Nikon Coolpix P310

The Nikon Coolpix P310 ($329.95 direct) may be billed as a point-and-shoot camera, but it is one that is clearly designed with serious photographers in mind. A wide aperture lens and a thoughtful physical control layout allow you to take full command of the camera's settings, and image quality is excellent for its class.

The rear display itself is gorgeous. It's 3 inches in size and has a 921k-dot resolution. This high-res design makes it crystal clear, and it's bright enough to use when the sun is shining.

The P310 is a great camera for enthusiasts, but it does have one aspect that is sure to frustrate those used to shooting with D-SLRs. Its shutter lag, the time between pressing the shutter down and the camera taking the picture, clocks in a about 0.4-second.

Despite a few flaws, the Nikon Coolpix P310 is a compact camera that should keep serious shooters happy. Its image quality and control layout are excellent, and the fast lens and good high ISO quality make it a very versatile shooter.

Our standard test scene, as shot with the lens of the Coolpix P310.

This 100 percent crop displays the level of detail that the P310 can capture.