Compact digital cameras · 2000 to 2008

Every camera comes with its own roll.

We test each digicam, grade its body and shoot a sample roll on it. You see the exact photos your camera makes before it ships.

PLAYBACK

'03 10 04

100-0012

DAYLIGHT1/5 · 2048×1536 FINE

ZOOM

Example roll. ◀ ▶ flips frames, T zooms, MENU opens the test sheet.

MENU › TEST SHEET

Eight checks before a camera gets a grade.

A camera that fails one goes to parts. It never gets listed.

Sensor: Shot at the lowest and highest ISO against a flat grey card. Stuck and hot pixels are counted and written on the listing.
Lens and zoom: Full zoom travel in both directions, repeatedly. The lens cover has to open and close without a nudge.
Focus: Close and far subjects, in daylight and under indoor bulbs.
Flash: Fires on every shot of a burst and recycles. Red-eye lamp included.
Screen: Dead pixels, backlight bleed and any scratch you would notice while framing.
Buttons and dials: Every key pressed, every mode dial position tried, every menu opened.
Battery: Charged, then shot until it dies. The listing says how many frames it lasted.
Card and cable: Writes and reads a card, then transfers over USB to a current laptop.

Same test sheet for A, B and C

AShelf clean

Faint marks you only find by looking for them. Screen clear.

BCarried

Scuffed corners and worn paint on the edges. Light screen scratches that disappear in use.

CPocket worn

Deep scuffs, a small dent or a missing rubber cover. Priced for it.

'04 12 25

That camera from a holiday twenty years ago still has a buyer. Tell us the model and what came with it, and we reply with an offer.