Ricoh's Caplio R1 is unfortunately the underperformer of the lot in this Labs, with final scores below the 100 average. While the scores below may make it seem like it's a very poor camera, the reality is that the scores highlight the deviations and differences in the products compared.

Kyocera's Finecam SL400R has the most innovative styling of any of the compact cameras here: it has a swivelled body which cuts the camera in two so you can swing the lens down giving it a cross-like form factor as seen from the side. It's a funky design, and it means that when flush the camera has a slim, pocketable aspect.

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.

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.