Similarly, many innovations mostly help with consumer snapshots: Face-priority autofocus in some Nikons detects and focuses on a human face. Several models improve flash shots with red-eye fix—a sort of automated color correction. Some features, such as the Casio Exilim EX-S500’s or Konica Minolta Dimage X1’s antishake technology, which helps stabilize images, are welcomed by professionals as well.

Battery life remains the bane of digital cameras. Newer models are much improved, managing a couple hundred shots before needing a recharge or fresh batteries. LCD screens, often used as viewfinders as well as for image review, can still be hard to see in bright sunlight. But cameras with these features have earned a permanent place in any imaging toolkit, and they’re getting better and more affordable every day.

SIDEBAR: Before you buy
1. The digital camera spec that shoppers obsess about most is resolution in megapixels— maximum image size, which is important but not synonymous with image quality. As costs have come down, even budget buyers can choose among 4- or 5-megapixel models— generally acceptable for making 8 x 10-inch prints. Then again, if you’re shooting images for use on the web, even 1 megapixel can be overkill.

2. Serious shutterbugs can opt for 7-, 8-, or even 16-megapixel cameras, whose huge image files mean you will need to buy a high-capacity flashmemory card. (No matter how much you spend on a camera, it won’t come with sufficient image storage as standard equipment, especially if it lets you save images in TIFF or RAW format—for later processing—in addition to the usual compressed JPEG.)

3. The specification that shoppers should ignore is so-called digital zoom, which merely makes a fake, pixelated enlargement of the center of an image. Insist on a genuine optical zoom lens—3X or 4X is typical, with even some compact cameras now joining high-end digital SLRs in offering 10X or 12X zoom.

• Read the Complete 2006 Digital Camera Buyers Guide