Cameras & Camcorders / Digital Cameras

Given that the best camera is often the one you have to hand, the growing popularity of phone cameras is easily explained. However, despite their improved capabilities, smartphone cameras still struggle in poor light and they offer little in the way of manual control. So although smartphones are excellent at snapping unexpected and everyday moments, for important occasions and special events, you might like to opt for the impressive image quality and greater versatility that the best digital cameras can provide. And when it comes to trekking up hills, down dirt tracks, on the beach or under water, the ever-expanding range of rugged cameras might be just the ticket and save your costly and fragile smartphone from an untimely demise.
We test cameras at all levels and price ranges but here we focus on some of our more basic and compact models, which are great for slipping into your pocket when going out and about. These compact digital cameras are lighter to carry, more affordable, and easier to use than high-end devices like DSLRs or bridge cameras but the best ones still offer plenty of features to let you get creative with your shots and ensure excellent results.

Developments in digital cameras

Digital compact cameras are small, lightweight devices that fit easily into a pocket for handy access when a photo opportunity arises. Often known as point-and-shoot models, these cameras are easy and intuitive to use with an autofocus mode that makes all those tricky photographic decisions for you. A compact device will not match the speed and picture quality of digital SLRs (DSLRs) and bridge cameras but many of the best compact models now also come with a range of innovative features that bring them closer to more advanced, high-end cameras in terms of providing greater creative control over aperture, shutter speed and other key elements that affect your photographic results. As basic cameras continue to evolve, more superzoom models are appearing, offering optical zooms as great as 16x, 18x and even, 20x – but the camera body remains remarkably slim for ease of portability. Wi-fi connectivity is becoming more common, enabling users to quickly and easily transfer files to computers and mobile devices or upload shots to online sites like Facebook and YouTube, and many models offer very good image stabilisation to help avoid blurry shots by minimising handshake. DSLRs and bridge cameras offer these features and more and deliver impressive image quality and the opportunity for action shooting and artistic shots but they are bulkier, heavier and more expensive and tend to be aimed at more serious users.

Rugged cameras

For travel and outdoor use, there is an expanding range of rugged cameras that manufacturers claim can withstand all manner of challenges – dust, sudden shocks, and being submerged in water. This toughness comes at a price as manufacturers have to make compromises but the image quality and performance of these cameras have improved in recent years – though you won’t find any with long zooms. Most rugged cameras come with non-telescopic lenses and have rubber seals to help keep water and dust from entering the camera body and to provide internal protection from shocks. However, these cameras are not indestructible, so it is important to check the specifications and to not exceed their limits. Maintenance of these cameras is also key – if you don’t maintain a rugged model properly, by failing to follow the manufacturer’s instructions or opening the camera when you shouldn’t, you may as well have bought a normal camera in the first place. Care is needed when changing batteries and memory cards to ensure that everything re-seals properly. The camera should be in a clean, dust-free environment before opening it to avoid grit or dirt getting in, and the camera should not be opened when wet. Some seals may need to be replaced occasionally, which will likely come at a cost, so check before you buy and make sure that you are happy to do this.

Features to check out

Even basic compact cameras today offer a range of features, but make sure that these are genuinely useful, enabling you to take a better photo or achieve a good shot in tricky situations – otherwise, having a plethora of feature options will only add to clutter on the camera and increase the complexity of the device unnecessarily.

Weight and size: As with many products, it is a good idea to get hold of a camera before you buy it to check that it is a comfortable weight and that the size suits the shape of your hands, with all the controls easily accessible. Heavier cameras may be cumbersome to carry around, but if a camera is very light, it may be difficult to hold still.

Resolution: A digital camera’s resolution refers to the amount of detail it captures and is measured in effective megapixels (MP), which indicates the maximum number of pixels the camera uses to create any image. The models on test are 12-to-20-MP cameras. However, the number of megapixels alone does not determine the quality of the images produced – with other key factors being lens quality, sensor quality and sensor size – and a higher resolution does not necessarily produce better prints. For small snapshots, a 6-MP camera might be all you need and unless you often crop or drastically enlarge your images, you may not benefit from very high resolution. Most cameras let you choose between several resolution settings. A low-resolution shot takes up less storage space than a high-resolution one – useful if you need lots of quick-reference images, rather than a few high-quality ones.

Monitor: A couple of our cameras on test have an electronic viewfinder, but with most compact models you will have to rely on the LCD monitor to frame and review shots and to navigate menus and controls. Size is important here, as is the quality of the screen and whether it is easy to see in both low-light conditions and bright sunlight. Cameras that have a second viewfinder option offer a useful alternative when the LCD monitor is hard to view due to reflection in strong sunshine. Some monitors are touch-sensitive but it is debatable how useful touchscreens are on digital cameras as often it is easier to operate the device using physical controls.

Video: It is increasingly common for digital compact cameras to be able to shoot short videos in full high-definition but they won’t equal the quality of a dedicated camcorder as the sensors inside digital cameras are not as well-suited to video capture as the sensors inside camcorders. In addition, they lack video-specific features and not all of these cameras can zoom in video mode, so check before you buy. Audio quality can be disappointing and often extraneous noises from the camera when it is zooming or focusing can interfere with the sound track.

Memory cards: Digital compact cameras may have a small amount of internal storage capacity but, generally, shots are stored on removable memory cards. A low-capacity card, often 1-2GB, may be supplied with the camera but you may find you need more memory capacity if you are away from a computer for long periods and cannot download your images – or if you plan to take a lot of photos at high resolution. Almost all of our cameras on test accept higher-capacity versions of Secure Digital (SD) cards – SDHC and SDXC – and some take micro SD memory cards, which are often used in smartphones.

Optical zoom: An optical zoom uses the camera’s lens to bring the action nearer, giving a closer view with no loss of quality or resolution. In contrast, a digital zoom adjusts the image in the camera itself, enlarging the picture but reducing the image quality.

Image stabilisationEven when perfectly focused, your photo may still look slightly blurry, especially if it has been taken in low-light conditions or if you have zoomed in a lot, due to the problem of handshake, with sometimes even very small hand movements affecting the picture. One way to avoid this is to use a tripod but this is not always feasible. The best digital cameras now come with image stabilisation, which involves the lens or sensor moving slightly to compensate for any shakiness to ultimately provide sharper images.

Scene modes: Many digital cameras come with pre-set scene modes that automatically adjust the settings to enable you to take well-exposed images in a range of situations and tricky lighting conditions. Examples might include a “night portrait mode” that will try to balance the dark background with the need to light the subject in the foreground or a “sports mode” that will increase shutter speed to capture fast action.

Face detection: Cameras with face detection can be handy if you often take portrait shots. Using this feature, the camera attempts to find faces in the frame as you are composing the shot and adjusts settings so that the faces are in sharp focus, well exposed and have good colour balance.

GPS: This relatively new feature makes it possible to pinpoint precisely where you are in the world when you take a photo. It can be particularly useful if you take lots of snaps while travelling and or if you like to share this information via photo-sharing sites like Picasa and Flickr. However, using this feature can significantly eat into battery life.