Top 10 Digital Cameras
Casio's Exilim EX-Z750
Fine image quality and a great design earn Casio's new Exilim EX-Z750 the top spot and a Best Buy in this month's point-and-shoot rankings. The EX-Z750 pulls off the hat trick of a slim case, a huge 2.5-inch LCD, and easy-to-operate controls. Among the camera's 30 scene modes designed to help you get better shots are Pastel, Splashing Water, and Twilight, which uses a magenta filter.
A 12X optical zoom lens with image stabilization gives Sony's Cyber-shot DSC-H1 its bulky shape and considerable weight. But the powerful telephoto makes this model the best choice on the chart for sports or nature photography. Our one complaint: Though the H1's zoom is quick, the autofocus is slower than we'd like for action shooting. Image quality was not the Sony's strong suit in our tests: Our still-life shot had a slightly greenish tinge, and the flash portrait was a little overexposed.
HP's new Photosmart R817 resembles our number two Best Buy, the HP Photosmart R717, in size and function. What the R817 loses in megapixels, it adds in a longer optical zoom (5X, versus the R717's 3X). The R817 outdid its sibling in color and exposure accuracy, but fell well behind it in sharpness. Other models tested this month--Fujifilm's FinePix Z1, Casio's Exilim EX-S500, and Nikon's Coolpix S1--failed to make the chart.