I usually shoot pictures with a Nikon D80, but I still like to keep a nice, small point-and-shoot around for the times I don’t feel like hefting the behemoth D80 around. A thin point-and-shoot that can be slipped into a pocket or backpack is a welcome addition for most people who like to shoot with more advanced cameras typically.

Sony announced a pair of new cameras this week that are perfect for those looking for thing cameras. The DSC-T77 is very thin at under 5/8-inch thick — making it perfect to complement my DSLR. The T77 may be thin, but it still packs in lots of features including a large 3-inch touch sensitive LCD, Smile Shutter, face detection and ISO sensitivity up to ISO 3200.

Digital cameras are hot and there have been a slew of new and cool ones introduced so far this summer. I am sure we will see even more digital cameras introduced as the holiday shopping season gets closer. The most recent digital camera introduced comes from Fujifilm and is called the FinePix S2000HD.

The camera has a 15x optical zoom lens and a 10-megapixel CCD sensor. The camera can shoot images and record HD video at 1280 x 720p. Still images are recorded in JPEG format and movies are recorded in AVI. Video and still pictures are stored to 55MB of internal memory, andSD/SDHC memory cards.

Digital cameras are getting smaller, cheaper and growing megapixels all the time. It’s funny to think about how expensive digital cameras with 10-megapixels were not so long ago and now even the cheapest entry-level cameras sport 10-megapixel resolutions.

For example, Pentax announced its Optio E60 digital camera that will retail for under $140 when it launches in October. The camera has a 10.1-megapixel sensor and a 3x optical zoom lens. In addition to shooting still images, the camera can also record video.

When it comes to digital cameras you can go with the simple point-and-shoot camera or you can opt to go for the more difficult to use, but infinitely more flexible DSLR camera. For most users the point-and-shoot camera is the better option and many of the newer point-and-shoot cameras are starting to add features that were previously only found on DSLRs.

Case in point is the new Panasonic Lumix DMC-LX3 digital point-and-shoot camera. The camera has a 10.1-megapixel 1/1.63-inch CCD developed specifically for the camera and can shoot RAW format images. Panasonic says that the special CCD used in the camera is 40% more sensitive and saturation is increased by 35% compared to other Panasonic 10.1-megapixel cameras. The CCD can also capture images in three aspect ratios including 4:3, 3:2, or 16:9. The camera also features a Multi Aspect mode that shoots images in all three modes at once and allows users to pick the one they prefer.