Top 10 cameras of July

The good: Has aperture- and shutter-priority exposure controls; sensor-shift image stabilization; wide ISO range.

The bad: Sluggish between shots; shows minor noise even at ISO 400; no full manual exposure mode.

The bottom line: The Fujifilm FinePix F50fd should works for most photographers, in fact, it would even please those who are slightly more advanced.

The good: Peachy design; 4GB built-in memory; optical image stabilizer.

The bad: Requires special cable for USB; on-screen controls not terribly clear; Smile Shutter accuracy not spot on.

The bottom line: The Cyber-shot T2 may look like a decent performer, but its sibling camera, the T200, will prove to be a stiff rival.

The good: Fast performance; tons of handy image editing and playback features; zoom rocker is in a much more comfortable position.

The bad: Soft, noisy photos.

The bottom line: A great design, fast shooting, and lots of features can't overcome the fact that the Sony Cyber-shot DSC-T300 simply doesn't take very good pictures.

The good: Good user interface; lots of options; impressive burst mode stamina.

The bad: Frustrating zoom rocker switch; cluttered controls; proprietary Memory Stick format.

The bottom line: Plain Jane styling and cluttered controls belie a wonderfully intuitive graphical user interface and some clever features. The Sony Cyber-shot DSC-W170 is a surprisingly adaptable camera that can be tweaked to take decent pictures in various environments.