For starters, practically all of the digital cameras at this level offer aperture- and shutter-priority exposure modes. These modes are indispensable if you want control over depth of field or if you're shooting action and need to freeze motion. Photography purists will be happy to find full manual exposure is also an option with cameras in this price range.

In addition to these old favorites, you're also likely to find preprogrammed modes that are fine-tuned for automatic exposures of certain types of scenes, like sports-action, portraits, landscapes and more.

While we're talking exposure, some of the more advanced compact cameras boast the same sophisticated metering and auto- focus systems that can be found in high-end SLR-type cameras. Selectable multi-point metering and autofocus are available in cameras of this level, as are multi-segment metering, high-speed predictive autofocus and spot metering.

Cameras in this category will have a 3- or 4-megapixel CCD sensor. This level of resolution will allow you to produce terrific photo-quality prints at sizes of 8x10-inches and even larger. This is a huge leap forward in quality and begs the question: Are you still paying for film and processing?

With all of these features, the only real constraint of advanced compact cameras is their fixed lens. Unlike their expensive interchangeable-lens brethren, you need to be satisfied with the built-in lens.

That's not to imply that you're stuck without options. Some of these compact cameras have big-range zoom lenses—as much as 5x or even 10x. Many also have a threaded lens barrel that allows you to add optional accessory lenses that can increase your focal range on both the wide and telephoto ends of the scale. These accessory lenses generally work very well and, when paired with an already substantial zoom, can offer you an extremely versatile focal range indeed.

Other useful photographic features include selectable ISO-equivalence and white-balance control. Selectable ISO allows you to increase the camera's sensitivity. Like choosing a high-speed film, you can shoot in lower light with the camera set to a higher ISO. Default is usually ISO 100; 200 and 400 are the most common additional settings, but some cameras go even higher. Note that using the higher ISOs will generate "noise" in your images, which is the digital equivalent of film grain.

White balance control lets you affect the way the camera "sees" the color white, which, in turn, affects the overall color cast of the image. All digital cameras have an automatic white-balance feature. Cameras that offer manual white-balance control usually include a few presets for daylight, fluorescent and incandescent light, and some even allow you to make a custom setting.

Advanced compact cameras come in many shapes and sizes. In this category, you can get a camera that will fit your grip and your pocket. Some of these cameras are very small and can be taken anywhere without much ado. Or, if you prefer the feel of a larger camera with a hefty grip, you have that option as well. The nice thing about this price range is the wide array of models from which to choose, and one is sure to emphasize the qualities that you prefer in camera design.

Expect a variety of storage modes at this price level, too. There will definitely be a JPEG mode (maybe a few), probably a compression-free TIFF mode and possibly a movie-recording mode. While you won't get production-quality video out of these cameras, the movie mode can be a lot of fun when traveling or at social gatherings. Be warned that TIFF and movie files take up a lot of space on your memory card, though.

Speaking of memory cards, you're going to need more than what comes with the camera. That's especially true with cameras that boast big resolution. Three- and 4-megapixel files can be a few megabytes each, even when using JPEG compression. All of that data is good because it makes for better prints, but it does eat up space on your card. So figure the cost of extra memory into your purchasing decision. With 3-megapixels and up in resolution, think 128 MB or more of additional storage.

We think you'll love what these cameras can do. The amount of control and advanced technology in these models makes photography a lot of fun, and composing and reviewing your photos with the LCD as you go can't be beat.