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Though devoted Olympus users might be happy with the Olympus SP-510—warts and all—I struggled with this ultra zoom model in everything but the most ideal, perfectly lit conditions. This 7-megapixel camera has a 10x zoom, it uses digital image stabilization instead of the preferred optical image stabilization, producing slightly noisy, not always sharp, photos when fully zoomed in. I found the camera’s slow overall speed when taking pictures and performing basic functions to be irksome as well.

The three big advances of the Nikon Coolpix S7c are worthwhile ones. Getting 7.1 megapixels over 6 megapixels isn’t a big deal, but getting Hi ISO and Coolpix Connect certainly are. And, somehow, it’s available for just $300. At that price is just plain silly to complain about anything else. Small digicams are not famous for their image quality. The Nikon Coolpix S7c starts from that premise but taps into some smart electronics to compensate for the compromises. As a result, the Coolpix S7c is as attractive for its image quality as it is for its styling. And if that doesn’t sell you, its extended WiFi support will.

The Nikon Coolpix S9 is the budget model in Nikon’s stylish S-series cameras and while it maintains the attractive slender looks of its predecessors—and even manages to shave off a fraction of an inch in size—the camera drops several of the other Coolpix S models’ key features. Items dropped include the easy-to-use jog wheel on back and the excellent Pictmotion multi-media slideshow function. Nikon has also significantly decreased the resolution on the camera’s 2.5 inch LCD screen. More significantly, image quality on this model—particularly when shooting at ISO 400—lags behind most competing models in this class, with pictures showing excessive chroma noise in shadow areas.

The 10x Nikkor zoom lens makes the Nikon Coolpix S10 an exceptional swivel. It does exhibit some chromatic aberration at both wide and telephoto ends of the zoom range, but we thought it was kept under control, probably thanks to Nikon’s use of ED glass in the Coolpix S10. ISO 800 shots were only usable at 4x6, but the ISO 50 shots were quite good at 11x14. There’s little arguing with having such quality from a zoom this long in such a small and convenient package, especially at the street prices we’re starting to see. And the special Nikon-only features included will all come in handy as you use the camera. The versatile Nikon Coolpix S10 is certainly a Dave’s Pick.

Panasonic’s expressed its commitment to what it calls the culture of photography. The company really believes that taking pictures makes the world a better place. With the Panasonic TZ1, they very nearly had a hit on their hands, with an innovative design in an inexpensive body, delivering a compact 10x zoom for the masses. But unfortunately, the Panasonic TZ1’s lens flare issue starts to raise its head at about 4-5x and only gets worse, blowing contrast across the frame with a random purple haze.

Though the camera’s 6.3 megapixel imaging chip might not impress when stacked up against the sensors from some competing models which boast up to 10 megapixels of resolution, images I got out of this camera were rich in color and impressively sharp, even in a range of difficult shooting conditions. Or in other words, I’d take the Fujifilm S6000fd over many higher-resolution competing superzoom models, and even over some digital SLRs. The camera definitely deserves a Dave’s Pick.