BEST FOR STILLS AND VIDEO

Nikon D90 £720

This is the world’s first digital SLR stills camera that’s also capable of recording high-definition video. The D90 is trickier to use than a camcorder, though, as it must be manually focused in video mode, will shoot just a few minutes of HD footage at a time, and records sound only in mono. Still images, however, are of the highest quality — the 12.3Mp resolution is more than enough to make high-quality A3-sized prints, the light-metering system is almost infallible, and the standard lens is capable of both wide-angle and telephoto shots. But the autofocus is slow compared with others on test here.

Verdict: A classy — and expensive — stills camera with passable HD video.

www.nikon.co.uk

BEST FOR COMPACT SIZE

Olympus E-520 £480

The 10Mp E-520 is a very neat, nicely designed package with a particularly compact lens system, making it the ideal choice as a holiday camera. Rather than relying on the on-screen menu, the Olympus has a number of buttons on its body, which allow fast access to its many features, including an integral image stabiliser. This makes it a little intimidating at first glance, although the camera is in fact pretty easy to use. Picture quality is very good, but if you’re shooting at fast speeds, unwanted digital “noise” in your images can become something of a problem.

Verdict: A solid choice if overall size is a key factor for you.

www.olympus.co.uk