How to be picture perfect

The market has become saturated with digital cameras - and the good news for the consumer is that manufacturers are cramming more features and better picture resolution into their most basic models.

With so many on the market, you're bound to find one that suits your budget and needs perfectly, so here's a guide to some of the best...

Three/four Megapixel

Goodmans G-Shot 3021Z Price: £99.90

If awards were dished out for ugly cameras, this 3megapixel Goodmans would need an aircraft hangar to hold the trophy cabinet. Its Frankenstein's Monster styling is more than matched by its hideous size and feel.

Cheap buttons, manually switched lens cover and the fact you must turn the dial to a special sync setting for downloading images to your PC add to the horror. And yet the images are refreshingly crisp. The display screen is small yet capable, with plenty of info available, while the menu is simple to use. It comes with a 32Mb SD card and it runs on standard AA batteries. Best of all, the Goodmans is stupidly cheap. If you're after a budget camera and don't mind looking a bit of a plonker when you use it, this could be for you. Jonathan Goddard

Konica Minolta Dimage XT Price: £189.90

Now this is what lower-end digital cameras should look like. Its sleek brushed metal and chrome shell exudes style, while the buttons feel solid. The Dimage XT is a real pick-up-and-play camera, with simple controls - which makes you wonder why the instruction manual is heavier than a lead-lined safe. And the screen is nice and clear, too. But while the tiny lens, tucked away in the top corner behind a fancy sliding cover, looks good, it proves its shortcomings on mid-distance snapping.

While close-up work is brilliant, results from a few feet away are less favourable, and that's what most people want these cameras for. Its flash also underperformed, producing rather harsh indoor pics. Still, its fast start-up, e-mail copy function and video conferencing mode are nice touches.

Five Megapixel

Centon DC5 Price: £199.90

The rather satisfying feel and solidity of this Centon 5megapixel goes some way towards compensating for its uninspired and harsh design. With all the features you'd expect from a camera of this price and size (3x optical zoom, 4x digital zoom, audio/video clip and stillimage voice memo, clear display screen, SD card compatibility), the Centon is capable yet unremarkable, although its nifty side-mounted jog dial is a welcome addition.

In terms of its all-round picturetaking ability, it scores well. Snaps taken in low light were relatively crisp - and its red-eye flash eliminated devil peepers syndrome better than most. One gripe, however, was the battery, which lasted about as long as a Big Brother contestant's TV career.

JG

Nikon Coolpix 5200 Price: £329.90

5megapixels, 3x magnification, Nikon quality of build and output - and all in a good-looking package that fits in your palm. What's not to like? Well, nothing, really - except that they're not giving them out free in cornflake packets.

In-camera red-eye reduction works great and is just one of the extras you'll find useful. Video is good - 30fps - and cables are supplied to hook up to your TV. One second powerup is great for snapshots and macro imaging down to 4cm is as top quality as everything else. If I have to gripe, I'll remind you that the penalty you pay for a compact camera is a small lens, which inevitably gives some distortion at the edges. But, with this camera, Nikon throw down a marker that 5megapixel quality is about to become entry level for compacts.
Kieran Meeke

Six Megapixel

Kodak DX7630 Price: £299.90

A corking piece of kit, the weight and feel of the DX7630 belies its abilities. It really doesn't command much respect to look at, but with 6.1megapixels at its disposal for a ridiculously low price, you're unlikely to find better value. Ideal for the snapper who demands high-quality pics but doesn't know a great deal about photography or want to fuss around with an SLR-type offering. With more than 20 auto scene and colour modes, you can let the camera decide on settings. Highlevel light snaps are extremely crisp, although the flash didn't handle moderate light conditions particularly well.
JG

Canon EOS 300D SLR (with 18-55mm lens). Price: £799.90

This 'prosumer' camera from Canon will shake up the market, delivering professional 6megapixel SLR quality within an amateur's price range. Canon has taken its EOS D10 - selling at about £1,000 sans lens - and crippled the software so it loses many of the high-end pro features but still leaves a bewildering array. The camera takes CompactFlash cards or the IBM

Microdrive, which download via a USB connection. As to image quality, well, since the 300D uses the same photo sensors as the 10D, you'll have to shop very hard indeed to get a better picture at this price.