The compact cameras on test dazzle with their flashy, ultra-sleek designs. They’re all highly portable (weighing

between 136g to 260g) so they’re perfect for capturing those special moments on the fly.

Don’t let their size fool you, though. Several cameras feature some of the same manual settings you’d expect from larger digital single lens reflex (DSLR) cameras, so they’re highly versatile. All the cameras on test have enough megapixels to print a good quality 7x5-inch photograph; some will even print good-quality, larger 10x8-inch prints, too.

Digital cameras sometimes produce an unwanted yellow tinge in certain types of light (such as indoor fluorescent light) which the naked eye normally sees as white. Avoid this unwanted colour cast on your photographs by automatically adjusting the scene’s white balance Occasionally you may need to customise the white balance

if the camera itself doesn’t get it quite right. Most of the cameras let you do this.

All cameras also record short movies but they aren’t designed to double as camcorders just yet so movie quality on these models is nothing to write home about.

The split-second lag between pressing the shutter button and capturing the scene as you’re viewing it through the monitor can make all the difference between a good photograph and a bad one, particularly if you’re taking pictures of unpredictable toddlers.

GOOD FOUNDATIONS - We highlight the basics about digital cameras

Digital cameras work like traditional film cameras only instead of capturing pictures on to film they store images on to removable, reusable memory cards.

FRAMING SHOTS

Photos are usually composed using an LCD (liquid crystal display) screen situated at the back of the camera. Some

cameras have a viewfinder too (the window you put your eye against to look through).

You use the LCD screen to review and delete your shots and access the onscreen display in order to set the picture size, shutter speed, ISO etc.

DEVELOPING DIGITAL

After you transfer your digital pictures to your PC using your camera’s USB cable (or popping your memory card into a USB powered memory card reader), you can spruce them up using image-editing software then share them with friends and family over email or put them online.

You can print your digital photos at home or give them to a high street photo lab like Snappy Snaps or an online printing service such as Snapfish.

QUALITY CONTROL

The number of pixels (small dots or ‘picture elements’ that make up an image) a camera can record is measured in megapixels (Mp). All cameras on test have at least 6Mp; a 7.2Mp camera is good enough to print out a top quality 10x8- inch image (3.6Mp is still good enough to print a decent 10x8-inch image).

LAGGING BEHIND

One of the big downsides of digital cameras is that they suffer from excessive shutter lag (the delay between pressing the shutter on a camera and the picture being taken). The delay depends on the speed and intelligence

of the auto focus. Another drawback is batteries; the LCD screen drains them.

Unlike the naked eye, cameras may not interpret white correctly – for example, a household bulb may take on a

yellow cast. Cameras often adjust this with their automatic white balance (AWB) settings but there are times you

may need to adjust this.

By Kim Gilmour