The Olympus FE-115’s chunky plastic body is about the size of a large bar of soap. It won’t win any beauty contests, but it feels reasonably solid, and it fits well in the hand. The top side of the camera holds a large shutter-release button and a recessed but accessible power button. The back panel holds a puny 1.5-inch LCD and the rest of the camera’s controls.

Don’t expect many options here, but the few settings you can change are accessible through the camera’s mode dial; four-way-plus-OK pad; and five additional control buttons for shooting, playback, trash, menu, and flash. A large indentation between the zoom buttons and the mode dial gives you a comfortable place to rest your thumb when shooting one-handed.

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A bit of a disappointment for anyone hoping for a major upgrade, the Canon EOS-30D is unlikely to attract anyone who already owns a 20D.

However newcomers to the mid-level DSLR market will find a superbly specified camera with the usual Canon hallmarks of reliability, design and outstanding image quality. For the serious amateur or semi-pro it is the ideal camera.

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Featuring a 6x optical zoom, 6.0-megapixel CCD, automatic, partial, or fully manual exposure control, and a wide range of preset shooting modes, the Canon Powershot A700 is another fine addition to Canon’s A-series of digital cameras.

Built on the same long-tested design as many A-series predecessors, the Canon A700 offers a lot in its compact package. Its combination of automatic and manual features make it very approachable for novices, but interesting for experienced users, the net result being a camera that will satisfy a broad range of interests and provide a good path for novice users to expand their photographic horizons as their experience grows. The 6x zoom lens is quite easy to hand-hold under reasonably bright lighting, but as the light fades, the A700’s lack of image stabilization will come to be more of a factor. I’d also like to see it equipped with a more accurate optical viewfinder, and its image noise at ISO 800 was on the high side.

Bottom line, this is a camera that will meet the needs of the average consumer very well, and one that’s particularly well suited to situations where both novice and experienced users need to share the use of the same camera.

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As far as compact cameras go, the Nikon Coolpix P4’s elaborate specifications sheet places it towards the top end of the market.

Its massive 8.1 megapixel sensor allows for high resolution shots, while the 3.5x optical zoom and large 2.5-inch screen are icing on the cake. We went in with high hopes for this camera, given that it’s the first Nikon compact to include the company’s patented anti-vibration technology, which has previously been limited to its SLR range. And for the most part we weren’t disappointed, as the P4 offers a multitude of features catering to both novice and adept users.

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