Labs

The SX100 IS looks like a compact camera rather than an ultra-zoom, so its 10x zoom is remarkable. It's the only camera here with an integrated lens cap, and we like the way the pop-up flash is raised manually and can't spring up whenever it wants. There's no shortage of manual controls, with a wheel for quickly adjusting settings, a dedicated ISO button, priority exposure

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modes and well-executed manual exposure and focus controls.

The use of two AA batteries is a little ungainly, but replacements are cheap and easy to find. The only real downside is a slow flash recharge time of five seconds. Otherwise, performance is typical at 1.6 seconds between shots and a 1.5fps continuous mode.

In bright light, the SX100 produced fantastic photos with sumptuous colours and detail that at times surpassed that of 10-megapixel SLRs. However, image quality deteriorated badly in low light as higher ISO settings led to excessive image noise. Shots at ISO 400 were messy, while higher settings were unusable. The Sony H3's ISO 800 output was on a par with the SX100 at ISO 200.

We're fans of compact, big-zoom cameras and the SX100 is an excellent example, but so is Sony's H3. This camera excels in bright conditions but Sony's is much better indoors. That said, the SX100's manual controls will justify its higher price for some.