(Photo: James Worrell)

Chances are pretty good you’re already carrying around an old-school version of this camera. The Olympus Stylus line, which has been around for ten years, is the best-selling compact-camera series in the country. Its sleek curves have always trumped the boxier competition, and the Stylus’s palm-size scale makes it a 35-mm. camera you can actually carry everywhere. Now the Stylus has gone digital, with the new 300 model (shown; $399; 800-652-2666; olympusamerica.com) and 400 model ($499) featuring marvel-of-engineering compactness married to high-res digital optics (3.2 megapixels for the 300 model, 4.0 for the 400). Like their 35-mm. forebears, both feature all-weather construction (most notably, the nifty Olympus-trademark sliding lens cover that’s part of the camera body) and idiot-proof controls, making them perfect for the beach and slightly tipsy backyard barbecues.

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