Best new digital cameras.(Lab tests)(Product/service evaluation)

THE LATEST CAMERAS have grown up as fast as the kids whose pictures you loved to snap. Many are packed with features that were rare on past point-and-shoots, such as face-detection technology. Our Select Ratings lists 15 models, many of which include powerful on-board tools to improve your shots.

Getting more for less. The A1 Canon subcompact has very good image quality and shoots well in low light without a flash. It also has face detection, and an optical image stabilizer is built into the lens. The A3 Sony does not do as well in low light, but it has a touch-screen LCD and a face-detection technology called Smile Shutter that recognizes a smile and fires off up to six images automatically. The B2 Canon, a CR Best Buy at $140, is a compact that has long battery life and manual controls to tweak settings.

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Better images. Our Ratings reveal improvements in image quality as well, with one model, the B6 Samsung, providing excellent images. More models are doing a better job of shooting in low light without a flash, a capability previously found on much pricier SLRs. The B6 Samsung and ...