Virtually all digital cameras shoot decent pictures under most conditions, our latest tests confirm. But more than 10 years into the digital-camera revolution, those tests also reveal that few models do what we took for granted from inexpensive 35mm film cameras: shoot immediately after you press the shutter and produce images in low light, without a tripod or flash, that are good enough to enlarge.


HIGHS AND LOWS

Our latest point-and-shoot camera Ratings (available to subscribers) show it is possible to produce affordable cameras with those kinds of capabilities. For example, six tested point-and-shoot cameras were very good for first-shot delay, meaning they could shoot within about a half-second after you press the shutter. And six of the 17 cameras that scored excellent for next-shot delay could take successive shots in just one second.