About the size of a typical 35-mm SLR camera, the Casio QV-3500EX has a boxy design that verges on clunky. But it's comfortable to hold and operate in one hand. And it's the only 3-megapixel camera we looked at that supports the IBM Microdrive (you'll have to buy one separately, of course). Most important, although the point-and-shoot crowd will find the QV-3500EX easy to use, it offers enough capabilities to satisfy serious amateurs.

In less than a minute, you can understand the controls enough for more than the point-and-shoot basics, including macro and video modes. But expect to read the manual before using the most advanced modes, such as shutter-speed priority, aperture priority, and full-manual photography. In one nicely implemented feature, you can page through 28 sample pictures to pick one that matches the shot you're taking, changing a cluster of settings at once. Even better, you can add your own samples. Note too that on our test, the batteries lasted a substantial 480 shots.

Bundled software includes a program to transfer and organize photos as well as a stitching program for panoramas but no graphics editor. Alas, setting up a computer for USB connection to the camera is harder than it should be. Windows Me doesn't recognize the camera as a USB drive. Worse, the Plug and Play installation wizard found two drivers on the disk, and the manual doesn't say which one to choose.

Image quality was uneven. The QV-3500EX turned in relatively poor scores for pixel transition (4.9 percent vertically, 4.1 percent horizontally), which translate to a slight fuzziness on close inspection. But images are sharp enough for printing 8-by-10 photos. Although it managed first place among 3-megapixel cameras on our jury test, colors were slightly washed out—but still acceptable—on less formal tests.

Even at their worst, however, the results are good enough for most purposes. And the sheer number of pictures you can take on one battery and fit on a 1GB Microdrive (over 700 at the maximum resolution and minimum compression) makes up for any potential minor loss in quality.