1. The Major Players

Along with Christmas, the summer season represents a peak in sales for the makers of digital cameras. Their new models are already out, so now all that manufacturers can do is wait for buyers to make up their minds.

We’ve decided to test seven flagship models from current product lines: these are the cameras considered tops by today’s standards. We’ll see which brands stand out from the crowd.

Included in this review are the Canon IXUS 970 IS (same as the PowerShot SD890 IS in the U.S. market), the Casio Exilim EX-S10, the Fujifilm FinePix F1000fd, the Panasonic Lumix DMC-FX35, the Pentax Optio S12, the Samsung NV24HD, and the Sony Cyber-shot DSC-T300.