Top 25 Best Buys

Top 25 Best Buys

Big-Screen Star: Panasonic Lumix DMC-FX50

Who? Compact-cam shooters looking beyond good looks. What? Panasonic Lumix DMC-FX50. Why? While plenty of cameras have 3-inch LCD monitors these days, the FX50's just seems clearer and brighter to us. And while truckloads of compacts have optical image stabilization of one sort or another, Panasonic was a pioneer here with its lens-based Mega O.I.S. -- and it's one of the most effective systems out there. The focal length, 28-100mm equivalent, is just right, and the noise suppression of the latest Venus III processing engines is greatly improved over that of older models. (Yes, you'll get noise at ISO 3200 -- though you still get the full 7.2MP resolution.) Now!$300, street.