The 10 Best Digital Cameras

The problem with buying a digital camera is not only that there are hundreds of models for sale at any given point in time, but you also need to figure out which type of camera is right for you. The good news is that we review lots of cameras—and these 10 are among the best we've tested.
Do you want a small camera that requires minimal effort, but takes great pictures? A pocket point and shoot is probably your best bet. Need to get close to the action without carrying a huge camera with a big lens? A compact superzoom model is likely for you. Or do you want a lightning-fast shooter that lets you swap out lenses and play with settings? Then you want a D-SLR or a compact interchangeable-lens camera. Plan on shooting on the beach or the slopes? You need a ruggedized waterproof model.
We picked winners from the cameras we've reviewed in each of the five aforementioned categories to make up our top 10. Remember, though, the digital camera market is a robust one; manufacturers release new products throughout the year, and we're continually testing and reviewing cameras—and updating this list. Before you buy, be sure to hit our Digital Cameras Product Guide for the latest reviews. But for now, here are 10 of our favorite digital cameras.

Point-and-Shoot Cameras

Sony Cyber-shot DSC-RX100

$649.99 direct

The Sony Cyber-shot DSC-RX100 packs a relatively huge 1-inch image sensor into a point-and-shoot body, delivering close-to-SLR-quality images from a camera you can fit in your back pocket. It's expensive, but worth it. Read the full review ››

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Sony Cyber-shot DSC-WX150

$249.99 direct

The Sony Cyber-shot DSC-WX150 is a svelte point-and-shoot with a long 10x zoom lens. It can slip into your pocket and capture sharp images in all kinds of light—a rare feat for a compact model, making it our top choice for midrange point-and-shoot cameras. Read the full review ››

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Digital SLRs

Nikon D4

$5,999.95 list, body only

The Nikon D4 is a pro shooter's dream, with controls galore, and a big, bright optical viewfinder. This fully loaded full-frame D-SLR rattles off shots at a quick 10 frames per second, but all of this comes with a rather high sticker price and a steep learning curve. Read the full review ››

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Nikon D5100

$596.99 
The Nikon D5100 offers a fantastic mix of still-image and video-recording quality, along with plenty of features including top-notch in-camera effects. This well-rounded shooter is an easy Editors' Choice for under-$1,000 D-SLRs. Read the full review ››

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Sony Alpha 77 (SLT-A77VQ)

$1,698.00

The Sony Alpha 77 pumps out 24-megapixel stills at 10.3 frames per second and records 1080p60 video with continuous autofocus. A sharp f/2.8 kit lens, Solid low-light performance, a high-quality OLED EVF, and GPS capability are the icing on the cake. Read the full review ››

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Compact Interchangeable-Lens Cameras

Olympus OM-D E-M5

$1,299.99 direct with 12-50mm lens

The Olympus OM-D E-M5 is the best Micro Four Thirds camera we've tested. It's got a top-notch stabilization system, is fully weather sealed, can shoot in all types of light, and ships with a sharp and versatile kit lens. Add it all up, and you have our new Editors' Choice for high-end compact interchangeable lens cameras. Read the full review ››

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Sony Alpha NEX-F3

$498.00
The Sony Alpha NEX-F3 is a worthy successor to the Editors' Choice NEX-C3. The latest iteration impresses with superb image quality, even at very high ISO settings, and you get a deeper handgrip, built-in flash, and support for an optional EVF. Read the full review ››

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Superzoom Cameras

Panasonic Lumix DMC-FZ200

$597.99

The 24x Panasonic Lumix DMC-FZ200 doesn't have the most ambitious zoom ratio, but a sharp f/2.8 aperture lens and speedy performance make up for it. Read the full review ››

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Sony Cyber-shot DSC-HX30V

$308.00 
With its Cyber-shot DSC-HX30V, Sony packs a long 20x zoom lens, Wi-Fi, and GPS into one decidedly svelte camera. It's one of the more expensive compact superzoom models you'll find, but all those features along with high performance warrant the price. Read the full review ››

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Rugged/Waterproof Cameras

Olympus Tough TG-1 iHS

$369.00 direct

The Olympus Tough TG-1 iHS would be a very good camera even without a tough, waterproof build. Its go-anywhere design, GPS, fast f/2 lens, and impressive high ISO performance make it our Editors' Choice for ruggedized point-and-shoot cameras. Read the full review ››

Top-notch full-frame camera

Canon EOS 6D

Pros
Compact. Inexpensive for its class. Full-frame sensor. 4.5fps shooting. Superb image quality at high ISOs. Interchangeable focus screens. Integrated GPS and Wi-Fi. 1080p30 video capture. Battery grip available. Supported USB tethered and Wi-Fi remote control.

Cons
Not the fastest camera on the block. Viewfinder only offers 97 percent coverage. Not compatible with EF-S lenses. GPS saps battery life. No flash. Slow focus during video recording. No PC Sync socket.

Bottom Line

The Canon EOS 6D is a top-notch full-frame camera in a relatively compact body. With a relatively affordable price, enthusiast-friendly features, and spectacular image quality, it's an easy Editors' Choice.

 

Prior to the announcement of the Canon EOS 6D ($2,099 direct, body only)$1,895.00 at Amazon Marketplace and the Nikon D600 $1,749.00 at 42nd Street Photo, shooters who wanted a full-frame camera—one with an image sensor the same size as a 35mm film frame—were faced with a small number of choices at $3,000 and up. Both companies cut about $1,000 off the price of entry to full-frame with new models that sacrifice some features that pro shooters are used to, but are packaged in smaller bodies that are similar in design to the top-end APS-C cameras. The 20-megapixel 6D also adds some enthusiast-friendly features—notably an integrated GPS receiver and Wi-Fi capability—which, along with fantastic image quality, earn it an almost-perfect rating and our Editors' Choice award. The $6,000 full-frame Nikon D4$5,399.99 at BestPricePhoto.com is still a better choice for anyone who relies on photography to put food on the table, but most folks simply don't need that much camera in their bag. 

Design and Features
While it's bigger than entry-level cameras with smaller APS-C image sensors, the 6D is compact for a full-frame D-SLR. It measures 4.4 by 5.7 by 2.8 inches (HWD) and weighs just under 1.7 pounds without a lens. 


The control layout is familiar to anyone who has handled a Canon SLR before. There's a standard mode dial on top left side with an integrated On/Off lever. To the right of the viewfinder you'll find a control wheel, the shutter release, and buttons to adjust the AF Mode, Drive Mode, ISO, Metering Mode, and to activate the backlight on the monochrome information LCD, also located on the top of the camera. The rear controls are compressed when compared with the 5D Mark III, but you'll still have access to a rear control wheel with an integrated four-way controller, an Info button that controls what is displayed on the rear LCD, the Menu button, a control switch to activate Live View and movie recording, image playback controls, and buttons to engage the autofocus system, activate Exposure Lock, and select the active autofocus point. There's also a physical lock switch that prevents the rear control from adjusting settings when turned—that wheel controls exposure compensation in most shooting modes.

First seen on the Rebel series of APS-C cameras, the Q button allows you to change settings via the rear LCD. Hit it and you'll be able to adjust lens aperture, ISO, Exposure Compensation, Flash Compensation, JPG output, White Balance, and other common shooting settings—the rear control pad is used to navigate from item to item and the control wheel scrolls through the available settings.
The camera's large optical viewfinder trumps even the best APS-C models in terms of size and brightness—but it doesn't offer a full 100 percent field of view. Instead Canon opted to include a 97 percent viewfinder—the camera will capture a little bit of extra information around the edges of the frame, and the slightly smaller viewfinder makes it possible to change the focus screen—a feature that was omitted from the higher-end 5D Mark III

The resolution of the 3-inch rear LCD tops one million dots. It's extremely sharp, allowing you to confirm critical focus when reviewing shots or shooting in Live View mode. It's fixed—the Sony Alpha 99 is the only full-frame D-SLR with an articulating display—and isn't quite as large as the 3.2-inch screen on Nikon's D600, but it is sharper.

The 6D is the first SLR with integrated Wi-Fi connectivity, and overall, it's a good implementation. There are a number of ways to use the wireless features, and some are more useful than others. Canon gives you the ability to share photos directly with another Canon Wi-Fi camera and to print directly to a Wi-Fi-enabled printer. So you'll have to be out shooting with a partner who also has a Wi-Fi-equipped Canon camera to take advantage of the former, and the latter assumes that you'll be printing your photos without cropping, retouching, or other post-production work. You also have the option of viewing your photos on a DLNA device, like a Wi-Fi HDTV or set-top box.

The more useful functions involve sharing your photos online, and taking control of the 6D via your smartphone. You can send photos and videos directly to Facebook, Twitter, or YouTube via the Canon Image Gateway service. To set this up you'll need to install the EOS Utility application on your PC or Mac and create an account on the Canon Image Gateway service. From there you can link your social networking accounts. Connecting the 6D to your computer pairs it with your Canon account, and will let you send JPG images and videos directly to the service of your choice. You'll need to be connected to a Wi-Fi network, and the EOS 6D can store the SSID and login information for up to three networks at a time.

Photos and videos can also be directly sent to your iOS or Android device. You can connect to a phone when it, and the 6D, are on the same Wi-Fi network. Or the 6D can act as a hotspot for direct connection—and you can save presets for either configuration in one of the five slots dedicated to this mode. Once connected, you can transfer images and videos directly to your phone via the EOS Remote app; it's available for free in both the Apple and Android app stores. Raw transfer is supported—because photos are sized down to 2-megapixel JPG images in order to speed up transfers. You can also use your phone to control the camera wirelessly. A live feed of the camera's Live View mode shows up on your phone's screen, and you can select a focus point via touch, change shooting settings, and fire the shutter. There's noticeable lag in the video feed—it's not as speedy as the USB tethered computer connection that is possible via the included EOS Utility software for Mac or Windows—but it's useable in the field, whereas traditional tethered shooting is more useful in a studio setting.

You also get integrated GPS. It's a powerful receiver—it only took about 40 seconds to lock on to my location on initial setup—and you can adjust how often it polls for a new location. By default it checks for your location every 15 seconds, but you can go as fast as once a second or as slow as every five minutes. Using the GPS definitely puts a strain on the camera's battery. I was out shooting on a cold morning and went from a full charge to two battery bars in only a few hours. And the GPS will continue to check for your location even when the camera is turned off. The photos I took were, without exception, accurately geotagged, appearing on Lightroom's map at the exact locations from which I shot them. If you want to add location data to your photos, you'll likely want to set the camera to check with the GPS satellites less often to extend the battery life, and disable the GPS before you turn the camera off. If that's an unacceptable compromise, tote an extra battery. There is an optional battery grip available—it plugs into the bottom of the camera and holds two cells, doubling the operation time.

Original post is in pcmag.com
Top-notch full-frame camera

First Android Camera With Removable Lens

LAS VEGAS — We love the Android-powered Samsung Galaxy Camera, but it is a point-and-shoot, so its ability to capture really eye-popping shots is limited. That's why we're excited the check out the Polaroid iM1836, the world's first Android-powered camera with an interchangeable lens, which makes its debut Monday at CES.

Built by Polaroid partner Sakar, the iM1836 runs Android 4.1 "Jelly Bean," theoretically making it capable of the same photo-sharing and editing tricks you can perform on the Galaxy Camera (or any Android 4.1 smartphone, really). It comes with a 10-30mm zoom lens, but of course you can swap that out for others. Polaroid says it's compatible with any Micro Four Thirds lens as long as you have an optional adapter.

The camera can take pictures up to 18 megapixels, and video up to 1080p. There's also an HDMI output for direct connection to a TV.

One big way Polaroid's Android camera differs from Samsung's: There's no option for a data plan. That means you'll be relying on either Wi-Fi or your smartphone to access the Internet, and it comes ready to tether (via Wi-Fi or Bluetooth).

The LCD touch screen in back measures 3.5 inches (quite a bit smaller than the Galaxy's beautiful 4.8-inch display) and it has a pop-up flash. Camera features include: auto blink detection, auto face exposure and panorama mode.

Coming in the first quarter of 2013, the iM1836 will cost $399.
We're eager to try out Polaroid's Android camera, though it has a tough act to follow in the Samsung Galaxy Camera. That device showcased Samsung's expertise in Android, with a beautiful interface for manual controls and many of the same picture-taking modes found on Samsung's smartphones.
original post in mashable.com
First Android Camera With Removable Lens