WEATHERPROOF POCKET CAM
Thanks to internal gaskets, the slim Stylus easily fended off steady rain while I was shooting in a storm on the west coast of Vancouver Island—conditions that would have fizzled non-water-resistant cameras in less than a minute. My other favorite feature is its image-stabilized 5x zoom lens (the equivalent of a 36–180mm telephoto). Even without a tripod, I was able to capture shots of breaching pilot whales that would have been a blur with most similarly sized cameras. 7.1 megapixels; olympusamerica.com
Bonus: With 23 scene modes—each with a sample image—and an onscreen step-by-step guide for tricky lighting situations, the 750 is ideal for amateurs.
Bummer: The buttons and dials are well laid out and intuitive—but they could be bigger.