The Leica M8 doesn't just have a pretty body, nor is it resting on the laurels of its predecessors: it's got a 10.3 megapixel resolution, with a low-noise CCD image sensor that starts at ISO 160 but that can also kick up to ISO 2500.

ENGADGET: Leica M8 combines old-world charm with new-world tech

The Olympus Stylus 750, this one's nearly identical to the 740 (7.1 megapixels, 5x optical zoom, 2.5-inch LCD), just with the addition of CCD-shift image stabilization.

ENGADGET: Olympus announces Mju 725 sw, Stylus 730, Stylus 740, Stylus 750, and Stylus 1000

The key difference is that instead of focusing the light on a strip of photochemical film as in traditional cameras, digital cameras use an image sensor, called a charge coupled device (CCD), to capture the image.

FORBES: Technology briefing

In essence the charged CCD now stores an image, albeit an analog (as opposed to digital) one.

FORBES: Technology briefing

So... hyperbole aside, the FX30 is thin and features a 3.6x LEICA DC VARIO-ELMARIT optical zoom lens, 7.2 megapixel CCD, Mega OIS optical image stabilization, Venus Engine III image-processing for shooting at ISO 1250, and a 2.5-inch 207k pixel LCD (the L74 throws down 230k pixels) with "Power LCD" to boost brightness by 40% (at the expense of battery life) when outdoors.

ENGADGET: Panasonic's DMC-FX30 wide-angle 7.2 megapixel shooter: not quite the world's slimmest

To convert the image to the 0s and 1s a computer can understand, the charges on the CCD are run through a microprocessor.

FORBES: Technology briefing