Olympus E-510

Compact camera not doing it for you? Time to get serious with Olympus's new semi-pro snapper

The E-510 is one of the smallest and lightest cameras on the shelf , yet is also arguably the most powerful, thanks to a top line spec that flaunts image stabilisation, sensor cleaning and this year's hot feature - Live View.

This lets you frame 10MP shots on its averagely good 2.5-inch screen, just like a compact. There's nothing compact about its images, though: they combine killer detail with solid colours.

The interface is a touch finger intensive, but this is still the camera to beat. As we went to press, you could get £100 cash-back on it, too…