If you are about to buy a compact digital camera, consider these features:

Storage
Does the camera support new high capacity Secure Digital (SDHC) cards? These are the best bet for the future. Secure Digital (SD) is now the defacto standard digital camera storage format.

High Definition (HD) Video Capture
Can the camera capture compressed video at 1,280 x 720 pixels for playback on a HDTV? The camera should at least handle 640 x 480 pixels and 30fps. Some cameras are now capable of capturing video at 1080p (1,920 x 1,080 pixel) resolution.

Megapixels
Look for a minimum of 10MP (megapixels), which is ten million picture elements in the camera’s image sensor. More megapixels doesn’t automatically equal better image quality if the lens is not better quality as well.

Optical Image Stabiliser
This helps give you better quality shots in low light and when on the run.

Video Compression
Cameras using MPEG-1 or MPEG-4 video compression give you alot more video per gigabyte than standard MPEG.

Batteries
Cameras that use proprietary batteries are generally smaller but you will need to have a spare if they run out. AA batteries are cheap and easier to get on holiday, but make the camera bulkier.

Do You Really Need A Video Camera?
Note that a compact digital camera with video capability won’t replace a decent digital video camera. While video resolution is improving on compact still cameras, they remain still cameras first, and that is shown by a couple of features.

Firstly, the optical zoom isn’t fast enough to keep focus during zooming. Secondly the image stabilisation is not always available during video capture. Some cameras can be effective for short video clips if you learn how to use them properly. However, video capture remains a secondary feature in compact still cameras for now and won’t relagate a good HD video camcorder just yet.

BEST BUYS UNDER $300
Samsung P150 12MP with dual LCDs gives good still images. 720p video capture with optical zoom control during video capture. Good value at $279.

General Electric Power Pro X5 14MP camera with 15x optical zoom gives good still images for $249. VGA resolution video capture with optical zoom during capture. Uses 4 AA batteries, so if you use rechargeables you will save heaps.

Nikon Coolpix L18 Cheap ($180) with a big 3inch screen and it uses standard AA batteries. The image sensor captures 8MP and it includes a 3X optical zoom lense.

Canon Digital IXUS 80 IS $240 and includes an 8MP sensor, 3X optical zoom and optical image stabilisation. Uses a proprietary LiIon battery which makes the camera very small and light.

See Also:
Olympus MJU 5010 14MP and 720p video capture for just $175.
Kodak Easyshare V1073 Captures 720p video at 30fps for only $299.
Samsung I8 Lots of features but only captures 640 x 480 pixel video. $250
Sony Cyber-Shot DSC-W150 5X optical zoom with image stabilisation. $290

BEST BUYS UNDER $800
Panasonic Lumix DMC-TZ10 12MP sensor and 720p video capture with reasonable optical zoom during capture. Great image quality for $599.
Sony Cyber-Shot DSCHX5V 10MP sensor with 10x optical zoom. Captures video at up to 1,440 x 1,080 pixels and one of the widest angle lenses available in this price range. $560
Canon Digital IXUS 970 IS 10MP sensor with 5X optical zoom. Still image quality is very good. $430

See Also:
Sony Cyber-Shot DSCTX5 Good video and still capture and underwater capable to 3 metres. $470
Nikon Coolpix S600VR 10MP, 4X optical zoom with good image quality. $420
Samsung NV24HD This camera is also a full HD (1,280 x 720 pixel) movie camera. $500
Samsung NV4 8MP with 3X optical zoom that also has MP3 audio capability. $400