Stories by: Tim Moynihan

Panasonic's latest camera models are extreme in a couple of ways: extreme in terms of optical-zoom range, and extreme in the "chugging a carafe of Mountain Dew while pogo-sticking down Mount Everest" sense. The company announced four new Lumix point-and-shoots that will be available in the first quarter of the year, headlined by the 20X-optical-zoom Lumix ZS20 and the rugged but robust Lumix TS4.

It was going to be hard for any camera, G-series successor or otherwise, to top the Canon PowerShot G12. However, Canon may have just shot the moon with the new PowerShot G1 X.

First, the important stuff: Billy Joel loves you just the way you are. Both Aaron Neville and Linda Rondstadt don't know much, but they know they love you. You don't need cosmetic surgery or a dramatic makeover, because you're beautiful, and Christina Aguilera would back me up on that.

If the idea of an almost-all-touchscreen camera appeals to you, the Canon PowerShot Elph 500 HS ($US299 as of May 25) is one of the best point-and-shoot options in that class. But it's becoming clear that touchscreen-operated cameras are a significantly different beast than traditional cameras with similar specs. Because of its touchscreen, this camera acts more like a phone than a more-traditional camera, and that brings its fair share of pros and cons.

More than any device in recent memory, the Panasonic Lumix DMC-GF2 is a showpiece for the benefits and drawbacks of a touchscreen interface. Although the camera's touchscreen UI introduces a few groundbreaking features to the compact interchangeable-lens camera category, it may leave you longing for old-fashioned analog controls more often than not.

At CES in Las Vegas, Olympus got off to a hot start by announcing two new digital cameras that are among the most interesting we've seen at the show so far. The fixed-lens Olympus XZ-1 is a high-end pocket camera that offers full manual controls and impressive hardware, while the Olympus PEN E-PL2 is a well-priced interchangeable-lens compact camera that's designed for casual shooters who want to learn photography on the fly.

CES never fails to disappoint

Craving a new camera for the holiday season? The hottest new cameras, camcorders, and accessories of the year were all on display at the 2010 PDN PhotoPlus Expo in New York City.

The onslaught of brand-new cameras for fall continues: Pentax is adding two offerings to its Optio line of point-and-shoots, one of which includes a clever twist to make a low-end pocket camera more enticing.

"Three-dimensional everything" is shaping up to be the big trend of 2010 (or at least its most-prominent bastion of hype), but Fujifilm had an early jump on the 3D craze.