Top 10 cameras of July

Last month's top contenders were a varied bunch--there were stylish touchscreen shooters and then there were powerful compacts. But there seems to be a trend among savvy consumers to go for substance rather than style. The champion for July is Fujifilm's FinePix F100fd, with Canon's Digital IXUS 80 IS and 860 IS a close second and third. Panasonic's touchscreen-enabled Lumix DMC-FX520 took fourth and its lesser sibling, the FX36, stood fifth. Olympus continued to hang on with its Mju 850SW while Sony grabbed the last three positions with the Cyber-shot DSC-T2, T300 and W170, respectively.

Note: Results are based on readership and polls conducted with selected retailers (Alan Photo Trading, Cathay Photo Store and MS Color Service) in Singapore.

	1.	Fujifilm FinePix F100fd   CNET Asia rating: 8 out of 10 The good: Ultra-high ISO sensitivity of 12,800; wide dynamic range; intuitive face detection; short shutter lag; 5x optical zoom with 28mm wide-angle lens; good image quality. The bad: Relatively heavy; awkward positioning of flash, easily covered by fingers; lacks full manual control. The bottom line: Despite an awkwardly positioned flash unit, the F100fd didn't disappoint with its enhanced feature set and excellent image quality. Review | See full specs | Rate this
	2.	Canon Digital IXUS 80 IS   CNET Asia rating: 7.6 out of 10 The good: Great image quality; minimal shutter lag; speedy performance; optical image stabilization; face detection; optical viewfinder The bad: No manual exposure controls; slow flash recycle time The bottom line: Canon's IXUS 80 IS adds optical image stabilization to last year's hit IXUS 70, while delivering just as impressive image quality. Review | See full specs | Rate this
	3.	Canon Digital IXUS 860 IS       CNET Asia rating: 8 out of 10 The good: Impressive performance and image quality; optical image stabilization; face detection. The bad: No manual exposure controls; no optical viewfinder. The bottom line: While the Canon Digital IXUS 860 IS doesn't have an optical viewfinder or manual exposure controls, it captures beautiful images with its wide, 3.8x optical zoom lens and ranks among the top compact cameras we've seen. Review | See full specs | Rate this
	4.	Panasonic Lumix DMC-FX520   CNET Asia rating: 8 out of 10 The good: Stylish design; intuitive 3-inch touchscreen; manual exposure control; 25mm ultra-wide-angle lens; improved image quality. The bad: Slow startup time; Face Detection didn't recognize faces with spectacles; oddly shaped stylus. The bottom line: Besides the startup time and stylus, it is hard to find fault with the FX520. Image quality has also improved and we really like the features that are incorporated with the touchscreen. Review | See full specs | Rate this
	5.	Panasonic Lumix DMC-FX36   CNET Asia rating: 7.6 out of 10 The good: 25mm wide-angle lens; HD-quality video recording; elegant design; maximum ISO of 6,400 The bad: Slightly soft images; focusing a tad slow. The bottom line: A worthy successor to the FX33, the FX36 is a compact powerhouse capable of delivering decent-quality pictures and HD videos. Review | See full specs | Rate this