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.

Whilst it has some minor flaws, the IXUS 800 is a very attractive choice in the compact camera space, offering lightning fast operation with great colour balance and a nice design.

If you need a powerful sensor in a small body, or take a lot of photography in fast moving situations, the MJU 700 is probably for you.

An impressive effort by Canon, the IXUS 65 produces solid photographs with sublimely accurate colour along with great features and design. A complete package.

Whilst this camera's pictures could be better, it's superior design and rugged features are a huge boon, and for many people will make this the ideal camera.

A little disappointing, the MJU 810 doesn't quite live up to its predecessor's name offering a solid if not awe inspiring compact model with poorer than expected image quality.

The DSC-W30 offers a great, all-round compact package. It has no glaring weaknesses in any area and will satisfy most casual users.

If you need a 10X zoom in the a compact form factor, then the TZ1 is probably for you. However there are other cameras out there that take better shots, so if this isn't a primary concern you may be better served by another model.

Another great Powershot entry by Canon, the A700 fulfils all the requirements of an advanced model, offering lots of functions, superb image quality, a big zoom and decent battery life.

With high levels of chromatic aberration and slow operation, the SP-350 is far from a perfect camera, but the images look great at smaller levels and so it could definitely be worth a look if you need a compact, powerful advanced model

A nice, cheap advanced 5 megapixel model. It doesn't have the best image quality in the world, but at this price it is a decent buy.

A bit of a let down compared to Panasonic's earlier models. If they could fix the camera's colour response they'd have a winner on their hands, but as it stands this mode isn't quite up to the high Panasonic standard.