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Top-Rated Advanced Point-and-Shoots

These cameras offer more manual controls, powerful optical zooms and more features than most point-and-shoots. Rankings can change due to pricing and technology changes, so check back frequently for the latest info.

Edited by Tim Moynihan

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PCW Rating: 87.0PCW Rating: 87.0PCW Rating: 87.0

Last Rated: March 03, 2009

1. Olympus SP-570 UZ

Megapixels: 10 megapixels; Battery life: 273.5; LCD screen size: 2.7 inches; Weight: 19.5 ounces; Sensor type: CCD

Bottom Line: The king of the high-zoom cameras offers sharp long-distance pics and quality ergonomics,

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PCW Rating: 84.0PCW Rating: 84.0PCW Rating: 84.0

Last Rated: July 29, 2009

2. Kodak EasyShare Z980 Digital Camera

Megapixels: 12 megapixels; Battery life: 273.5; LCD screen size: 3 inches; Weight: 19.1 ounces; Sensor type: CCD

Bottom Line: Anyone who takes a lot of vertical shots, shoots in RAW, and needs a hotshoe can probably overlook the Z980's image shortcomings.

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PCW Rating: 83.0PCW Rating: 83.0PCW Rating: 83.0

Last Rated: July 29, 2009

3. Canon PowerShot SX200 IS

Megapixels: 12.1 megapixels; Battery life: 177.5; Maximum video resolution: 1280 x 720 pixels; Memory type: MMC,MMCplus,SD Memory Card,SDHC Memory Card; LCD screen size: 3 inches; Weight: 8.6 ounces; Sensor type: CCD

Bottom Line: A beast of a lens, great image quality, and fun in-camera features make the SX200 IS a phenomenal pocket megazoom.

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PCW Rating: 83.0PCW Rating: 83.0PCW Rating: 83.0

Last Rated: March 03, 2009

4. Canon PowerShot SX10 IS

Megapixels: 10 megapixels; Battery life: 232.75; LCD screen size: 2.5 inches; Weight: 23.3 ounces; Sensor type: CCD

Bottom Line: The SX10 IS--lightweight, with a terrific zoom and decent video--is a great megazoom to carry around.

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PCW Rating: 81.0PCW Rating: 81.0PCW Rating: 81.0

Last Rated: March 03, 2009

5. Fujifilm FinePix S8100fd

Megapixels: 10 megapixels; Battery life: 251.25; LCD screen size: 2.5 inches; Weight: 18.7 ounces; Sensor type: CCD

Bottom Line: This lightweight model has a zoom lens that plays well at both wide angle and telephoto extremes.

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PCW Rating: 81.0PCW Rating: 81.0PCW Rating: 81.0

Last Rated: March 03, 2009

6. Canon PowerShot G10 IS

Megapixels: 14.7 megapixels; Battery life: 250.5; LCD screen size: 3 inches; Weight: 14.2 ounces; Sensor type: CCD

Bottom Line: The G10 is a fun and stylish camera, but its soft focus and low-light performance are disappointing.

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PCW Rating: 85.0PCW Rating: 85.0PCW Rating: 85.0

Last Rated: March 03, 2009

7. Casio Exilim Pro EX-F1 Black Digital Camera

Megapixels: 6 megapixels; Battery life: 273.5; Maximum video resolution: 1920 x 1080 pixels; Memory type: Internal Memory,MMC,SD Memory Card,SDHC Memory Card; LCD screen size: 2.8 inches; Weight: 28.7 ounces; Sensor type: CCD

Bottom Line: This innovative camera shoots full-resolution bursts at up to 60 frames per second.

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PCW Rating: 80.0PCW Rating: 80.0PCW Rating: 80.0

Last Rated: July 29, 2009

8. Pentax X70 Black Digital Camera

Megapixels: 12 megapixels; Battery life: 119.5; Maximum video resolution: 1280 x 720 pixels; Memory type: Internal Memory,SD Memory Card,SDHC Memory Card; LCD screen size: 2.7 inches; Weight: 14.6 ounces; Sensor type: CCD

Bottom Line: The 24X-optical-zoom Pentax X70 is one of the lightest, smallest megazoom cameras on the market, but it maintains "bigness" where it should: in the lens.

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PCW Rating: 80.0PCW Rating: 80.0PCW Rating: 80.0

Last Rated: March 03, 2009

9. Panasonic Lumix FZ28

Megapixels: 10.1 megapixels; Battery life: 273.5; LCD screen size: 2.7 inches; Weight: 15.1 ounces; Sensor type: CCD

Bottom Line: Light, durable, and easy to use, this Panasonic megazoom model performs marvelously under most conditions.

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PCW Rating: 77.0PCW Rating: 77.0PCW Rating: 77.0

Last Rated: March 03, 2009

10. Fujifilm Finepix F60fd

Megapixels: 12 megapixels; Battery life: 103; LCD screen size: 3 inches; Weight: 6.3 ounces; Sensor type: CCD

Bottom Line: A great follow-up to Fuji's F50fd, the F60fd adds automatic scene detection to its impressive list of features.

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