Our top ten cameras

2007 was a big year for photography, with some of the best cameras we have ever seen vying for a place in the hearts (and camera bags) of photographers worldwide. Here's our round-up of the best of the best...

Samsung L83t The Midget Photographer with a big heart. Samsung's 7.2 megapixel camera is slim and very solidly built. It comes with face recognition and a host of other useful features including red-eye correction. Best of all, it powers up fast and the 3x optical zoom never once sticks out of the camera body. Excellent value, too! ThinkCamera Review

Nikon Coolpix S510 Part of the latest Coolpix range featuring Nikon's EXPEED digital processing, the 8.1 megapixel S510 is small, elegant and delivers vibrant pictures. Nikon has coupled a good basic compact camera with excellent flash capability, true Vibration Reduction and built-in 'D-Lighting' for picture correction. And it doesn't have to come in the bright pink colour scheme, either - black and silver are also available. ThinkCamera Review

Panasonic Lumix DMC-TZ3 King of the 'travel zoom' cameras, Panasonic's Lumix TZ3 sports the equivalent of a 28-280mm zoom lens designed by posh camera experts Leica. The 7.2 megapixel camera also includes a wide sensitivity range from ISO100-1250 and comes with Mega OIS, which means full image stabilisation. Unless you want to delve into advanced manual modes and more, it's all you need. ThinkCamera Review

Ricoh Caplio GX100 Ricoh makes serious compact cameras for those who either already own a DSLR or have no need of one. The Caplio GX100 is no exception. The 10 megapixel camera has an excellent lens (with an equivalent of 24-72mm, it's far wider than most). You can also write RAW files, for the ultimate in file-wrangling performance - and even add a useful viewfinder. In the right hands, this is a serious photographic performer. ThinkCamera Review

Canon PowerShot G9 It's surprising just how many pro photographers carry a Canon G9 around as a go-anywhere camera. Ask them nicely and they'll also tell you a surprising amount of images published have been made on these cameras, too. With a 12.1 megapixel sensor and a lens equivalent to a 35-210mm zoom, together with RAW shooting, face detection, 25 useful modes and the sort of build quality a tank manufacturer would be proud of, it's not hard to see why. A review follows soon.

Pentax K100D Super Don't let the 6.1 megapixel resolution put you off. Pentax has created a serious entry-level DSLR in the K100D Super, very much in the mould of the legendary K1000 'student's special' camera in the days when film roamed free upon the earth. With it's in-camera image stabilisation and ability to utilise every lens from Pentax's previous K and KA mount manual ranges as well as the KAF autofocus, there's a huge range of options open to the K100D Super user. If you want to learn about DSLR and photography, there's no better system around today. ThinkCamera Review

Olympus E-510 Olympus has a reputation for innovation and it's easy to see why when looking at products like the E-510. One of the smallest DSLR on the market (only it's cheaper sibling (the E-410) beats it on the tiny stakes), the 10 megapixel Four-Thirds design follows in the footsteps of cameras that delivered the first (and best) sensor cleaning system and the first (and best) Live View. Now this adds two-mode in-body image stabilisation and more, making this the most feature-rich DSLR you can buy for the money. ThinkCamera Review

Canon 40D Canon's latest 10.1 megapixel DSLR is the ideal upgrader's camera. It's a semi-pro or pro workhorse, yet with all the ease of use and functionality of an entry-level model. Virtually noiseless up to ISO800 and hard to beat up to ISO3200, this camera builds upon the strengths of its predecessors and also mixes in features from the top 1D models. It will make you a better photographer, too… because you won't be able to make excuses for your camera anymore. It's that good! ThinkCamera Review

Sony DSLR-A700 We think this camera is so significant that we are awarding one to the winner of our Open round of the Photographer of the Year competition. The Sony A700 - the second DSLR out of the Sony Alpha stable - is a 12.2 megapixel DSLR featuring the company's innovative BIONZ image processing system and in-camera 'super steady shot' image stabilisation. And, with up to ISO 3200 sensitivity, it's the perfect camera for photographing those ever shortening evenings!

Nikon D300 Just hitting the streets in time for Christmas 2007, Nikon's new entry point for its pro range is the talk of the photographic community (as is its bigger brother the D3, with its full-frame 'FX' sensor). The 12.3 megapixel DSLR bristles with ground-breaking features, including state-of-the-art 51 point autofocus, huge 920,000 dot LCD screen and up to ISO6400 sensitivity, all in a weathersealed body. We hope to test one soon.

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