Editor's choice: 8 best compact cameras for your summer break - TechRadar UK

If you're planning on going abroad this summer, you'll be needing a solid compact camera to take with you. Camera phones just aren't good enough, and DSLRs are both bulky and too expensive.

The great thing about the compact market at the moment is that there is something to be found for absolutely everybody.

There’s a multitude of good products at every price point. Whether you're looking for cheap and cheerful or pricey and performance-led, you'll always be able to find something that suits your needs.

Here are eight great compact cameras, with all budgets, tastes and needs catered for amply. Be sure to check out the following reviews if you need a new digital compact camera this summer.

At £140 the Panasonic Lumix LZ8 is an absolute bargain.

It's fairly basic as far as compact cameras go, but what it does do is cover all the bases. It's got an 8-megapixel lens and a standard 2.5-inch LCD screen.

But the LZ8 defies its budget price and the modest feature list by producing some absolutely fantastic pictures.

And when it comes down to it, if you want to take a compact camera on your holidays this summer.

That's all you really need, isn’t it? Read our full review

This 12-megapixel compact camera from Fuji is possibly even more of a bargain than the Panasonic one above.

When it launched it cost around about the £300 mark.

But now it’s priced online at less than half that amount. The big bonus with this one is that Fuji engineers spent a lot of time trying to improve its low-light performance.

And wow, it certainly works. It's also a very solid all-round camera, a steal at £140. Read our full review

The dream of most amateur photographers is to own a stonkingly good DSLR.

But sometimes it's just not practical to take one of those away on holiday. What if it breaks? What if you lose it?

Aside from that, the sheer size and weight of them make them a but unsuitable for taking away with you.

So how about taking a digital compact which thinks it’s a DSLR, yet has the size and weight of a standard compact?

The 12-megapixel Nikon CoolPix P5100 is just one of those.