The smart Pentax Optio S12 looks and feels as classy and assured as any of the Pentax S series from recent years. The venerable chassis, though, doesn't really suit such a high-resolution sensor — the previous 10-megapixel S10 gives just as much usable detail.
The Pentax Optio A40 offers first-class picture quality, with optical image stabilisation and dynamic range adjustment looking interesting, but the middling specs are uninspiring and the toy-like styling isn't for us.
The EasyShare Z1275 is the flagship model in Kodak's Z-series, boasting 12-megapixels, 5x optical zoom, digital image stabilisation and 64Mb of internal storage as well as the ability to record high definition video.
While a wide dynamic range lets it serve up tons of highlight detail and impressive overall image quality, the S5 Pro isn't for high-speed sports photography, and it could use more resolution.