Small but perfectly formed for smart snapping

The shop windows glisten with fancy looking compact cameras designed, it seems, to suit everyone from partygoers to Arctic explorers. But which features are worth tracking down and, hype aside, which technologies make a practical difference?

Is it still worth opting for a dedicated camera, given that mobile phones claim to do the job just as well? In a word, yes. InGear has tested the latest camera phones and the one thing they had in common was that they were outgunned by a proper camera.

The key virtue of a dedicated camera is that it is far less flummoxed by tricky conditions. Even modestly priced compacts have an optical zoom – the Sony reviewed here squeezes in a full 5x zoom, while the others are between 3x and 3.8x – along with antishake features and a proper flash. Indeed, most can take a credible picture, without flash, in gloomy light.

Camera makers have, thankfully, abandoned the arms race of delivering the most megapixels (Mp), as this doesn’t improve picture quality any more. All the models on test offer 8Mp, aside from the Fujifilm and Olympus, which have 7Mp. Competition is now so fierce that all the main manufacturers have upped their game in terms of picture quality and there was little difference between the models on test. The Panasonic delivered images with slightly more detail than the herd and the Fujifilm slightly less, but this was only noticeable on prints of at least 7x5in. Where they could be more readily separated was in their features and the versatility these bring.

Cameras have long been able to assess the characteristics of a scene – how much light is in, say, a candle-lit restaurant – but they now understand what they are looking at too. Face-detection allows the camera to identify human faces in a frame and then focus on these and adjust the exposure. It’s clever, even uncanny, but often of little tangible benefit.

However, some makers have taken this a step further. The “smile shutter” of the Sony Cyber-shot T200 can be set so the camera doesn’t take a picture until the subject grins, even after you have pressed the shutter release. What was previously an interesting technology has become useful – or at least a talking point.

More practical still is the “28mm equivalent” wide-angle lens on the Panasonic and Canon models. The maths of this are abstruse but the advantages are real. Either camera can squeeze more of your relations into a group shot around a Christmas tree without you stepping backwards.

The success of YouTube proves that people prefer 90sec video snippets to hour-long family movies and an underrated feature of digital cameras is their ability to capture video. This feature has improved in the past year or so and all the cameras on test can shoot video at 640x480 pixels and 30fps (frames per second) aside from the Fujifilm, which was inferior, and the Panasonic which outperformed the others. That means the cameras offer video quality not too far behind a basic camcorder, albeit with far fewer features. The Panasonic even mimics the widescreen shape of modern domestic television sets.

There was little variation in size or build quality in these cameras, though some offer a panoply of colours to choose from. The Olympus Mju 790 SW even claims to be both shockproof and waterproof, and whether you are snowboarding or fell walking on Boxing Day, a camera that copes with the great outdoors is a handy thing.

The ability to shoot in gloomier conditions, without flash, is now standard. In poorer light, a camera employs slower shutter speeds to produce an adequate exposure, but this eventually creates blur due to camera movement. Cameras deal with this in two ways. One is to increase the sensor’s sensitivity, also known as its ISO setting. The second is to use image stabilisers (or antishake), which steady the camera as you shoot. While this keeps the camera still, it can’t stop a moving subject from blurring.

Most cameras employ one or both methods, which gives you a decent chance of bagging acceptable shots in a theatre or city street at night, without flash. Don’t be oversold, though. There was little difference here in the models on test and the low-light results were more about having a credible shot worth e-mailing to friends than creating any Cartier-Bresson calibre prints. That said, for sheer flexibility and value, this season’s compacts are a deeply impressive bunch.

JARGON BUSTER

Antishake
Compensates for camera movement on long exposures in low light. Also known as image stabilisation

Megapixels
(Mp) Number of camera-sensor pixels in millions: 7Mp is plenty for most compacts – too many on a small sensor can reduce quality

Sensor
Light-sensitive chip that replaces film in digital cameras

Shutter lag
Delay between pressing shutter button and camera shooting. Caused by slow autofocus

Zoom
Digital zoom artificially enlarges the image with quality loss, while optical zoom magnifies images without loss

Reviews by Rod Lawton
Prices include Vat & delivery

TOUCH OF CLASS
Sony Cyber-shot DSC T200 – typically £299, or £213 from www.eatay.com
Five stars
Slim, stylish and clever too

“Dear Santa, I want a swish camera with a 5x zoom, a huge touchscreen display and no discernable shutter lag. Oh, and it must know when to take a picture.” Lack faith in Mr Claus? Buy a Cyber-shot T200 and you’ll be smiling this yuletide. This Sony’s excellent 3.5in widescreen display takes up the entire rear fascia without controls adding clutter. The elegant touchscreen menus proved simple and responded to the tap of a fingernail. The T200’s autofocus was exceptionally quick, its face-detection was smooth, and smile-detection remarkable. However, the smile feature didn’t respond to everyone: if your face doesn’t fit, the camera may remain stonily indifferent. In truth, aside from this novelty feature and a slightly larger screen, this new Sony is little better than its predecessor (the T100) but it remains a suave and eminently practical choice.

POWER TOOL
Panasonic Lumix DMC-FX55 – typically £280, or £200 from www.cameras2u.com
Five stars
Robust and versatile all-rounder

If you hanker for an uncomplicated camera without compromising on features or quality, opt for an FX55. The menu text is mercifully legible and there is a proper power-switch. Better still, the Intelligent Auto mode proved idiot-proof. All cameras have “scene” modes, but the Panasonic automatically figures out what conditions it is shooting in so you don’t have to choose. The FX55 isn’t oversimplified, though. Adjusting controls was easy using the small but effective thumbstick on the back. The 28mm wide-angle lens is handy for cramming colleagues into group shots at the office bash. The Lumix took marginally more detailed pictures than its rivals, but the widescreen movie mode was a bigger step forward. So despite its functional styling and protruding lens, this capable Panasonic is a winner.

STYLE GURU
Canon Digital Ixus 860 IS – typically £299, or £207 from www.rankhour.com
Four stars
Understated class and up-to-date tech

The Canon Ixus range carries serious gadget cachet and though the last model reviewed by InGear felt unimpressive, the 860 IS is a return to form. For top-drawer results delivered reliably and without fuss by a camera you would be proud to pose with, look no further. Beauty should be more than skin deep, of course, and the Ixus 860 IS is just as smart on the inside. Its 28mm wide-angle lens enables you to capture extra partygoers or broad scenic views in a shot without taking a step backwards. The face-detection system worked quickly and its autofocus was fast and effective. The 3in LCD is excellent. Complaints? Well, the lens protrudes from the camera body when in use and the navigation control was cramped, but that’s nitpicking. This is a genuinely classy camera.

TEENAGE KICKS
Fujifilm FinePix Z10 – typically £130, or £110 from www.dabs.com
Partygoer’s treat, great value

This Fuji is sold in a wide range of striking colours and it will slip into a small shirt pocket. Indeed, at 19mm, the FinePix Z10 is the slimmest on test. It’s the cheapest too – but it still felt well made and had a smooth-action metal lens cover. Rather than being festooned with buttons the Fuji has a pair of four-way navigation controls, which made it easy to use. The 2.5in screen is compact but of good quality, and the autofocus proved swift, as did the face-detection. However, subjects had to look straight at the camera, and it occasionally spotted “faces” where there were none. Picture quality was decent, albeit large (7x5in) prints had slightly less detail than rivals and some outlines had a slight purple fringe. The movie-capture mode was also weak. Nevertheless, this Fuji is a boon for parties.

WINTER SPORT
Olympus Mju 790 SW – typically £250, or £175 from www.amazon.co.uk
Four stars
Stylish, go-anywhere camera

If you tumble down the piste this season you’ll be glad the camera in your pocket can withstand a 5ft drop or sink 10ft under water. Less active photographers can even rinse one down after the baby has smeared it with jam. Better still, the Mju 790 SW does not look like a tank. It’s no bigger than the other cameras on test and is sold in various smart colours – digital wellies for the afternoon, and a party frock for the evening. The Olympus survived being chucked around and then dunked in water and the picture quality was good. But its plasticky buttons felt like something from a Christmas cracker and the face-detection mode didn’t work so well. The menus are also more labyrinthine than most. Otherwise, this well priced Olympus is both tough and smart. A good combo.

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