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Product picks of the Week

Top Digital Cameras of 2009

The evolution of the digital camera continues, with manufacturers adding new models and improving existing models month by month. Anyone looking for an inexpensive, compact digital has been spoilt for choice in the last 12 months, but competition in the compact DSLR camera market is also heating up. DSLR, or "Digital Single Lens Reflex", cameras are often chosen by amateur enthusiasts or professional photographers, not least because of the quality of their lenses and the ability to change lenses as circumstances dictate. Several models, engineered with the photographer in mind, have appeared in 2009.

Top Digital Cameras of 2009

The Nikon Coolpix P600 is an ultra compact, ultra lightweight digital camera, weighing in at a little over 80oz, but is designed for the so-called "prosumer" market; in other words, it is designed to bridge the gap between the consumer and professional compact camera markets. The Nikon Coolpix P600 performs well across a range of ISO levels, from a minimum of 64 to a maximum of 2,000 and is capable of shooting in RAW and JPEG formats. In common with many other compact cameras, however, the Nikon Coolpix P600 does suffer from the fact that its number of megapixels and the size of its sensor do not match; it is not just the number of pixels, but also the pixel density, that is important when it comes to picture quality.

The Fujifilm Finepix F200EXR is another tiny digital camera, measuring just 3.8" x 2.3" x 0.9" and weighing in at just under 7oz. The Fujifilm Finepix F200EXR actually introduces a new sensor technology, in the form of the Super CCD EXR sensor, designed to improve dynamic range and low-light performance. The camera performs well, even at full 12-megapixel resolution, at ISO levels up to ISO 800, but, for low-light shooting, so-called "EXR" mode lowers the resolution to 6 megapixels for improved color accuracy and detail. On the downside, however, it provides limited aperture settings and its menu system is not the most intuitive.

One of the best cameras this year, at least in terms of megapixels, is the Canon EOS 50D DSLR camera. It offers a 15.1 megapixel (MP) sensor - one of the highest megapixels counts available and fully 5.0MP more than its predecessor, the Canon EOS 40D, and performs adequately up to ISO 1,600. The camera can actually handle up to ISO 12,800, so you can take photographs in dimly lit environments, but you should expect color noise to increase as a consequence. A 3", 920,000 dpi, LCD screen also makes previewing your images easy.