Cherish that analogue SLR camera you've owned for decades. Well, at least make the most of it - because if research company InfoTrends is correct, film cameras will be going the way of the Betamax VCR and the BSB Squarial within five years.

In a report issued a month ago, the company predicted that only single-use film cameras will survive the cull, with digital models of around three or four mega pixels dominating the market.

While writing the obituary for film cameras is probably a little premature, it's clear that sales of digital cameras in all sectors have now started to impact on sales on their film counterparts.

InfoTrends cites "the rise of home photo printing, retail digital photo finishing services, online photo services, TV-based imaging products and services, and wireless imaging" as key reasons for their uptake.

It perhaps should have added to that list the way in which reasonable quality digital cameras can now be picked up cheaply. Whereas once three mega pixel snappers sold for more than £500, quality models from established photographic names can now be bought for less than £250.

Three mega pixels is arguably the bottom line for digital cameras, if the photographer intends to print out their images. Provided the image is sharp, three mega pixels is enough resolution for a decent 10x8 inch print. Anything larger and four or five mega pixel models ought to be considered.

There has also been a meteoric rise in sales of low-end VGA cameras. Companies like SiPix and Digital Dream Company have milked the market for gadgets with tiny low-end inexpensive snappers. Philips has even released a keychain device with an integrated camera and a built-in USB connector.

Yet some analysts believe the market for these devices is likely to be short-lived. In Japan, phones that can take 1.3 mega pixel images are already proving popular among the young, and the race is on to deliver a two-mega pixel phone.

Sony Ericsson is also rumoured to be lining up a 1.3-mega-pixel camera for the European market. There's plenty of anecdotal evidence from the Far East that users are taking images on their phone to keep, rather than just to send and then delete. This has developed in tandem with the widespread use of storage card like SD and Memory Stick on Far Eastern phones.

So far, digital camera manufacturers remain confident that sales of camera phones won't impact on sales of digital cameras.

Adding extra functionality to digital cameras could be the key. "In the future, budget digital cameras could offer Bluetooth , MP3 and even e-mail facilities", suggests Bill Foley of SiPix. "Three and four mega pixel cameras will also hit the budget sector soon."

So, in the short term at least, unless you're happy with grainy, blurry images from your camera phone, there's still a compelling case to invest in a digital model.

At the top-end of the market, recent launches from Olympus, Canon and others that pair high resolution, six mega pixel images with creative and manual facilities have even turned the heads of some diehard analogue SLR enthusiasts. There are also some fabulous models that retail now for under £300. Here are our recommendations:

Bargain basement

SiPix StyleCam Groove - £50
Evidence of how far even the bottom end of the market has come. A tiny 1.3 mega pixel snapper with 16MB of storage on board for less than fifty quid. Great value.

Digital Dream Company L'Espion XS - £80
Unlike many cheapo snappers this model, with its chromey cigarette lighter styling casing, looks rather classy. Boasts some innovative features including an infrared facility which automatically takes an image when someone gets within five metres of the camera

Gadget snappers

Philips KEY008 - £90
Camera integrated within a pocketable USB key chain. Transfers images to any Windows XP running PC. Image quality is reasonable. Its 128MB storage means it has space for hundreds of images.

Sony Clie PEG NZ90 - £500
Feature-packed PDA that runs using Palm's operating system. On board is a two-mega pixel camera - rival PDAs usually have cameras that take basic VGA resolution images.

Sharp GX20 - £100-250
The latest version of the phone that launched Vodafone Live! Boasts a camera capable of far better images than its predecessor the GX10.

All-rounders

Sony DSC-U30 - £200
Superbly designed miniature two mega pixel camera. Capable of taking some pretty striking images.

Olympus Mju 300 - £300
Classy mid-market camera wrapped in a stylish metallic case. Takes three mega pixel images and boast a 3x optical and 4x digital zoom.

Casio Elixim EX-Z3DDA - £350
Credit card-sized and super slim with it, yet capable of taking three mega pixel images.

Canon Digital Ixus 400 - £450
The Digital Ixus is nearest thing digital cameras have to a classic design. This latest incarnation takes four-mega pixel images is finished in tough steel casing and has a 3x optical zoom.

The high-end

Olympus C-50 Zoom 400 - £500
This five mega pixel camera is as good as compact digital cameras get at the moment.

Fuji S7000 Zoom
High-end feature crammed camera that is set to replace Fuji's classic S602 Zoom. Takes six mega pixel images. Due in October.

Canon PowerShot G5 - £680
Brand new five mega pixel heavyweight.

Nikon Coolpix 5400 - £650
SLR-style five mega pixel digital model. Boast amazing macros facilities.