Find the Best New Digital Cameras

Canon's High Sensitivity (HS) technology has been appearing in quite a few of Canon's point and shoot models, including the PowerShot SX260HS and one of the best cameras of the year, the PowerShot ELPH 520 HS.

Of course, Canon continues to offer great DSLR cameras, including the Canon EOS 6D and the EOS Rebel T4i, pictured here. Overall, it's been another great year for Canon's camera releases.

Ultra-thin camera bodies, high-end zoom lenses, and high-end shooting speed mark Casio's point and shoot camera models, both in the past and this year. Although Casio has begun marketing and selling its cameras more in Europe and Asia, rather than in the United States, the company still has plenty of stylish models for American customers.

The Casio Exilim EX-ZR200 (pictured here) is the new flagship camera for Casio, offering a 12.5X optical zoom lens.

Two other stylish point and shoot models Casio released this year include the Exilim EX-ZS6 and the EX-ZS20, both of which provide 16.1MP of resolution.

If you like a small point and shoot camera with quick response times, the Exilim EX-ZR15 is well worth considering, too.

Fujifilm has had a busy year, greatly ramping up its lineup of advanced fixed lens cameras, as well as introducing its first DIL cameras, the X-E1, which has an electronic viewfinder, and the X-Pro1, which has quite a few high-end features.

One of the most interesting looking high-end fixed-lens models released this year is the Fujifilm XF1, pictured here, which contains a synthetic leather finish.

Another strong set of cameras from Fujifilm fits into the point and shoot category, including the powerful FinePix F800EXR, which has a 20X optical zoom lens in a thin camera.

Waterproof tough cameras are another key product area for Fujifilm, such as the colorful FinePix XP150, which works in up to 33 feet of water depth.

GE, through its digital camera division (General Imaging) released several cameras early in the year, including the large-zoom model, the GE X550, which is pictured here. It runs from four AA batteries and includes a 15X optical zoom lens.

GE's other models introduced this year centered on beginner-level, point and shoot models, such as the E1410SW, which measures less than 1 inch in thickness.

Obviously, it's been a really rough year-plus for Kodak, as the company declared bankruptcy and then announced soon after that it was exiting the camera manufacturing business.

Kodak still has been releasing a few new cameras during the year, and it may release a few new models in the future that had already been in the plans, but don't expect too many ground-breaking options from Kodak going forward. One of the more interesting new cameras from Kodak is the EasyShare Z5120, pictured here, which includes a 26X optical zoom lens.

There's a good reason why when people look for digital cameras, one of the first manufacturers they think about is Nikon. This camera manufacturer offers a variety of DSLR, DIL, and point and shoot cameras.

Nikon introduced a very powerful DSLR camera this year, the D600 DSLR, pictured here, which includes a 24.3 megapixel image sensor and a 39-point autofocus system.

Nikon also released a second generation of DIL camera with the colorful Nikon J2.

Point and shoot models remain a strong part of the Nikon camera family, including colorful Nikon S6300 and the 42X zoom lens in the Coolpix P510.

Olympus continues to offer a variety of different cameras, aimed at a variety of market segments. For me, though, Olympus is developing quite a strong set of cameras in its PEN family of DIL models, including the PEN Minis, including the PM1 and PM2. (The PM2 is pictured here.)

Fixed-lens cameras with big zooms have become a staple of Olympus, too, including the SZ-12, which features a 24X optical zoom lens. and the SP-820UZ iHS, which has a 40X zoom lens.

Olympus has stayed in the market of the "tough" waterproof cameras, too, including the TG-1 iHS, which works in up to 40 feet of water depth.

Like Olympus, Panasonic has created quite a name for itself in the DIL camera market, creating stylish and powerful models with interchangeable lenses. One of the newest models is the Lumix GF5, pictured here, which measures only 1.45 inches in thickness for the camera body only.

I also really liked the Lumix ZS20, which features a 20X optical zoom lens in a small camera body.

Look for a few different Panasonic cameras to include powerful fixed lenses, even in small and stylish camera bodies, such as the Lumix FH8, which has an f/2.5 Leica lens, and the Lumis LX7, which includes an aperture ring, something that's rarely found in a fixed-lens camera.

It was a year of change for Pentax, too, after the company was sold to Ricoh and later announced that it was going to focus the Pentax brand on advanced cameras, including high-end fixed-lens cameras, DIL cameras, and DSLR cameras.

Pentax had great success last year with the Pentax Q DIL, and it has upgraded that model with the Penatx Q10 DIL, pictured here, which as a cool popup flash.

In the DSLR realm, Pentax has recently announced the K-30 DSLR, which features up to six frames per second burst mode shooting, and the K-5 II DSLR, which is an upgrade to last year's popular K-5.

Samsung may very well be the most underrated camera manufacturer in the market today. Samsung creates some great-looking cameras that have a variety of cutting-edge features, including built-in WiFi, dual LCD screens, high-end lenses, easy-to-use graphical menus, and tilting LCDs.

Among recently released cameras in the point and shoot market, I really like the WB850F, which has a 21X optical zoom and built-in WiFi, as well as the inexpensive DualView DV300F, which is great for children and adults looking to shoot self-portraits easily.

Samsung doesn't offer DSLR cameras, but it has some great models in the DIL market, including the NX20 DIL, pictured here, and the NX1000 DIL, both of which are stylish, thin, powerful ... and underrated.

Sony is a versatile camera maker, offering everything from thin point and shoot models to advanced point and shoot cameras to interchangeable lens cameras.

In the point and shoot market, the Cyber-shot TX200V, pictured here, looks great and offers a 3.3-inch touch screen display. Sony is also offering a touch screen in its latest waterproof tough camera, the Cyber-shot TX20.

The Sony Alpha NEX-6 and NEX-7 are two interesting DIL cameras. And the Alpha a99 DSLR camera is a powerful full frame option.