Along with the Sony Cyber-shot P-93, the Canon Powershot A95 is the big lad of this roundup with a pretty decent 5-megapixel CCD. The rest vary from 3-4-megapixel. While this does give the Canon a bit of an edge over the competition in terms of resolution and functionality, it's the camera's other attributes that cemented this unit in the top three.

A high end DVD-based camcorder for quick and clean shooting.

HITACHI DZ-MV208E

This camera is so small you can put it in your pocket just like a mobile phone, yet it packs quite a punch. Compared with earlier cameras, the DCR-IP7 has been improved and added to, and is no longer just a video camera for home movies and still shots.

It’s the stills camera that thinks it’s a video camera. A high definition video camera.

The digital still camera is a treat to use.

As a reviewer, there is no greater thrill than being privy to a product that you know will either revolutionise or turn the world upside down. The first Palm Pilot, USB devices, and the Canon 1Ds.

Digital photography has made enormous strides in recent years, and as a result, the technology is being incorporated into affordable consumer products.

The first thing that struck me about the Camedia C-990 Zoom was that it looks and feels like a camera.

The first thing you notice about the Kyocera Samurai 2100DG is the shape of the camera.

Olympus first introduced SLR (single lens reflex) to digital cameras in early 1998 in the form of the Camedia C-1400L.

Over the last few years there is no doubt mainstream PCs have leant increasingly towards visual applications. The power of visually communicating has grown in acceptance as more and more products and applications reach fruition.

Digital camera prices are continuing to fall, which is largely due to market saturation. Fortunately for consumers, it's now at a point where a good quality high resolution camera can be picked up for a little under $1000.

Canon typically puts out a good digital video camera and for a while had the market fairly well sown up. However, there is now plenty of competition and Canon can no longer just rely on its reputation to keep it at the top. The MVX250i is a mid range camera designed for average users who want something more than the bare basics. Its 860,000 pixel (effective) CCD provides a good quality picture in most cases, including in night mode. However, it can be slow to find a good colour balance.

Sony's DVD201E HandyCam is a good example of how far DVD cameras have come and what a bit of commonsense can do when selecting the right format. Unlike some of the earlier DVD cameras which opted for the unpopular DVD-RAM rewritable format, Sony elected to go with the more common DVD-RW format.

It looks like a standard webcam, but the Axis 205 is cleverer than that. Its internal web server and 10/100 Ethernet port mean it can be directly connected to and accessed by anyone on the network.

Hitachi VM-D965LE Video

The Nikon Coolpix E3700 is the smallest camera here and by far the most pocketable. It features mag-alloy body, so that even though the camera's small, it's really sturdy. There's no hesitation involved in throwing this camera in a bag amongst your other gear.

If you had asked me a few weeks ago what the advantages of eight megapixels (MP) were over five, I would have said very few. However, that was before I discovered the fun factor in being able to play with an image that is up to 115cm by just over 86cm (72dpi).