6. Minolta DIMAGE 7Hi The third generation of Minolta's excellent and versatile 5-megapixel digicam, the DiMAGE 7Hi adds a PC terminal for studio flash and an extra-fine image setting to its predecessors' fine features. Retained are the 28-200mm (35mm-camera equivalent) f/2.8-3.5 zoom lens (true wide-angle capability in a consumer digicam!), three metering options (multi-segment, spot and center-weighted), single-shot and continuous autofocusing with a three-point wide AF area and Flex Focus Point (which lets you precisely control the focus point) plus direct manual focus, shutter speeds from 15 seconds to 1/4000, and a full range of shooting modes (shiftable program AE, shutter- and aperture-priority AE, metered manual, and several subject programs). Other features include 3-fps advance at maximum resolution (7 fps at reduced resolution), built-in autoflash with wireless off-camera TTL flash capability, interval recording, digital enhanced bracketing, movie mode, special effects, PIM and DPOF compatibility and more. Maximum resolution is 2568x1928 pixels, with images stored in RAW, uncompressed TIFF or compressed JPEG form on CompactFlash Type I or II cards or Microdrives. There's a 1.8-inch LCD monitor plus a TTL electronic viewfinder. Dimensions are 4.6x3.6x4.4 inches and 18.7 ounces. Street price is just under $1300. Minolta U.S.A. Inc., 201/825-4000; PHOTOFAX 800/528-4767; www.minoltausa.com.

7. Nikon Coolpix 5700 Nikon's top-of-the-line consumer digicam, the 5-megapixel Coolpix 5700 is a very versatile, very capable and amazingly tiny camera. Its rugged magnesium body incorporates a 35-280mm (35mm equivalent) f/2.8-4.2 glass Zoom-Nikkor lens, four metering modes (256-segment Matrix, center-weighted, spot and spot AF area) and four exposure modes (shiftable program AE, shutter- and aperture-priority AE and metered manual), and provides five-area and spot AF, single-shot and continuous AF, plus manual focusing. Other features include a 1.8-inch color LCD monitor that swivels 270° plus an eye-level electronic viewfinder, 2560x1920-pixel images saved on CompactFlash cards and Microdrives, RAW, uncompressed TIFF or compressed JPEG file formats, automatic exposure bracketing, macro focusing down to 1.2 inches, built-in Speedlight plus dedicated flash hot-shoe, up to 3-fps continuous shooting, ISOs up to 800, shutter speeds from 8 seconds to 1/4000 plus B, and more. Dimensions are 4.3x3.0x4.0 inches and 16.9 ounces. Street price is around $1200. Nikon Inc., 800/NIKON-US; www.nikonusa.com.

8. Olympus Camedia E-20N Another member of last year's favorites list, the versatile 5-megapixel Camedia E-20N digital SLR features an all-aluminum body, a 35-140mm f/2.0-2.4 ED glass zoom lens, 2560x1920-pixel resolution, RAW, TIFF and JPEG file formats, storage on SmartMedia or CompactFlash Type II cards and Microdrives, an SLR optical finder plus 1.8-inch color LCD monitor, USB auto-connect, up to 7 fps shooting (4.5 fps at full resolution), shutter speeds from 60 seconds to 1/4000 plus B, built-in flash plus hot-shoe with sync up to 1/640 and lots more. Dual active IR/passive autofocusing plus manual focusing down to 8 inches, three metering systems and a host of exposure modes (program, shutter- and aperture-priority AE, manual, auto exposure bracketing) add versatility. TruPic Technology uses all of the camera's pixels to produce every image, even at lower resolutions. Measuring 5.0x4.12x7.0 inches and weighing in at 37 ounces, the E-20N has a solid "real-camera" feel. Street price is around $1500. Olympus America, Inc., 631/844-5000; www.olympus.com.

9. Pentax Optio 430RS We've taken the tiny Optio 430RS (and its predecessor, the Optio 430, a member of last-year's favorites list) on many a hike, and found it a terrific traveling companion. A tiny (3.6x2.3x1.3-inch, 7.1-ounce) 4-megapixel model that produces 2240x1680-pixel images, stored on Type I CompactFlash cards (it also has 11 MB of built-in memory, handy should you fill your CF card afield), the Optio 430RS shares its predecessor's 37.5-112.5mm f/2.6-4.8 zoom lens, 1.6-inch LCD monitor, and automatic and manual control of exposure (including multi-segment, center-weighted and spot metering) and focusing (including both seven-point and spot AF). New features include 3D mode (which lets you take consecutive shots that appear in 3D when viewed through the provided 3D viewer), digital filter mode (monochrome, sepia, red, pink, yellow, green, blue and purple, plus an adjustable "Slim" filter) and interval-shooting/time-lapse movie mode. Street price is around $700. Pentax Corp., 303/799-8000; www.pentaxusa.com.

10. Sony Mavica MVC-CD400 Sony's got a dandy 5-megapixel digicam that we really like (the Cyber-shot DSC-F717), but our favorite member of the Sony lineup is the Mavica MVC-CD400, because it burns its 4.0-megapixel (2272x1704-pixel) TIFF or JPEG images onto 3-inch CD-R or CD-RW discs—very economical (a 156MB CD-R disc costs about $4). And transferring images to your computer is as simple as inserting the disk into the computer's CD drive. Other features include multi-point laser AF plus 13-step manual focusing (down to 1.6 inches in macro mode), 49-cell matrix metering plus spot metering, pre-set scene modes, a fast 34-102mm f/2.0-2.5 Carl Zeiss lens, MPEG movie and three-shot burst still modes, auto and manual exposure, built-in red-eye-reducing autoflash plus hot-shoe, picture effects and more. The camera comes with a rechargeable InfoLithium battery and charger and an AC adapter. Dimensions are 5.4x3.7x4.0 inches and 22.5 ounces. Street price is $699.95. Sony Electronics Inc., 800/222-SONY; www.sony.com.