Top 10 Digital Cameras

Canon's PowerShot Pro1 is the best of the new advanced digital cameras we tested this month. One of a small group of 8-megapixel models, the Pro1 earned high marks in all imaging categories, including color accuracy and sharpness. Relatively compact and equipped with a 7X optical zoom, it makes an especially attractive travel camera. Another camera well suited for travel, the Olympus C-770 Ultra Zoom, has a 10X optical zoom and weighs only 12 ounces. We tested an early production version of Nikon's consumer SLR, the D70, but were not confident about the image quality scores it received. We'll test a second unit and report the results online when we have them.

Change of Plan

If you follow our digital camera charts carefully, you'll notice that battery life and image quality scores have changed for some models. That's because all of the cameras listed in the chart have been run though new battery life and image quality tests.

For consistency from month to month, we try to change our tests as infrequently as possible. But occasionally we have to make adjustments to keep up with changes in technology or to reflect more accurately the way devices are currently used. In the case of digital camera battery life, we formerly measured this important statistic by taking shots with and without flash until the battery died. Now, we also power the camera's zoom up and down in set cycles. As before, we repeat the cycles until the camera's battery dies, and then we report the total time the battery lasted and the number of shots the camera took.

In the past, we sent our images to Ofoto, an online photo site, which made the 4-by-6 and 8-by-10 prints we used in judging image quality. Fortunately for photographers but unfortunately for us, Ofoto and most other print makers have implemented sophisticated systems to optimize prints. That's a great way to get beautiful prints, but it may also mask flaws in the photos a digital camera produces--the very things we're looking for. As of our September 2004 issue, we print our test images in-house on a Fujifilm Pictrography 3500 silver-halide printer, a device that you might find in a professional studio or small photo shop.