Picture Perfect

By Wilson Rothman

IN LIVING COLOR

The quest for killer prints has taken developers in different directions. Epson's Stylus Photo R800 ($400; www.epson.com composes images using eight separate inks: the traditional cyan, magenta, yellow and black, plus a glossy black, a deeper red and blue, and a clear-gloss coating for white areas. The Dell Photo Printer 540 ($180; dell.com) which issues only 4-in. by 6-in. prints, fuses thermal dye onto special photo paper. Four passes of primary color, and out comes an image that fingerprints won't harm. The 540 can print directly from the memory cards of most cameras or connect to the latest digital cameras for custom jobs.

Nikon D70 Digital SLR

With training-wheel features for amateurs, plus manual control for pro shooters, the D70 will boost the ego of anyone who pretends to know what an f-stop is. nikonusa com ($1,300 with basic lens)

Panasonic PV-GS120

The price of pro-quality video technology is dropping fast. This MiniDV camcorder has separate imaging sensors for reds, greens and blues plus a 10x Leica zoom lens. panasonic.com ($700)

JVC Everio GZ-MC100

Forget tape: the Everio saves 60 min. of DVD-grade video (up to 5 hr. of lower quality) on a removable 4-GB hard drive. It's also equipped with a 2-megapixel still camera. jvc.com ($1,200)

Sony Cyber-shot L1

You may think that hiding a 4-megapixel performance-minded camera with a 3x optical zoom in so small a body is quite a feat, but the real achievement is the reasonable sticker price. sonystyle.com ($300)

Canon PowerShot SD300

Slim but powerful, this 4megapixel camera with a 3x optical zoom has a spacious 2-in. highresolution LCD screen in back, great for lining up and reviewing shots. powershot.com ($400)