LIKE the hunks and babes who claw their way to the top of the runway heap - only to be displaced by today's fresh face tomorrow - so digital cameras last but only a season, or less.
Every year, camera makers come up with newer models that pip the ones before.
Casio Exilim EX-S10
The Casio Exilim EX-S10 has beauty and brains. It's super slim at 1.5cm thin and has the muscles to take pretty pictures all round.
Likes Captures images almost immediately after you click. Slim and svelte. Well designed navigation. There's an onscreen menu running down the side for easy access of functions. Face detection feature that focuses on moving subjects.
Dislikes No image stabilisation. Images suffer from a slight green tinge. Noise creeps up in low light conditions.
Final say If you want your camera to look as good as the gals on the catwalk, this is the one to go for.
Apart from fresh looks, they have slimmer bodies, come in prettier shades, and are easier to handle.
Yet for digicams, the enhancements are not just cosmetic. Internally, the guts have been swapped with new technology. Anti-shake devices and software compensate unstable hands, and other functions cut out red eyes and even home in on faces so that subjects always stay in focus.
Compact point-and-shoot cameras have also become more powerful, with camera makers squeezing in more technology into the ever-shrinking forms.
Standard for these cameras now are super-high resolutions of eight to 12 megapixels, which means you can blow up your photos poster size.
There are also powerful zoom lenses that let you close in on objects that are further away, plus wider angles that take in more breadth.
The bigger LCD screens - 2.5 inches to 3 inches - now show more of your pictures and also make it easier to frame shots.
Not only that, they even dim or brighten with the surroundings, so you can see what's on the screen no matter how bright or dark it is.
Today's precision shooters also come at prices that won't break the bank - from $400 to $600.
No wonder then that Asia's digital camera market grew by some 20 per cent last year, with compact point-and-shoots leading the way.
After all, it's not always feasible to lug around the more professional digital single-lens reflex cameras and lenses that weigh up to 40 times more than the compact camera's 150g or so.
Like if you're going to the fashion shows at the Singapore Fashion Festival that's on this week.
Here are seven of the newest cameras heavy duty enough for you to capture all those runway looks, and yet are pretty enough to whip out of statement clutches so popular this season.
Sony Cyber-shot T300
Canon IXUS 80 IS
Olympus Mju 1010
This camera has Sony's signature good style, with sleek brushed metal surfaces, a sliding cover and a huge 3.5-inch LCD touchscreen display.
Likes Fantastic editing mode lets you remove red eye, crop pictures, apply effects and even write text on images. Flash intensity is adjustable. Option to search pictures according to whether or not people appear in them. What a good idea to bring search into a camera.
Dislikes It's easy to accidentally activate the touchscreen menu while shooting. No manual exposure mode.
Final say Sleek style and huge array of built-in editing features.
If the Canon IXUS 80 IS were a person, it couldn't be female, because it takes a really short time to get ready. In our tests, the camera took only slightly more than a second to start up and shoot the first shot.
Likes Opitcal viewfinger. Shoots good pictures under most types of lighting conditions. Easy to navigate. Comes in yummy brown.
The curvy Olympus Mju 1010 gets really up close and personal with its 7x zoom and a macro mode that lets you shoot as close as 2cm from your subject.
Likes Best macro mode. Powerful 7x optical zoom. Realistic colours and decent quality. option to preview a particular scene under different settings before shooting. Built-in wizard helps you along as you shoot.
Dislikes Clunky menu with many steps. Buttons feel plasticky.
The Z20fd is built for bloggers because you can customise image sizes for blogs and attach a short voice note to your pictures. You can also automatically combine four pictures into one under a special auction mode, which makes for easy uploads.
Likes Super light at 110g. Controls are well placed and easy to navigate with. The camera is also affordable.
Dislikes A little to basic. Pictures tend to be a little washed out. Noisy zoom.
Don't judge this camera by its looks. Beneath its blockish hood are strong features for a compact camera - 4x zoom, ISO3200 high light-sensitivity and wide-angle Nikkor lens.
Likes Stabilises images and rids blurry pictures using technology found in Nikon's digital single-lens reflex cameras. Vibrant pictures when shooting outdoors. Lost of manual options.
Dislikes Uninspiring design. Grooves on dial trap dirt. Confusing menu makes it hard to find certain functions. Can do better with indoor shots.
If you want a compact camera without sacrificing professional features, then this could be the one for you. it has a wide range of manual settings, super wide-angle lens and onscreen histogram that lets you check if your images are exposed right while you shoot.
Likes Superb pictures that are sharp and vibrant. Super-wide angle lens at 25mm. Up to ISO 6400. Powerful features, many of which can be found in higher-end cameras.
Dislikes Takes time to start up and start shooting. Slightly slow at focusing.
