Some digicams hit the shelves and at first appear to be run-of-the-mill compacts with little to offer. How blasé can you get!

This is one of those: the zoom is a 10x lens; it has 2GB of internal memory, so you may never need a memory card; 14 megapixel capture lets you shoot a maximum size of 4288×3216 pixels and make a 36x27cm print; you can shoot MPEG4 movies at 1280×720 pixel resolution; face detection can handle up to 16 faces.

The camera is slim in shape, available in black only and has a 6.9cm LCD screen but no optical finder; surprisingly, the lens, when extended, adds only 27mm to the body thickness. Operationally, the camera is a doddle and would please absolute beginners desperate to get a long zoom camera; simple …

Now that cameras such as this are nearly commonplace, the decision whether to buy a digicam that shoots HD movies as well as pretty big stills or a camcorder that shoots HD video and stills is a tricky one. Pricewise, it’s also a close race.

Now we have the Olympus SP-800UZ with an enormous 30x optical zoom that equates to a 35 SLR range of 28-840mm and, note, the tele end enjoys an f5.6 aperture. Check out the difference – shooting at either end of the zooms range:

The camera has 14.0 megapixel capture that can shoot a maximum size image of 4288×3216 pixels, or enough to make a 36x27cm print.

In video it can record 1280×720 pixel resolution, …

The super zoom compacts roll on: now with the Panasonic Lumix DMC-ZS7 (also known as the TZ10) Panasonic offers a 12x Leica optical zoom that puts into your hands focal range that matches a 35 SLR camera’s 25-300mm lens. Some lens!

Panasonic describes this camera as a Travel Zoom model: compact, pocketable, easy to use but offering a healthy range of exposure options that could handle most photographic challenges, viewed on a 7.6cm LCD screen. To my mind this camera would act as a superb, compact companion to a serious DSLR kit, as it has auto operation, Program AE, shutter and aperture priority and manual exposure as well as a host of scene modes. The iA mode is one that could be useful when shooting video, as it automatically selects the …

Lift bow and arrow. Load arrow into bow. Take aim. Twang! And Sony hits another bulls-eye!

As with the exceptional Sony DSC-HX5V movie/pano/burst rate camera, I was completely blown away with the Sony Bloggie MHS-PM5!

Even if you already own a DSLR or two, perhaps a compact digicam and maybe an HD camcorder, this one will fire up your acquisitive hormones.

I want one!

Looking more like a mobile phone or iPod, the Bloggie is a digital camera reduced to the absolute minimum, then topped up with a pile of fascinating features.

Colour-styled in pink, blue, violet and white the Bloggie can be turned on by simply rotating the lens turret, as the 6.1cm LCD screen fires up. In reality, the screen is only 4.2cm …

Looking at buying a canon Speedlite flash but not sure which one is right for you? In this post Phil Steele sheds some light on the topic (PS: if there’s anyone in our readership who’d like to do a similar post on other brands we’d be interested in publishing it).

Investing in a hot-shoe flash can be an intimidating step for many photographers. No one wants to suffer the buyer’s remorse that comes from spending hundreds of dollars only to discover that you made the wrong choice.

To help you avoid this “newbie tax,” I’d like to offer some guidance in discovering which Canon flash is right for you.

As of this writing in 2010, the Canon Speedlite flash lineup consists of three options: the 270EX, the 430EX II, and the 580EX II. …