The Best Cameras

The great megapixel race is over. But now what the hell are you supposed to do? These are the best cameras of the post-megapixel world.

Best Budget dSLR
The Canon T2i is the ideal first DSLR. The simple controls shouldn't intimidate you for long, plus it can hold your hand a decent bit of the way, thanks to clever innovations like the Creative Auto Mode. (May 19, 2010)

Best Midrange dSLR
The Nikon D300s and Canon 7D deliver for the money, but the 7D delivers more, since it's packed full of newer technology and for the people who want it, the video component is truly killer (Nov 10, 2009)

Best 'Spensive dSLR
The Nikon D3s is a peek at the near future of photography where shooting in any lighting condition is possible. It's really exciting. (1D Mark IV if you're shooting more video) (Feb 26, 2010)

Best High-End DSLR Alternative
Micro Four-Thirds cameras have long promised to bridge the quality of DSLRs with the size of point and shoots. The Olympus PEN EP-3 is the fullest realization of the Micro Four-Thirds dream so far.

Best Affordable DSLR Alternative
Simply stated, the NEX-C3 performs much better than the other cameras in its class in nearly every situation. It's better, and, yup, bigger and heavier. The 18-55mm kit lens isn't collapsable, so this camera is never going to fit in your pocket, and while taking a quick shot in auto is easy enough, you're going to want to spend some time learning the menus, and programming the camera's customizable buttons to get the most out of it. In terms of image quality, the 16.2 megapixel, 23. 4mm x 15.6mm sensor blows the rest of the cameras in its price range away. It's not even close.

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Best Point-and-Shoot Camera
Canon's S95 was our favorite pocket camera. Um, it's probably not anymore. Meet the S100. What's new? Oh, Canon's first Digic V processor. A wider 24mm zoom lens. A 12-megapixel CMOS sensor (up from a 10MP CCD). 1080p video. And GPS built-in. (September, 2011)

Best Pocket Camcorder
The Kodak Playfull is a very capable shooter with several great features and one major shortcoming-a too-small display-but the fact that we found it selling at multiple online retailers for less than $100 goes a long way to make up for that deficiency.

Best Phone Camera
The iPhone 4S camera is lightning fast and really gorgeous. It's not as super in-your-face saturated as the iPhone 4 was, which gives it truer-to-life colors. It's also got excellent auto-focus.

Best Waterproof Camera
The Nikon AW100 is right at the forefront of ruggedized specs, and backs it up with a very respectable 16MP BSO CMOS sensor.

Best Helmet/Sports Camera
The images the GoPro Hero 2 takes are great. It's not just HD-sized, it actually looks HD. We like the Contour ROAM a lot, but the Hero 2 has more options and the image quality simply wins. (August 2011)

Best Camera Lenses
We're adding our roundup of well-priced, excellently-performing lenses to the list, for those of you looking for an upgrade. (Dec 6, 2010)

Best Photo Printing Service
Despite its outdated website, Wizard Printscan realize almost any scenario you can dream up-adhesives you can walk on, super-sized canvases, beautiful matte prints, and textured fabrics that turn into wall murals. (Jan 20, 2011)