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So then, what Canon gives with one hand - the wider lens, better screen and other tweaks - it takes away with the other (reduced image quality). But the SD800 IS still has all the qualities I loved so much in the SD700; it’s fun, reliable, has image stabilization, is built and styled beautifully and it produces attractive, punchy results without the need for manual intervention.

In everyday use the D40 is just what it set out to be, a very capable, compact, lightweight and easy to use camera which makes a perfect first step for anyone wanting to get into digital SLR photography. It provides enough control and a large enough range of manual settings to enable you to experiment and learn but also helps you to take great pictures in the process. It’s one of those cameras you can just pick up and start shooting without fuss, that you can hand to a friend who’s never used an SLR and know they’ll be able to do the same. All of this and a pretty decent kit lens for $600, I’d say it’s a bit of a bargain.

Compared to the other 10MP compact cameras on the market the A640 is an easy choice; there is little if any direct competition. What’s interesting is that for many users the A640 is a serious alternative to Canon’s own flagship G7 (which will set you back over $100 more). If you don’t need the extra zoom (where the G7’s image stabilization is useful) or flash hot shoe, you can get near-identical results from each camera, and there are areas where the A640 actually outperforms the G7.

The K10D’s advantages over the competition are fairly clear; dust and weather seals, in-camera Shake Reduction which delivers at least some low light advantage with all your lenses, selectable RAW file format (although both are 10MB+), user definable Auto ISO, digital preview and those unique sensitivity-priority and shutter/aperture-priority exposure modes. It’s a camera which should provide more than sufficient ‘gadget satisfaction’ for even the most demanding shutterbug.

Canon’s A series PowerShots get better with each generation, and - thanks to the inclusion of extensive photographic control and technologies such as DIGIC II and image stabilization has lifted cameras like the A710 IS firmly out of the ‘entry level’ bracket they originally occupied. The A710 IS takes the formula established with the A700 - well-priced, compact camera with big zoom and full photographic control - and adds the one thing that was missing, an effective optical image stabilization system.

I must admit I didn’t really know what to expect from the S6000fd (having used some of its predecessors), and I was pleasantly surprised to find it was a well designed, well executed and surprisingly versatile photographic tool. It’s probably not the best ‘point and shoot’ model in its class (you’ll get better results if you know what you’re doing), but the combination of features, output and unusually able high ISO performance means that - whilst far from perfect - it can easily hold its own against some of it’s more ‘high profile’ competitors.