Successor to the ubiquitous 350D, Canon's affordable yet powerful 400D D-SLR is a serious weapon whether an amateur or pro.

Rarely has a new camera received as much attention as the EOS 300D, released amid a flurry of excitement among photographers and a massive marketing campaign. Why the fuss? Because it's a true 6.3-megapixel digital SLR for under $2,000 including lens. It sounds expensive in the context of the cameras in this month's digital cameras Labs, but the previous generation of several models in that test were nudging a grand when they were released.

Not flawless, but Sony’s debut DSLR impresses with a 10.2-megapixel resolution and built-in anti-shake.

Good performance and handling, low price and far better quality than any digital compact.

Olympus first introduced SLR (single lens reflex) to digital cameras in early 1998 in the form of the Camedia C-1400L.

Digital photography has made enormous strides in recent years, and as a result, the technology is being incorporated into affordable consumer products.

Attractive styling and a long lens will tempt some, but we recommend spending more on a real SLR.

More expensive than its direct competition, but thanks to its brilliant features the D80 is money well spent.

As a reviewer, there is no greater thrill than being privy to a product that you know will either revolutionise or turn the world upside down. The first Palm Pilot, USB devices, and the Canon 1Ds.

In appearance the Olympus Camedia is rather ordinary, mirroring closely what is standard fare in the conventional SLR field, and perhaps even a little dated. This however belies the superior performance that the Olympus put in this month, which impressed the Labs team enough to award it with the Labs Award for Quality.

High performance with a matching price tag.

A completely new digital SLR system has arrived in the shape of the Olympus E-1 and is perhaps the most eagerly awaited professional camera this year.

Superb build quality and performance make this a worthwhile upgrade for serious amateurs.

If you had asked me a few weeks ago what the advantages of eight megapixels (MP) were over five, I would have said very few. However, that was before I discovered the fun factor in being able to play with an image that is up to 115cm by just over 86cm (72dpi).

Best Digital SLR Camera

Every once in a while

Minolta has been producing top-end digital SLRs for many years,

The S5000 is one of the best-looking SLR-style digital cameras we’ve seen and comes from the same lines at the S602 Zoom. The plastic casing is solidly built but feels much lighter than the 448g our scales declared. This is mostly down to the excellent ergonomics – the hand grip is perfectly designed for one-handed shooting.

Two-megapixel digital camera

We put six sub-$500 pocketable cameras to the test