Sanyo Xacti VPC-E6 digital camera

This snapper boasts a big screen at a low price.

A massive screen and touch-sensitive controls are just two of the weapons with which Sanyo is hoping to blitz the compact camera world.

The display is the biggest we've seen - a huge three-incher that's bright and crisp with very little motion blur. Framing is easy, and it's great for showing the shots to your mates.

The image quality of the snaps is excellent, with super-sharp detail and natural colours. There's some slight purple fringing as a result of over sharpening, but it's not very noticeable. The macro mode is particularly good for detailed close-ups - a shot of a dew-soaked spider's web showing up every glistening strand.

Start-up is phenomenally quick at less than a second and there's no noticeable shutter lag. The shutter button is touch-sensitive, so the camera starts to focus the moment you touch it. This makes it perfect for taking candid photos at parties, or pics of children and animals.

The menus come up clear and colourful on that huge LCD and are simple to navigate with the joystick. There's the usual selection of scene modes, plus manual focus, sensitivity (ISO) and white balance settings. You don't get full manual control for shutter speeds and aperture size, but that's to be expected at this price.

In fact, aesthetics are probably the only thing we can criticise on this camera, as it looks even more bargain-basement than it is, and rivals such as Pentax's S6 are smaller and feel classier.

If you're after a compact six-meg snapper, this one may not be as small or as good-looking as some of its competitors, but in every other way it's simply fantastic.