The combination of bright viewfinder and functional and versatile Fujinon lens provide a sensational shooting experience. The all new Fujifilm FinePix X10 comes equipped with newly designed 4x manual optical zoom lens using Fujinon optical technology. With 4x optical zoom ranging from 28mm wide angle to 112mm telephoto and superb F2.0-2.8 brightness, the lens is not only a triumph of engineering, but also offers high resolution optical performance across entire range, because of its small size. Providing rich descriptive performance, its versatile lens capture encounters with amazing presence. In order to retain the small shell of this device whilst ensuring high image quality, Fujinon has added lenses constructed of glass with better optical characteristics for all elements in 9 groups/11 elements configuration.

By utilizing three high performance aspherical lenses, the Fujifilm FinePix X10 offers rich resolution with sharp photo quality. These lenses contribute to more small overall lens configuration and its small body size providing you can easily it anywhere you go. Two ED lenses have been added for effective reduction and low dispersion of chromatic aberrations. By reducing contrast and preventing color fringing, the X10 lens takes images with superb accuracy across entire zoom range from wide angle to telephoto.

There is a lot to like about Fujifilm FinePix X10, but advanced shooters might be frustrated by trade offs for best images, specifically as it is more pricey than its rivals. The company’s original entry into enthusiast small market going up against stalwarts from Panasonic, Canon and Nikon with specifications and design that don’t look shabby in the crowd. The Fujifilm FinePix X10 is capable of creating nice images; however it does offer low light performance in special reduced resolution, full auto modes. Fujifilm claims that it goes up to ISO 12,800 just like other models in its segment. The capability of changing aperture and shutter provide more creative control, switching into EXR high ISO/low Noise mode doesn’t.

With quite a few exceptions, the Fujifilm FinePix X10 performs pretty well for its segment tying with XZ-1 for the lead. It is available for the price of $599.99 and comes equipped with 12-megapixel EXR CMOS sensor, ISO sensitivity range from 100 – 3200, 28-112mm f2-2.8 4x zoom lens, 7 frames per second of continuous shooting, optical viewfinder, 2.8 inch display with 460,000 pixels and optical image stabilization. You will definitely like the overall design, both for shooting and aesthetically. The body gets magnesium alloy chassis with aluminium front. Like P7100 and G12, the X10 features exposure compensation dial and has typical array if semimanual, auto and manual modes along with two custom settings slots; advanced shooting mode with Motion Panorama 360, Pro Low Light and Pro Focus, EXR resolution priority, high ISO and low noise; D-Range priority modes and movie mode, a scene program mode with usual set of choices.

At the Fujifilm FinePix X10’s back, there are typical array of dials and buttons along with raw override button. A navigation dial is tad loose with associated buttons for self timer, macro, flash and drive. Standard features on FinePix X10 include 12.0 million pixels; 2/3-inch EXR CMOS with primary color filter; Internal memory (approx. 26 MB); Number of recorded pixels L: (4:3) 4000 x 3000 / (3:2) 4000 x 2664 / (16:9) 4000 x 2248 / (1:1) 2992 x 2992; M: (4:3) 2816 x 2112 / (3:2) 2816 x 1864 / (16:9) 2816 x 1584 / (1:1) 2112 x 2112 and S: (4:3) 2048 x 1536 / (3:2) 2048 x 1360 / (16:9) 1920 x 1080 / (1:1) 1536 x 1536.

The Fujifilm FinePix X10 is also equipped with Fujinon 4 x optical zoom lens; 9 groups 11 lenses; Intelligent digital zoom approx. 2x; Sensitivity Auto / Equivalent to ISO 200 / 100 / 320 / 250 / 500 / 400 / 800 / 640 / 1250 / 1000 / 2000 / 1600 / 3200 / 2500 / 5000 / 4000 / 12800 and 6400; TTL 256-zones metering, Multi / Spot / Average; Exposure mode: Aperture Priority AE, Programmed AE, Manual and Shutter Priority AE; Shooting modes: Natural Light & Flash, Natural Light, Portrait Enhancer, Portrait, Sport, Landscape, Night (Tripod), Night, Sunset, Fireworks, Beach, Snow, Flower, Party, Underwater and Text; AE Bracketing: ±1/3EV, ±2/3EV and ±1EV.

The Fujifilm FinePix X10 adds Film Simulation Bracketing: Velvia / VIVID, PROVIA / Standard and Astia/ Soft; Dynamic Range Bracketing: 100%, 200% and 400%; ISO Sensitivity Bracketing: ±1/3EV, ±2/3EV and ±1EV; Single AF / Continuous AF; TTL contrast AF, AF assist illuminator available; White balance Automatic scene recognition: Shade, Fine, Fluorescent light (Warm White), Fluorescent light (Daylight), Incandescent light, Fluorescent light (Cool White), Custom, Underwater and Color temperature selection; Auto flash (super intelligent flash); Red-eye removal OFF: Forced Flash, Auto, Slow Synchro and Suppressed Flash; Red-eye removal ON: Red-eye Reduction & Forced Flash, Red-eye Reduction Auto, Red-eye Reduction & Slow Synchro and Suppressed Flash; Photography functions: EXR mode Resolution priority / EXR Auto / Dynamic range priority, High ISO & Low noise priority / Face recognition, Auto red-eye removal, Face Detection, Framing guideline, Film simulation, Histogram display, Frame No. memory, Advanced mode (Motion panorama360, Pro focus, Pro low light), Best frame capture, Electronic level, High Speed Movie (70 / 120 / 200 frames/sec.), Advanced Anti Blur, One-touch RAW and Color Space.

The Fujifilm FinePix X10 gets Playback functions: Auto red-eye removal, Face Detection, Protect, Multi-frame playback (with micro thumbnail), Resize, Crop, Image rotate, Slide show, Histogram display, Voice memo, Photobook assist, Exposure warning, Favorites, Image search, Panorama, Mark for upload, RAW conversing and Erase selected frames; Accessories included: Li-ion battery NP-50, Battery charger BC-45W, Shoulder strap, Lens cap, USB cable, CD-ROM and Owner’s manual. The Fujifilm FinePix X10 follows in footsteps of its larger brother, X100 by bringing quality build quality, photographer-friendly design and similar retro feel to a wider audience.

The Canon PowerShot A800 is the most basic and cheapest point and shoot camera money can buy. Several shooting options, design elements and features are identical between the company’s PowerShot A495 and PowerShot A800. The 2010 A-Series entry level point and shoot digital cameras of the company didn’t show plenty of diversity, however, each model has noticeable feature differences beyond scene modes and megapixels. The A800 comes with quite a few shooting options, all plastic body and slow shooting performance, it probably generates best images, you would expect. It is available for the price of $89.99 and comes packed with 10-megapixel ½.3inch CCD sensor, 2.5 inch screen with viewfinder, 3.3x of zoom lens, Motion JPEG/JPEG file format support, highest resolution of 3648 x 2736/640 x 480 pixels at 30 frames per second, digital image stabilization, storage media for SDXC/SD/SDHC and bundled software of ZoomBrowser EX 6.7.

The Canon PowerShot A800 generates excellent automatic snapshots for the money and performs well as compared to expensive cameras. The center sharpness is good, and the amount of purple fringing in high contrast areas is average for its segment. The images are great from A800 (vivid, pleasing and bright). On the other hand, the exposure is very good. The video quality is on the par with other high end point and shoot cameras. The ISO sensitivity ranges from Auto, 1600, 100, 800, 200 and 400. Some of the white balance modes include Auto, Custom, Daylight, Fluorescent H, Cloudy, Fluorescent and Tungsten. On the other hand, the recording modes are Auto, Movie, Program and Scene. The Focus modes include Normal, Center AF, Macro, Face AiAF and Infinity. Couple of metering modes are Evaluative, Spot and Center Weighted Average, while color effects are Normal, Custom, Vivid, White and Black, Neutral and Sepia.

You will usually find plethora of shooting modes in Canon PowerShot A800. It gets a reliable full auto, which uses scene recognition for adjusting settings; Program mode with options for color effects, white balance, ISO, focus and metering and 13 special scene modes including Kids & Pets, Fireworks, Foliage and Long Shutter. The A800 is available in silver, red and black color shades, and is reasonably small. It looks elegant with rounded corners. The controls are simple and straightforward and the menu systems are uncomplicated. The shutter release and power buttons are located on the top of the device with remaining controls at the back of LCD. At top, you will find a zoom rocker button followed by playback button, menu buttons, shooting mode and four-way control pad with select button. The Menu button pulls down two tabs of general settings, while the select button opens shooting mode specific options.

Standard features on Canon PowerShot A800 include built-in flash, 3.3x Optical & 4x Digital & 13x Combined Zoom; 10.0 Megapixel, 1/2.3-inch type Charge Coupled Device (CCD) sensor; TTL Autofocus; 2.5-inch TFT color screen; Colour Filter Type: Primary Colour; image processor Type: DIGIC III with iSAPS technology; AF System/ Points: AiAF (Face Detection / 5-point), 1-point AF (fixed centre); AF Modes: Single and Continuous; AF Lock: On/Off Selectable; Metering modes: Evaluative, Centre-weighted average and Spot; ISO sensitivity: AUTO, 100, 200, 400, 800, 1600; Settings: Auto including Daylight, Face Detection WB), Tungsten, Cloudy, Fluorescent H, Fluorescent and Custom; Modes: Auto, Manual Flash On / Off, Slow Synchro and Flash Exposure Compensation: Face Detection FE, Smart Flash Exposure.

The Canon PowerShot A800 also gets External Flash: Canon High Power Flash HF-DC1; Modes: Auto, P, Movie, SCN (Blur Reduction (2.0MP), Kids & Pets, Portrait, Low Light (2.0MP), FaceSelf-Timer, Poster Effect, Super Vivid, Foliage, Beach, Sunset, Snow, Long Shutter, Fireworks along with Scene Detection Technology and Motion Detection Technology; Drive modes: Single, Continuous, Self-Timer; Image Size: (M1) 2816 x 2112, (L) 3648 x 2736, (S) 640 x 480, (M2) 1600 x 1200 and (W) 3648 x 2048; Still Image Type: Design rule for Camera File system, JPEG compression, Digital Print Order Format Version 1.1 compliant; Direct Print Canon Printers: Canon SELPHY Compact Photo Printers and Canon Inkjet Printers supporting PictBridge; Menu Languages: German, English, Dutch, French, Finnish, Danish, Norwegian, Italian, Spanish, Swedish, Chinese (traditional), Simplified Chinese, Russian, Japanese, Korean, Portuguese, Polish, Greek, Hungarian, Czech, Thai, Turkish, Ukrainian, Arabic, Farsi, Romanian and Hindi.

The Canon PowerShot A800 features Computer Interface: Hi-Speed USB (MTP, PTP) dedicated connector (Mini-B compatible); Type: SDHC, SD, MMC, SDXC, HCMMCplus and MMCplus; Browsing & Printing: ZoomBrowser EX / ImageBrowser; Battery life: Approx. 300 shots with supplied batteries, Approx. 500 shots with optional Canon NB-3AH batteries, Approx. 660 min. playback with supplied batteries and Approx. 720 min. playback with Canon NB-3AH batteries and Power Supply & Battery Chargers: Battery Charger Kit CBK4-300, Ni-MH Batteries NB4-300 and AC adapter kit ACK800. So, those who are in the market looking for an entry level point and shoot camera with excellent image quality, sturdy build quality and Blur Reduction Scene mode, Canon PowerShot A800 is a wonderful choice.

The shutter release and power buttons of the Sony Cyber-shot DSC-W570 are located on the top. They are pretty flush with the body and can be easily pressed. Still you will need to look at them while pressing. Other controls are located on the back on the screen’s right. Zoom rocker is there above thumbrest and on the body’s right edge, there is a vertical slider for moving from the shooting stills to movies to panoramas. Delete, Menu, Playback and circular directional pad takes care of all the other tasks. Apart from menu navigation, directional pad change the timer and flash functions, activate smile detection and change the display information.

Sony Cyber-shot DSC-W570 can be connected to a TV or computer through proprietary jack located on the camera’s bottom. AV/USB cable is also included but you need to buy a component cable for HD output. Battery compartment and memory card slot of the Sony Cyber-shot DSC-W570 covered by a lockable door and you will have to open it regularly for removing the battery while charging. The battery life of this camera is quite average for this size and the manufacturer rates it for 200 shots. The card slot of this camera is compatible with Memory Stick or SD card. If you are having Eye-Fi SD wireless card, the camera will stay powered on till the wireless media uploads are completed. There is an onscreen icon for this and the Eye-Fi Card Wi-Fi can be disabled or enabled through the camera menu. Internal memory is very limited but there is a small software inside for uploading the movies and photos quickly for sharing sites when this camera is connected to Mac or Windows based computer.

I have no problems in recommending the Sony Cyber-shot DSC-W570 at a price range of sub $200. It is a nice camera even though the performance is a bit slow. The only thing that keeps me from recommending it strongly is the softer lens.

The guy says that using the camera is very easy since all the controls are on the phone and it is as easy as using a standard cellphone (according to the user). When asked about the OS, the guy refused to reveal anything and said that it is still under development. WVIL stands for Wireless Viewfinder Interchangeable Lens and it is really amazing technology. The lens can be detached from the device and you can use it as a viewfinder on the screen of the phone. There are no wires in between!

There is a 31 megapixel CMOS sensor built in to the lens and this is the secret behind the slim body of the handset. There is some thickening done on the handset but that is only for better ergonomics while taking pictures. The controls for zoom are located on the lens but there is also a scrolling arc on the phone for this. You can also upload photos directly to Facebook once you are done shooting. Check out the video below.

Sony Cyber-shot DSC-T99 also comes with Sweep Panorama feature which lets you take panoramic shots vertically or horizontally. It seems like fun thing to use but the results are not as good as that on the Sony Exmor R-based models like HX5V and TX9. They are usable only for small prints. Finally, Movie mode will record content at resolution of 720p HD and there is mono mic for audio. Optical zoom can be used while recording.

Sony Cyber-shot DSC-T99 shooting performance is slow except for the time to the first shot. Slide the lens cover down and the camera will get ready in 1.6 seconds. Shutter lag, which is the time taken from shutter release to capture, is 0.5 second in bright light conditions. In the low light conditions, this lag increases to 0.8 second. There is a long wait between the shots of 3.9 seconds without flash and with it, the lag is 4.4 seconds. For this class, the camera is really quick with continuous shooting at 1.7 fps or frames per second but it is just a two shot burst and the device gets slow later. Due to these times and the laggy response of the interface, I would recommend this camera for landscape and portraits. It isn’t good for moving subjects.

Photo quality of the Sony Cyber-shot DSC-T99 is pretty average but it depends on your needs too. T99 can take nice snapshots especially in bright light conditions. The photos look natural and bright with accurate colors up to ISO 800. Sensitivities range from ISO 80 to ISO 3,200 but if you are taking prints above 8 by 10 inches, I would recommend you to stay below ISO 200. Also, there is watery effect of lens distortion and noise suppression on the corners and sides and the pictures look painterly and soft. If you don’t mind some noise, you can go ahead and click photos up to ISO 800 for online use or for small prints.

The photo quality of the Samsung PL200 is really good. I didn’t see any big shift in the quality till ISO 400 where subjects started getting softer even at the smaller sizes. In the Smart Auto or the Auto ISO, this camera uses the ISO 400 setting as the ceiling. It is good for getting best possible quality of photo but it is not good if you are shooting in low light conditions or indoors. This camera starts slowering the shutter speeds instead of raising ISO and this means that you will be needing still subjects and steady hands to make sure that the photos don’t get blurred. The ISO 800 is good for Web use and small prints but the colors look off. I won’t recommend using the ISO 3200 or ISO 1600 because it has a lot of problems with noise, color and noise reduction for making the photos worthwhile.

At the wide end of the Samsung PL200 lens, you will see some slight barrel distortion. There isn’t any distortion when you extend the lens, though. I liked the center sharpness, it is good on the camera and is also consistent from edge to edge except fro the edges. There was some softness in corners which made the subjects look smeary when I saw them at the larger sizes.

Samsung PL200 has OK video quality and it is as good as DVD video. I was disappointed with this as I expected more from the 720p HD resolution capabilities. There will be a lot of judder if you pan this camera too quickly or shoot moving subjects.

The ISO 6400 setting is unusable but this problem exists in all the consumer cameras. For me, the high ISO sensitivity is more of a marketing tool than a useful feature. The noise profile on the Olympus E-PL2 is very nice but still it is nowhere close to Sony Alpha NEX-5. This is because the images in lower resolution lose the sharpness quickly instead of the higher noise incidence. Shooting can be done comfortably up to ISO 800. I saw softening and degradation of details at ISO 600. The color artifacts became apparent at the ISO 3200. The shadows too aren’t clipped at the higher ISO sensitivities are seen on other cameras.

I liked the overall photo quality of Olympus E-PL2; it is better than the E-PL1, its predecessor. The manufacturer has tweaked the default noise reduction parameters and hence you lose little sharpness but the results are more natural looking. The photos are pretty usable even at ISO 3200 as long as there aren’t any small details in the photos. Color rendition is still really good and it looks like the metering has improved for producing brighter exposures in the similar lighting conditions.

Video quality of the Olympus E-PL2 is pretty good but nothing spectacular. There are manual controls for movie shootings along with Art Filter support. Except for the stationery scenes, I saw rolling shutter wobble which was a concern. There is 14-42mm lens which is dubbed MSC and is made for quieter operation while you shoot videos. The manufacturer has just used internal focus and there aren’t any fancy technology concepts used. But the results are quieter. Continuous autofocus is a little inconsistent as compared to the PEN cameras and older lens. It has a tendency to hunt even on the stationery objects. Lens comes with bayonet mount on front along with add-ons and filters. Olympus will soon give accessories to attach here. I was delighted to see an improvement in the performance of this camera as compared to the previous models.

It is surprising to see that Canon didn’t choose to put any video centric features here like continuous auto-focus during the video recording. Competing cameras like Nikon D3100 do have it and with this feature, you can enable face detection, to make the experience similar to that of a camcorder. There aren’t any big video features here but the manufacturer has announced a very clever accessory for video enthusiasts – hybrid flash which is meant for video recording and still images. On the top, there is a traditional flashtube which discharges light flashes while you shoot images. There is also a LED on front which will remain on while recording videos. All this will be handy in low light conditions. The flash is being sold for $249.99 and there is also the Speedlight 270EX flash which is non-LED equipped and it is available for $169.99.

These 2 new flashes on the Canon EOS Rebel T3i have handy wireless capabilities. There are wireless slave unit built in to the flashes and you can get really creative with your pics. You can also use these flashes are a remote control for the camera. The flashes have dedicated shutter release key for commanding the device to capture images.

This is the least expensive dSLR from this manufacturer and it costs $599 along with 18-55 mm lens. This camera can capture 12 megapixel images with resolution of 720p30 at three fps or frames per second. It will be available from March 2011.

Panasonic Lumix DMC-FH20 is available in five color options and overall, the device looks quite attractive. You can easily put it in a pants pocket but it might make you uncomfortable. The gadget is comfortable to use and hold and it feels well constructed for this price point.

Controls of the Panasonic Lumix DMC-FH20 are easy to master and if you have used digital cameras before, you will get hang of the controls pretty quickly. The button for switching the camera on and off is located next to the zoom ring and shutter release. A tiny button quickly takes you to the Panasonic’s Intelligent Auto mode (iA) which automatically determines the best Scene mode and corrects any issues of blurring, brightness and focus. One might say that Movie mode will be more useful here but the switch lets you move between the iA and other modes of shooting. If you do a lot of shooting in iA mode, you can set the device to Movie Mode and then iA key for switching between the two quickly.

On the right side of the screen, there is a switch which lets you move between the playback to shooting. Underneath this, there is mode button with four way navigation buttons which double up as flash, exposure, timer, and macro controls. The Set/Menu buttons brings up the rest of device’s settings. For changing the information on the display, there is a Display button. All this is simple and very easy to use. The only feature on the Panasonic Lumix DMC-FH20 that you might get confused with is Quick Menu button (Q.Menu) on the right.

Panasonic Lumix DMC-FH20 has a door which conceals the AV/Micro-USB port. The memory card slots and battery are placed on the bottom and they are protected securely by a door. The camera has a good battery life, you get 300 shots on a full charge. Of course, using zoom or shooting video will eat the battery life faster.

Panasonic Lumix DMC-FH20 has basic shooting options; this camera is made for people who shoot in auto. The iA fully automatic mode is not on the Mode menu but you have to access it through the dedicated button on the camera’s top. The Mode menu has Normal Picture mode which gives you some control over the results with color effects, exposure compensation, ISO, white balance, and focus. There are 24 scene modes to choose from and they include Portrait, Night Scenery and Sunset.

There is no optical zoom or HD movie mode so if you yearn for good quality videos, this camera is not for you. Apart from that, I was disappointed to see that there is no optical view finder here and the camera suffers from some design miscues. I would still recommend this camera; the photo quality is not the best but it will still make you happy provided you are not expecting dSLR like quality.

Another popular device amongst the point and shoot digital cameras is the Panasonic Lumix DMC-ZR1 which is simple to use and has a nice design. The performance is excellent and the photo quality too is really good. The problem areas here include no aperture controls or shutter speed and the manufacturer hasn’t provided an AV output cable with the camera either. I would still recommend this camera as it is one of the best compact megazoom devices out there. I liked the features like quick AF system, megazoom wide-angle lens and the picture quality.

Canon PowerShot SD4000 IS is the third best in my best point and shoot digital cameras list and in this case, I liked the fast continuous shooting that it had to offer. The photo quality is good in low light conditions and the lens too is really nice. There are a few disappointments here like the shooting modes (most of them) are buried very deep in menu system and the shooting options are fewer than competing models in the market have to offer. I am recommending this camera because it has high-sensitivity sensor and the wide angle, bright lens give great image quality.

These three are heavily recommended if you are looking for good point and shoot digital cameras in the market. You can take a look at all three and buy the one that suits your needs the best.