Stories by: Gordon Laing

Pentax's oddly-named "*ist DS" is a 6.1Mp D-SLR (digital single-lens reflex) camera competing with products like Canon's now older EOS-300D. Although it was released late last year and now also has 8Mp competition, the *ist DS is still one of the smallest and lightest D-SLRs.

Canon's EOS 20D is an 8.2Mp D-SLR (digital single lens reflex) which - at $2699 for the body alone (or $2899 with EF-S 18-55mm f3.5-5.6 lens) - is aimed at keen amateurs and professionals.

The Olympus Camedia C-8080 Wide Zoom is the latest in a raft of new 8Mp (megapixel) digital cameras. Like its 8Mp rivals from Canon, Nikon, Sony and Konica Minolta, it cap­tures enough detail to make great looking inkjet prints up to A3 size - a considerable leap from what's possible with 5Mp models.

Nikon's 8Mp Coolpix 8700 com-bines high resolutions, long lenses and stacks of features for $1999. It is capable of delivering the same 3264x2448-pixel images as its 8Mp peers - around 25 per cent more than a 5Mp camera offers, and enough detail to make good-looking A3 colour inkjet prints. Images are saved to CompactFlash cards, though you'll have to supply your own. However, IBM's Microdrive is also supported. Photos can be stored in TIFF, RAW or JPEG formats and, of the three JPEG levels available, photos at the highest quality measure around 2.8MB each.

Many of the latest high-end digital cameras have essentially been improved versions of earlier models -- Sony’s DSC-F717 and Fujifilm’s FinePix S602 Pro spring immediately to mind. Minolta’s new Dimage 7Hi is also an update of an earlier model, the 7i, which itself followed the original Dimage 7. Fortunately the 7i was a fine camera, which bodes well for an improved version.

Touted as the ultimate all-in-one device for mobile professionalism, O2’s Xda can handle e-mail, voice calls, browse the Web and manage your diary. It measures a svelte 129x73x18mm, and weighs just 201g — much smaller than a jacketed iPaq. Its hardware is similar to an iPAQ 3830, with the same 206MHz processor, 64MB RAM and an integrated SD (Secure Digital)/MMC (MultiMediaCard) slot.

Nikon's new Coolpix 5700 has much in common with the earlier Coolpix 5000. Both share the same 5 megapixel CCD, with sufficient detail to make great-looking 13x10in colour inkjet prints.

The Coolpix 4500 shares the split chassis of the 995, but adds a host of design, feature and specification improvements that will please advanced and novice users alike. This 4 megapixel digital camera has a maximum resolution of 2272x1704 and a 4x optical zoom.

Measuring just 47x103x80mm and weighing 370g, Sony's DCRIP7E is a seriously small camcorder. It uses brand-new MicroMV tapes, 70 per cent smaller than conventional MiniDV but with the same cost and 60-minute capacity.

Measuring just 47x103x80mm and weighing 370g, Sony's DCRIP7E is a seriously small camcorder. It uses brand-new MicroMV tapes, 70 per cent smaller than conventional MiniDV but with the same cost and 60-minute capacity.

Measuring just 47x103x80mm and weighing 370g, Sony's DCRIP7E is a seriously small camcorder. It uses brand-new MicroMV tapes, 70 per cent smaller than conventional MiniDV but with the same cost and 60-minute capacity.