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Digital cameras with 3-megapixel CCDs are becoming commonplace, and new models packing four or even five megapixels are coming soon. So you can't blame some photo enthusiasts for looking past the 3-megapixel models as if they were the garbanzo beans at a prime-rib-and-seafood buffet. But some of those 3-megapixel models look considerably more appetizing when you consider their under-$600 price: Two cameras, the Casio QV-3500EX we tested this month and the Toshiba PD2-M65 from last month, dip under that level. When the new, higher resolution models show up later this summer, most will be priced at about $1000, or higher.

The other new candidates on our chart this month include the Epson PhotoPC 3100Z, a $779 successor to our former Best Buy, the PhotoPC 3000Z. The new camera did very well in our tests, snagging the number-two place on the chart, though the Nikon Coolpix 995 kept Epson from the number-one spot.

We also tested yet another new Sony model, the DSC-S75 (the company never seems to run out of cameras for us to test). This Sony performed well, though its pictures didn't look as good as those from the Epson or Casio cameras. It earned the number-nine spot on this month's chart.

We retired our former number-one camera, the Nikon Coolpix 880, because it's getting hard to find, which usually indicates a replacement is in the works. Stay tuned.

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