As the point-and-shoot digital camera market is targeted at the consumer market, there are already a lot of resources on the internet that help provide consumer education. Some of these sites are very useful, and can help support you in the decision-making process when establishing which cameras you should bring in for assessment.
Digital Photography Review offers an extensive set of information on cameras, with historic archives going back to the 1990’s. Each camera includes a public press release, specifications, and images of the camera itself. Many of the cameras also have additional hands-on review information (located in a small “Next >” link at the bottom of the page), which provide a detailed review of the camera. Additionally, the website includes a link that shows all cameras released to the market in chronological order, which allows for easily discovering which cameras are released in a given calendar year.
Imaging Resource is a camera review website that allows users to view cameras by price, manufacturer, and megapixel count, amongst other categories. One of the useful tools that they provide is the “Compare Sample Images” utility, which allows a user to look at similar staged images on different camera models. One possible shortcoming of the image reviews is the lack of human subjects. A mannequin is used in the test images; while allowing for consistency, this does not allow useful evaluation of clinical performance. That said, the site can be an excellent resource for eliminating cameras that clearly do not provide the image quality needed, thereby reducing the number of “bad” cameras that are brought in for evaluation.
Consumer Reports is known for providing a large number of product reviews. Included in their product review section are a large number of digital camera assessments tested in their camera lab. Unfortunately, these reviews are not free, and require purchasing membership to their site. Prices range from $26.00 (USD) per year to $5.95 for a month. This site can be a useful site as a part of the assessment process, but does come at a slight cost.