Although the price of digital cameras doesn't seem to alter much, with the base level still sitting at around the £200 mark, you do get more for your money each year. For between £300 and £400 you can buy a digital camera with a 2-Mpixel, 3-Mpixel or even 4-Mpixel CCD array, a good level of zoom, enough memory (though never generous amounts) and rechargeable batteries to keep running costs down.

£200 also remains the price difference between digital and conventional cameras of roughly similar specification. If you're in the market for a digital camera at around £300, you should expect a similar sort of feature-set to a £100, 35mm Compact. Assuming your digital camera uses rechargeable cells, running costs come down to film and development versus printer ink and photo paper.

Of the cameras reviewed here, two stand out from the rest. If you want a camera just for its image quality, then the Canon Digital Ixus V2 takes excellent images, using its new intelligent auto-focus system. It's a delight to use, as everything does just what you'd expect, and its miniature dimensions mean you really can slip it into a pocket and carry it with you.

The newcomer to digital cameras, Samsung, has used its skill in designing high-performance electronics to produce a fine digital camera which is particularly easy-to-use and can take short video sequences, too. Although it's a little bulky and comes with no form of rechargeable batteries, its 3.2-Mpixel CCD means it's ideal as a camera for larger prints.