Top Performing Cameras of 2007

With 2007 winding down, it's time to look at which point-and-shoot cameras were the best performers in our image quality tests. New features like face detection, wireless photo transfer, internal memory, and image stabilization were hot in 2007, but when it comes to producing nice photos, image quality is the most important factor. To test this, we perform rigorous, standardized lab testing on different components of image quality, so here are the top performing cameras in several of our tests.

Resolution

The digital camera megapixel race showed no signs of slowing in 2007, with a number of 12-megapixel point-and-shoots introduced to the market. High resolution comes in handy if you want to significantly crop photos or make large prints and still maintain a sharp looking photo. For example, if your scenic landscape shot of the Grand Canyon is partially obscured by an errant tourist, a camera with high resolution allows you to crop out the tourist and enlarge the photo.

Image Noise

Prodigious megapixel counts do come with significant drawbacks, however. The foremost of these is an increase in image �noise.� Noise refers to the ugly grainy or splotchy effect that appears in some photos. Noise is especially persistent in images taken in low light. Basically, if you plan to take photos in any place besides the bright outdoors, a camera�s ability to keep noise levels to a minimum is of huge importance.

Color Accuracy

Spot-on color accuracy is important for making your photos look true to life. One of our most important tests is to judge the cameras' abilities to reproduce accurate color.

Low Light

In a perfect photographic world, all scenes would be perfectly lit. However, this is not reality. The truth is, many of your photos will be taken in unideal lighting, such as a dark living room.

Video

Digital camera video has come a long way in the past few years, with most cameras now capturing movies at 640 x 480 resolution at 30 frames per second.