This was the year the leading high-street retailer Dixons condemned the 35mm film camera to the gadget graveyard. Annual sales of digital cameras were outstripping film models by 15 to 1, and the technology analyst Understanding & Solutions now expects UK sales of digital cameras to rocket to 6.42m during 2005.

Digital photography brings convenience — as memory cards replace film and processing — along with versatility that enables digital photos to be viewed in a variety of ways, thanks to home printing, e-mail and album websites. Freed from the commitment of paying to develop every picture, the digital snapper can bag a cluster of shots, then decide later which to kill and which to keep. The temptation is, of course, to fill up memory cards to achieve that perfect pic.

The advent of camera phones has forced camera manufacturers to up their game, which is great for the consumer. Camphones may be improving, but they still have physically smaller light sensors and lenses of lower quality. In short, they are not yet “proper” cameras, so don’t be deceived by claims made for them.

Digital cameras were once bought purely on their megapixel (Mp) count, but the market has evolved so that most sub-£100 models have more than enough pixels to yield a quality print; 5Mp are ample for all but the most demanding photographer. A compact digicam that tries to squeeze too many megapixels onto its relatively small sensor can create digital noise that ruins images, so as a counterbalance, it is important for a camera to have a good processor, along with a quality lens. The complete package is what counts.

The latest technology is inspiring manufacturers to target cameras at individual lifestyles, such as a party animal who shoots in low-light venues, or an outdoor adventurer who wants a tough-as-boots camera that defies the forces of nature.

Plunging camera prices — particularly at enthusiast level — bring ever higher quality pictures for your money, plus ever more diverse technical features.

Freed from having to accommodate the 35mm film canister, makers are creating entirely new shapes for camera bodies. Where once a zoom lens would have been physically impossible to fit into a camera a centimetre deep, designers now turn the lens vertically inside the camera body, mimicking a periscope. Many current cameras exploit this innovation to squeeze in 3x optical magnification.

A new breed called the superzoom, pioneered by Panasonic, is growing in popularity, as it offers a mid-sized body with 10x zoom, which is ideal for sporting events or weddings, when you can’t close in on the action. With these bigger zooms has come clever image- stabilising technology, which, especially at high magnifications, helps to reduce the camera shake that we inevitably suffer. When taking pictures, experienced photographers stabilise themselves by squeezing elbows against their bodies while viewing through an eyepiece, but digital novices have a habit of holding the camera at arm’s length to view the LCD screen, which causes more shake. Fortunately, anti-shake technology has trickled down to some compact cameras, but you can do your bit by keeping those elbows tucked in.

Your first buying decision is between a pocket-friendly compact, designed for the everyday point-and-shoot snapper, a superzoom, or the traditional quality of a single-lens reflex (SLR) camera, which has a viewing system that enables you to look through the lens itself and to frame a picture precisely.

SLRs will produce better-quality pictures for a variety of reasons and enable you to change lenses, perhaps to a telephoto for shooting fast-moving deer at a distance in Richmond Park, or to a wide-angle lens for capturing the sprawl of Windsor Castle from nearby.

Once, no self-respecting photo enthusiast would be without an SLR, but up until now, digital versions have cost thousands. The past year has seen a flood of innovative models costing less than £1,000, and now, the first for under £500. Such pricing has sparked a digital SLR boom that has manufacturers struggling to meet demand.

In the pocket-snapshooter market, compacts are growing thinner, and viewfinders are disappearing altogether as LCD screen sizes have grown in a year from an average 1.5in across to about 2.5in, though this can shorten battery life.

As is clear from the cameras reviewed here, not all compacts are pure point-and-shoot toys. Though simplicity is often a virtue, many compacts now offer a keen number of manual features, fit for a variety of tasks. For example, the hard-working estate agent may prefer the wide-angle lens and robust body of the new Canon S80, while night owls will be glad to have red eye automatically removed by a deceptively smart camera such as the HP 817.

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