of its size, price tag and issues at high sensitivities mean it is only suited to certain buyers.