Digital cameras

Top performance doesn't have to cost a bundle

Whatever your needs, you're bound to find a good digital camera at the right price in our Ratings (available to subscribers). For more information on choosing the right point-and-shoot or digital SLR, see our Digital Camera Buying Guide.

We turned up subcompacts costing less than $250 that excel in low light without a flash; compacts priced below $175 that barely hesitate between shots; extremely versatile cameras with 10x or 12x zooms priced as low as $180; and a basic, $700 SLR that produced excellent images. (See our list of Recommended digital cameras, available to subscribers, for more information.)

We also found that paying more doesn’t guarantee fine performance. A $440 superzoom point-and-shoot fell short in several important areas and ranked dead last. And one of the highest-priced basic SLRs had the lowest SLR image quality.

Point-and-shoots advance

Subcompact and compact digital cameras have improved in five main areas. We call out several models below to highlight innovative features, even though we haven’t yet fully tested them.

Resolution

The megapixel race continues, even though most models already offer more than the 7 megapixels most people need for good resolution. The greatest pixel count in our Ratings of point-and-shoot cameras (available to subscribers), is 14 megapixels, found in a high-performing subcompact. Almost half of the tested point-and-shoots have at least 10.

Low-light performance

Point-and-shoot digital cameras don't usually perform well in low light when you need to increase the ISO setting because a flash is inappropriate, such as for distant or highly reflective subjects. In our tests, most produced grainy, fuzzy, or speckled images under such conditions with the ISO set above 200. But six models from Kodak, Panasonic, and Samsung stood out for their ability to shoot in low light at ISO 800, and in one case 1600, without noticeably degrading images. That's three times as many models as in our previous Ratings of point-and-shoot cameras (available to subscribers).

Ease of use

More digital cameras have 3-inch or larger LCDs or touch-screen controls than in the past. On its waterproof and weatherproof Stylus 1050SW, Olympus has introduced “tap technology” that lets you set the flash or play back your images by tapping different parts of the camera when you can’t or prefer not to access the usual camera controls.

Ultrazooms

More superzooms offer high optical-zoom ranges, such as 18x or 20x. When we’ve tested such models at their maximum focal length, image quality has suffered, especially with enlargements. Still, such cameras let you get shots that you otherwise couldn’t without an SLR and an expensive, long zoom lens.

Extras

Some new features aren't for everyone but are interesting nonetheless. Nikon recently introduced the Coolpix P6000, a compact with GPS technology that automatically embeds the geographical coordinates of the location into image files. And Canon offers a new face—detection feature in its PowerShot SD880 and SD990 digital cameras that takes a photo 2 seconds after a new face enters the scene, useful for including the photographer in a photo. HP hasn't introduced a new digital camera since 2007, which is why there are no HP models in the Ratings of point-and-shoot cameras (available to subscribers).

Digital SLRs expand

SLRs are adding these new features:

Video recording

This long-awaited SLR capability arrived this fall, first in the 12-megapixel Nikon D90, $1,000 (body only), which can record high-definition video. We found that feature lacking (see The Nikon D90, The First SLR With High-Def Video). Canon claims that its pricier new model, the 21-megapixel EOS 5D Mark II, $2,700 (body only), goes beyond the D90 by letting you record video at a higher resolution and frame rate, autofocus during video recording, and record stereo sound through a microphone jack. We haven’t yet tested that model.

Full-frame sensors

Three recently introduced SLRs use a type of very large image sensor that professionals use, known as full-frame because it’s the same size as a frame of 35-mm film. Such sensors can produce better image quality at high ISO settings and offer more options for wide-angle shooting. All are expected to cost close to $3,000 (body only): Canon’s EOS 5D Mark II, Nikon’s 12-megapixel D700, and Sony’s 24-megapixel Alpha A900. It’s just a matter of time before this capability reaches SLRs priced below $2,000.

The hybrid point-and-shoot

One of the most interesting recent innovations in digital cameras KEGis Panasonic’s introduction of a new kind of point-and-shoot, the Panasonic Lumix DMC-G1, $800. Like an SLR, it uses a larger image sensor and removable lenses, but the Lumix DMC-G1 has the smaller size and weight of a point-and-shoot. Olympus has also unveiled a model of its own based on the same design approach, which is known as micro four-thirds.