Nikon D50

Nikon D50

Nikon's 6.1-megapixel D50 digital SLR model is no photographic marvel, but it does fit nicely into the latest digital camera trend: making interchangeable-lens photography accessible to shooters who don't have deep pockets.

If you already have Nikon lenses from a film camera, you can use them with a D50 body, which sells for $750. Nikon also sells the D50 with an 18mm-55mm zoom lens for $900, a price a bit less than that of the D50's direct rival, Canon's 8-megapixel Digital Rebel XT, and about $400 less than the Nikon D70s.

The choice between the D50 and the 6.1-megapixel D70s is an interesting dilemma. (For more info on the Digital Rebel XT, the D70s, and other digital SLRs, see "Powerful Cameras, Lower Prices.") The two Nikons are near twins in look (both have 2-inch LCDs), function, and megapixel count. The D50 is a bit smaller and lighter, though, and it accepts SD (Secure Digital) media cards exclusively (the D70s accepts CompactFlash).

The D50 also lacks some controls as compared with the D70s. You'll still get most of what a hobbyist photographer might look for, though, and intermediate photographers should find the D50 easier to use than the D70s.

A surprising difference between the two models: Shooting in automatic mode, our shipping D50's images were brighter and had livelier color. According to Nikon, this is by design: The D70s is biased toward underexposure by default, while the D50 is tuned for those photographers who want to minimize the time they spend tweaking their shots on a computer.

The D50 is a fine entry-level digital SLR--particularly if you own some Nikon lenses. Some may even prefer it to Canon's popular Rebel XT.

Pentax *ist DL, Megapixel, SLR, Digital Camera (6.1MP, 2008x3008, SD)

Pentax *ist DL

With a street price of $600 (as of March 21, 2006) and a basic feature set, the Pentax *ist DL represents a good entry-level option for aspiring digital SLR shooters on a budget. Though it isn't long on features, the *ist DL provides the automatic and manual features that most photographers need, wrapped in a small body with a simple control layout. Unfortunately, the camera suffers from many of the same image quality problems as its predecessor, the *ist DS.

The *ist DL is a very well-designed camera. Its compact yet comfortable body is small without feeling cramped. Pentax deserves credit for making a smaller camera than the *ist DS that is no less comfortable. Build quality is excellent and free of creaking or flexing parts. A simple top-mounted LCD status display supplies basic camera stats, though I wish it included an ISO readout.

Pressing the function button on the back of the camera brings up a menu that lets you change ISO, white balance, flash mode, and drive mode. But while the interface is fairly simple, it doesn't work as speedily as dedicated buttons. You select the shooting mode by using a top-mounted dial, and a control wheel changes parameters within each mode. Fortunately, Pentax retained the exposure compensation button--a frequently used feature on any camera.

The power on the *ist DL is easy to access because it's a rocker switch surrounding the shutter button. One of Pentax's nicest interface innovations is the depth-of-field preview control, which you access by sliding the power switch into a third position. Because the control is right next to the shutter button, it's easy to reach with your shutter finger.

The *ist DL falls down in image quality. In JPEG mode, the camera's shots are soft and occasionally look underexposed. Increasing the default sharpening setting helps make images look crisper; and once you're used to the underexposure, you can compensate for it. We also had occasional trouble with JPEG artifacts, but the *ist DL lets you shoot in RAW mode, eliminating this issue. RAW shooting requires more storage, though, and can lead to a more complicated workflow, depending on the software you use for your postproduction work.

Olympus EVOLT E-330 Digital SLR W/14-45mm Lens (7.94MP, 3136x2352, CompactFlash/Microdrive/xD-Picture Card Slot)

Olympus EVolt E-330

The Olympus EVolt E-330 ($1100 as of March 21, 2006) is an upgrade of the company's previous E-300 model. The E-330 is unique among midrange digital SLR cameras in allowing you to use its LCD screen as a viewfinder.

The E-330 has an improved body design (slightly smaller than the E-300), enhancements to a number of features, and an LCD screen that you can fold away from the camera for easier waist-level, or over-the-head shooting. The LCD viewfinder will appeal to macro shooters and product photographers, who won't have to crane their necks to look through a viewfinder.

With a 7.5-megapixel sensor (as opposed to the E-300's 8-megapixel sensor) the E-330 is the first SLR upgrade I've seen that offers a lower pixel count than its predecessor--though the slight difference in pixel count doesn't affect image quality.

The new EVolt's image quality is good, with good detail and sharpness. Like many other Olympus cameras, the E-330 comes with factory settings that add a big contrast and saturation boost to your images. If you think it's too much, you can easily tone down the effects by adjusting in-camera settings. If you shoot in RAW mode, you won't have this problem.

We tested the E-330 with the included kit lens--a 14-to-45mm lens that delivers a 35mm equivalent focal length of 28-to-90mm. The lens is small and well built with excellent edge-to-edge detail and no discernable vignetting (a flaw in which the center of an image is brighter than the extremities).

Though available lenses for the EVolt are fewer than for a Canon or Nikon SLR, Olympus has done a very good job of expanding the lens selection to include everything from a 7-to-14mm lens (14-to-28mm equivalent) to a 90-to-250mm (180-to-500mm equivalent) zoom for telephoto shooters. Choices within this zoom range include fish-eye, macro, teleconverter, and other lenses. Unfortunately, none of Olympus's lenses provide any form of electronic image stabilization--a useful feature to have when you're using a telephoto lens or shooting in low light.

The fairly bright optical viewfinder provides a detailed status readout. To use the LCD as a viewfinder, you simply press the Live View button on the back of the camera. The LCD viewfinder operates in two modes: One provides 92 percent coverage of your scene, but does not show accurate depth-of-field; the other provides 100 percent coverage and accurate depth-of-field, but requires you to focus manually. Olympus has wisely added a magnification feature that makes it easier to judge focus, as focusing manually on an LCD screen can be difficult.

For certain situations, the LCD viewfinder is very handy, but in general, people choose an SLR because they want a traditional through-the-lens camera experience. Moreover, LCDs are difficult to see in low light, and they don't show the full dynamic range of a scene, which can affect your creative decisions.

Instead of providing a separate status LCD, the EVolt E-330 relies on one LCD screen to display all camera information. The status readout is incredibly detailed, providing all of the relevant data on your camera's current configuration. Unfortunately, when you look through the viewfinder, the screen can be very annoying because it's always on, and this makes the optical viewfinder unusable in low-light conditions.

The E-330 provides a full complement of features, including priority, manual, and various custom scene modes. Three different spot meters accompany the matrix and center-weight metering systems.

Other nice upgrades over the E-300 include a slightly faster burst rate of 3 frames per second, the ability to adjust ISO sensitivity in increments of one-third stop, support for both CompactFlash and XD-Picture Card storage, and an effective in-camera noise filter for shooting at high ISOs.

The camera's interface is adequate, permitting relatively speedy access to essential controls. And the E-330 includes Olympus's excellent automatic sensor-cleaning mechanism to keep dust from marring your images.

Samsung Digimax GX 1S Digital SLR Camera Body with D-XENON 18-55mm Zoom Lens, 11 Point AF

Samsung Digimax GX-1S

The Samsung Digimax GX-1S ($800 as of 5/5/06) is an entry-level digital SLR that's very similar to the Pentax *ist D2. Though the name on the front says Samsung, the camera has the same small, sturdy body and features as Pentax's latest entry-level offering. The two SLRs differ only in some minor cosmetic details and include different lens kits.

Overall, the GX-1S delivers perfectly acceptable prints for its target market. Its 6.1-megapixel sensor delivers up to 3008-by-2000-pixel images. The camera is compatible with all Pentax KAF-mount lenses, as well as with Schneider's D-Xenon series lenses. I tested the camera with its included lens kit, a Schneider f/3.5-5.6 18mm-55mm (28mm-84mm, 35mm-equivalent focal length).

The Schneider lens is compact, and the GX-1S delivers very good images, with nice color and good contrast. The camera breaks down on fine details; depending on your typical print sizes, however, this may not matter. There were low levels of noise up to ISO 400, and passable levels at ISO 800 (though you'll see noticeable noise artifacts, even when printing at small sizes). ISO 1600 is not useful unless you're willing to accept very stylized, noisy, grungy images.

The GX-1S is a well-built, well-designed camera that is small but doesn't feel cramped. Even if you have large hands, you will be able to get a firm, comfortable grip on the camera. The controls are simple: On the top are a power switch, a mode selection dial, and an exposure compensation control, alongside a status LCD. The back of the camera presents a bright, 2.5-inch LCD screen, some control buttons, and a four-way rocker switch to select further options.

The uncomplicated design makes the camera easy to learn for beginners, and its feature set provides all of the options a beginning to intermediate photographer would want. It includes a full assortment of priority and manual modes, as well as auto bracketing, drive modes, adjustable ISOs (from 100 to 1600 in one-stop increments), three metering modes, and RAW format.

The camera's control layout is so simple because many of its controls have been relegated to in-camera menus. While the essential settings like shooting mode and exposure compensation are accessible via external controls, any other adjustment will require a trip into the menu system, which can be a problem if you need to shoot quickly.

You get to secondary options such as ISO, white balance, flash mode, and metering mode by pressing a button on the back of the camera and then using the four-way rocker switch to select an option. This is not a bad mechanism, but it can be slow, and photographers who are used to making speedy adjustments will be a little frustrated. Color LCD screens can be difficult to read in full daylight, and though the GX-1S has a very good LCD, you might find yourself squinting to make menu selections in bright situations.

The Samsung Digimax GX-1S is a little expensive when compared with competitors such as the Canon EOS Digital Rebel XT, considering that the Rebel XT offers more controls, better image quality, and a larger selection of lenses. As with any digital SLR, it's best to get your hands on the GX-1S before making a decision. Its small size and thoughtful design may make it your obvious first choice.

Olympus SP-350 Digital Camera (8.3MP, 3264x2448, 3x Opt, 25MB Internal Memory, xD Slot)

Olympus SP-350

The 8-megapixel Olympus SP-350 is inexpensive ($325 as of August 25, 2006) for an advanced camera, yet it offers top-notch image quality. Its tiny, closely packed buttons, however, make the SP-350 most suitable for users who want the option of working with manual controls but don't plan to use them regularly.

In our lab tests, the SP-350 earned our top rating (Superior) for overall image quality. It also received very high marks for color and exposure accuracy, outscoring some significantly more-expensive models. Informal images I shot in macro mode were impressively sharp. Sometimes, however, the camera was a little slow to zoom, focus, and display images on its 2.5-inch LCD. The SP-350's CRV3 battery excelled in our battery life test, continuing to power the camera when we reached the test's 500-shot maximum.

The SP-350 measures just 3.9 by 1.4 by 2.6 inches, so it fits conveniently in a pocket or bag. At 8.2 ounces, it's significantly lighter than any other advanced camera we've tested recently, and more akin to a point-and-shoot model. The model's small size is possible in part to the SP-350's limited optical zoom range of 3X (many advanced cameras now sport a 10X or 12X zoom). Because there is room for only a few buttons, you have to dive into the on-screen menus to access settings such as macro mode and ISO. (Some advanced cameras offer dedicated buttons for these settings.) And since the SP-350's buttons are small and close together, people with large fingers may find the navigation a bit clumsy.

Useful features include a live histogram display, the ability to store four custom modes, and a flash shoe--though perching an external flash atop such a small camera could make the camera feel imbalanced.

In other respects, the SP-350 resembles a point-and-shoot. For example, it offers 24 scene modes--more than any other recently tested advanced camera. Some scene modes are so similar to settings in other modes--for example, "self portrait" (which resembles "portrait") and "auction" (which closely matches "indoor")--that they seem like overkill. Unfortunately, the control dial on top of the body doesn't include even the four most common scene modes (portrait, landscape, sports, and nighttime portrait), so you have to use the on-screen menu to select them.

Another weakness of the SP-350 is low-light photography. Its maximum light sensitivity of ISO 400 falls short of what some point-and-shoot cameras offer (some reach ISO 800). It doesn't allow you to make color adjustments either, though it does provide sharpness, contrast, and saturation controls. Some other advanced cameras include white balance bracketing and image stabilization, both of which the SP-350 lacks.

Nonetheless, if you can live without the fancier settings, this step up from a point-and-shoot delivers top-notch image quality for a very reasonable price.

Samsung DigiMax Pro 815 Digital Camera (8.0MP, 3264x2448, 15x Opt, CompactFlash Slot )

Samsung Pro815

The $700 (as of August 25, 2006) Samsung Pro815 is a dream camera for serious photographers. This bulky 8-megapixel camera looks like a digital SLR and packs a multitude of features and settings for the ultimate in control over your pictures.

Unlike a digital SLR, which lets you swap out lenses, the Pro815 comes with a fixed lens and a massive 15X zoom that extends from 28mm wide-angle to 420mm telephoto (35mm camera equivalents). If you think that's big, wait till you see the enormous 3.5-inch LCD, which dominates the back of the camera; it was a pleasure to use when composing and reviewing shots. Despite the Pro815's heft (it weights 30 ounces), the shape of its rubberized handgrip makes the camera easy to hold and shoot one-handed.

Samsung has put the Pro815's viewfinder at the left edge of the camera, where it better fits the contours of your face. Compared to an optical viewfinder, the electronic viewfinder--which lets you see your subject through the lens--suffers from TV-like quality. Nevertheless, I found it useful when dealing with extreme lighting conditions and when tracking moving subjects. The color LCD on the top of the camera resembles those used on digital SLRs to display current settings. Alternatively, you can use the top LCD for composing photos, which makes it easy for you to shoot from waist level.

In our image quality tests, the Pro815 rated Very Good. At its default settings, the camera didn't fare well in the distortion and noise tests, but it achieved better scores for shots taken under normal everyday conditions. The Pro815 responded nicely in tests where we adjusted its manual settings to achieve optimum quality--confirming that this camera is best suited for advanced photographers. In informal testing, I found it easy to overexpose my shots in bright sunlight. I also noticed some sharpening artifacts, particularly halos around strongly contrasting edges. Results improved somewhat when I adjusted the exposure compensation and set the sharpness to "soft." The Pro815 comes with an external charger for its lithium ion battery. The camera reached the maximum 500 shots we test for in our measure of battery life on a single charge.

Samsung has spread a daunting number of the controls at several different locations around the camera. With a little practice, though, I found them quite usable. A four-way controller below your thumb lets you navigate the simple yet functional menus and permits you to access several shooting functions. Buttons surrounding the top LCD enable you to set other shooting functions. To the left of the main LCD are controls for the display and for the camera's 11 scene modes. The mode dial on the top right of the camera includes aperture-priority, shutter-priority, and full-manual modes, as well as three user-configurable modes. Two jog dials--one in front of the shutter release and the other above the user's right thumb--set aperture size and shutter speed in manual modes.

Autofocus settings occupy the left side of the lens barrel; these include a switch that knocks too easily among its three positions (single shot, continuous focus, and manual focus). The lens barrel contains familiar rings for operating the zoom and manual focus, but Samsung adds an unusual third ring for exposure compensation. You can even shoot in RAW mode for manually processing later. Experienced photographers will love all this configurability, but the camera takes some getting used to.

The Pro815 lacks image stabilization, but its maximum aperture of f/2.2 supports fast shutter speeds in low lighting conditions. Its high-speed mode raises the ISO sensitivity at the expense of increasing noise in your images. The camera has a built-in flash, but it it also includes a hot shoe for attaching an external flash unit. Samsung's SEF-42A flash costs $300. The company also sells a remote shutter release for $19.

A few quibbles: the camera felt a bit slow in cycling between shots. And unlike many advanced digital cameras, the Pro815 won't let you use the shutter release to interrupt the review to return to shooting. Also, you can't instantly delete shots that don't come out as desired.

But if you're a seasoned photographer looking for maximum control over your images or if you're a novice willing to learn how to use all the manual controls, the Samsung Pro815 is a great, highly configurable camera.

Pentax K100D SLR Digital Camera w/18-55mm Lens Kit (6.1MP, 3008x2008, SD Slot )

Pentax K100D

The K100D's $700 price tag (as of November 6, 2006) puts it at the low end of the entry-level digital SLR market, and its 6.1-megapixel resolution lags behind the current state-of-the-art. Nevertheless, this camera offers a feature set ideally suited to beginning shooters plus enough room to grow that intermediate photographers won't sniff at it either.

The K100D is small but well balanced, with a large hand grip that maximizes its stability during shooting and makes it comfortable to hold. In addition, the K100D incorporates Pentax's sensor-based image stabilization technology, which tries to minimize the effect of camera shake by moving the sensor to compensate for jittery hand vibrations.

For an entry-level camera, the K100D doesn't skimp on interface features. You get a bright, 2.5-inch rear-mounted LCD, plus a top-mounted LCD status display. The camera provides a full complement of readily accessible and easy-to-understand controls.

Unfortunately, the model's battery life is not up to par. The Pentax ships with four alkaline AA batteries, rather than with a rechargeable battery. In our battery life testing, the Pentax took only took 265 pictures before running out of juice.

Pentax claims that the K100D has two stops worth of stabilization; but in my shooting, the camera's stabilization fell somewhere between one and one-and-a-half stops. In contrast, lens-based systems consistently offer three to four stops. The K100D uses its sensor-shaking technology as a dust removal mechanism--handy for any camera that works with removable lenses.

The K100D is well designed and comfortable to shoot with, and its essential features are easy to access. Shooting modes include program, shutter- and aperture-priority, full manual, and bulb. The camera adds flexibility to the 13 scene modes by letting you adjust ISO, white balance, and exposure compensation. In Auto Picture mode, the camera analyzes your subject and selects one of these custom program modes. The K100D provides a full complement of manual modes, too, though it lacks a program shift feature for automatically cycling through different aperture/shutter speed combinations that deliver the same exposure.

The 11-point autofocus system works well, and metering on the camera is very good, though the K100D isn't particularly speedy. Powering up takes about a second, as does waking from sleep. The camera's burst speed maxes out at 1.5 frames per second for JPEG images.

The K100D takes very good pictures for a 6.1-megapixel camera. If you don't plan to enlarge pictures beyond 8 by 10 inches or to use zooming or cropping very often, 6.1 megapixels is plenty.

The K100D shoots Raw images and three levels of JPEG images. By default, the camera's JPEG output is a bit soft, so you might want to adjust the sharpening parameter within the camera. Though the K100D offers ISO levels up to 3200, images show substantial noise at ISO 800 and above.

The K100D is a great entry-level SLR camera, with an unmatched price. Pentax offers an extensive array of lenses to buy separately, and the camera's interface and design make for a comfortable shoot. If you want a full-featured SLR with fairly advanced features, it's hard to beat the price and performance of the K100D.

Sony Alpha DSLR-A100K Digital Camera w/ 18-70mm Lens (10.2MP, 3872 x 2592)

Sony DSLR-Alpha 100K

Sony's DSLR-Alpha 100K--or Alpha 100--is a full-featured, 10.2-megapixel digital SLR with built-in shake reduction technology.

Built with technology acquired from now-defunct Konica/Minolta, Sony's first digital SLR sports Minolta's signature Maxxum lens mount (which Sony has renamed "AlphaMount"), making it compatible with a multitude of legacy Minolta lenses. The company has also announced 19 new Sony lenses (many of them based on existing Minolta lenses).

Priced at $1000 (as of November 6, 2006) for the body plus an 18mm-to-70mm lens, the Alpha 100 sits at the high end of the entry-level market. Its all-plastic body and smooth finish feel sturdy and creak-free. Though the Alpha 100 is small for an SLR, it is lightweight and comfortable to hold.

The Alpha 100 packs a full set of features, including priority modes, full manual, program modes, and scene modes. In lieu of a dedicated status LCD screen, the camera relies on its main 2.5-inch LCD monitor; if you place your eye on the viewfinder while the screen is on, the screen immediately shuts off, powering up again when you remove your eye from the viewfinder. As on most entry-level SLRs, you adjust features via a combination of buttons and simple menus on the camera's main LCD screen. The Alpha 100's scheme is as straightforward and easy to use as that of any of its competitors.

The features you'd expect in an SLR are here: ISO speeds of 100 to 1600, easy access to exposure compensation, a program shift feature, and Raw format support. In addition, the Alpha 100 offers a continuous autofocus mode that constantly refocuses as you move the camera--as long as you are looking through the viewfinder. In a rapidly changing environment, this feature improves the camera's likelihood of being in focus when you're ready to shoot. The Alpha 100's autofocus produces strange clunking and grinding noises while in use; so if you value silent operation, this Sony may not be the right camera for you.

The Alpha 100 has a sensor-based stabilization system, which Sony claims yields 3.5 stops of stabilization. I found the number of stops to be closer to 1.5 or 2--not as impressive as on cameras with lens-based stabilization. The stabilization system also functions as a dust-removal system, but the dust-removal cycle runs only when you power the camera off, for faster startup times.

The camera delivered speedy boot-up and wake-from-sleep times, plus very low shutter lag. Its drive mode was speedy, too, capturing 3 frames per second for six frames when shooting Raw images, and letting us shoot unlimited JPEG images until our card filled up.

For storage Sony wisely opted to use CompactFlash technology, rather than its own MemoryStick. Owners of MemoryStick Duos can buy a CompactFlash adapter that will enable them to use their current media in the camera.

The Alpha 100 delivered high image quality overall. In shots taken at ISO 100 to 400, image quality was very good--comparable to that of other entry-level SLRs. At ISO 800 to 1600, however, the Alpha 100 got noisy.

The Sony DSLR-Alpha 100K is a very good but somewhat pricey camera. Despite feeling clunkier than its competitors, it delivers good image quality and a full feature set, plus some nice extras such as image stabilization.

Canon EOS Rebel XTi Black SLR Digital Camera Kit (10.1MP, 3888x2592, CompactFlash Slot)

Canon Digital Rebel XTi

The new Digital Rebel XTi, a descendant of the Digital Rebel XT, resembles its predecessor in many ways, but offers a 10.1-megapixel sensor, a larger LCD screen, and a smattering of new features. Subtle molding changes in the Xti's body arguably make a difference in the feel and handling of the camera; depending on the size of your hands, you may find the XTi comfortable to hold, or unbalanced and cramped.

The back of the XTi reveals the two most significant changes from the XT: The LCD screen is bigger, at 2.5 inches; and instead of having a dedicated status LCD, the Xti uses the main LCD as the status display. A proximity detector near the viewfinder automatically activates and deactivates the LCD screen as you move your eye up to and away from the viewfinder. Also, the XTi now shows flash exposure lock and white balance adjustment in its viewfinder's status bar.

All of the Xti's critical shooting functions are easy to reach through the four-way buttons and LCD screen on the back of the camera. Exposure compensation, program shift, drive mode, exposure lock, and focus-point selection have dedicated buttons.

The XTi has simpler menus and easier navigation than the XT. Notably, Canon has added Picture Styles, which offer predefined image parameter sets for shooting in particular situations. For example, the Portrait style provides appropriate custom contrast and saturation settings for reproducing skin tones.

The XTi enhances and updates several features from previous versions of the Digital Rebel. For example, you can view the histogram display in monochrome, RGB, or luminance (brightness); you have new long-exposure noise-reduction options; and in the Auto Rotate During Playback mode, you can now magnify and pan around the image that appears right after you shoot.

Under the hood, the camera has a 10.1-megapixel sensor, up from the XT's 8-megapixel version. Canon has implemented a three-tiered sensor cleaning system, too: The sensor is coated with an antistatic, dust-repelling coating; a clear element in front of the sensor vibrates whenever you turn the camera on or off, to shake loose any dust (this stage is interruptible); and you can create a a??dust referencea?? shot to help you digitally remove dust spots later.

The XTi yields excellent image quality, with practically no noise up through ISO 400, and little noise at ISO 800 through 1600 (the maximum speed available). Priced at $899 (as of November 6, 2006) with an 18mm-to-55mm lens, the XTi is right in line with its chief competitors, the Sony DSLR-Alpha 100K and the Nikon D80.

This full-featured SLR delivers excellent image quality at a very reasonable price and is a solid choice for users who like its size and feel.

Nikon Nikon D40 SLR Digital Camera

Nikon D40

A few years ago, $1000 was a critical price barrier for digital SLRs. Now, as interest in SLRs has grown among casual photographers, vendors have been racing to produce a $500 model. Though no camera has reachede that goal yet, Nikon's new D40 comes close. For $600, you get a very capable digital SLR camera with impressive image quality.

The D40 kit includes the small, lightweight camera and a separate 18-55mm lens (not available in a body-only configuration). Even at this low price, the build quality on the D40 is excellent. The rubberized grip and pebbled finish make it feel like a professional-level device. Nikon has done an excellent job of crafting a petite camera that is easy to hold steadily and isn't too cramped.

The D40's 6-megapixel sensor is low compared to the 10-megapixel sensors on today's point-and-shoots, but it offers plenty of pixels for comfortably printing up to 8-by-10-inch images. The D40's image quality is very good because the camera includes the same image-processing circuitry included in Nikon's more expensive D80 and D200. In our lab tests, the D40 scored only slightly below those cameras in image quality.

Like its small-bodied competition, the D40 achieves its diminutive size by eliminating the top-mounted status display in favor of using the camera's rear LCD for status readouts. The top of the camera has a mode dial for selecting shooting mode, as well as buttons for exposure compensation and information display. You set all other options via the camera's menu system.

The 2.5-inch LCD screen is bright and fairly easy-to-read even in direct sunlight. It provides a detailed readout of current camera settings and is easy to toggle on and off by pressing the Info button, which is located just behind the shutter button. The info display includes a feature that is so handy and so useful for beginning photographers, that it's hard to believe no one has thought of it before: As you change aperture, the display shows an animated iris that opens and closes, so you don't have to try to remember whether a bigger number means a smaller or larger aperture. This is a great feature for novice shooters. The camera also includes a built-in help system that explains what each feature does, and shows an example of how the feature will alter your picture.

The D40 comes with every feature that most users in this market will want, including adjustable ISOs, raw mode, scene modes, and all of the image-processing features built in to the D80. Nikon's excellent D-Lighting feature for brightening images--plus in-camera red-eye correction, monochrome conversion, and more--is readily accessible from the camera's menus. The only conspicuously missing feature is a depth-of-field preview option.

At $600, the D40 is a great value, and a great tool for photographers who want to grow. The included help system and aperture displays are fantastic learning tools, and the fact that the camera provides full priority and manual modes, as well as RAW, ensures that you won't have to compromise as your shooting prowess grows.

Nikon D40x

Nikon D40x

Last December, Nikon introduced the D40, an entry-level digital single-lens reflex camera with a very good 3X zoom lens and a nice price of $600. A mere four months later, the company announced the D40x, an enhanced version of the D40 that raises the original's resolution from 6.1 to 10.2 megapixels and offers improved ISO sensitivity and a slightly better burst mode. These additions drive the price of the D40x up to $800 (as of August 8, 2007), but they also help Nikon compete more directly with Canon's extremely successful (and more expensive) Digital Rebel XTi. The end result is a very good camera that takes great pictures, perfect for casual shooters who are newcomers to digital SLRs, but who want a little more resolution than a typical entry-level model would provide.

For all its power, the D40x is a marvel of size and design--compact and lightweight, but solidly constructed. The buttons on the camera body are well positioned and easy to reach. The bright and clear 2.5-inch LCD on the back is viewable in all but the brightest sunlight.

Our unit started up immediately, and we could take our first picture less than a second after powering it up. The camera offers fully automatic shooting and a group of modes for different conditions, such as landscapes, portraits, sports, night shots, and close-ups. Alternatively, the D40x can operate manually or in aperture- or shutter-priority mode. A lamp on the front of the camera helps with autofocus in low light, and the pop-up flash has a red-eye mode. The flash also works well in fill-flash situations, so you can brighten the foreground to compensate for backlighting, for example.

With this camera, you can continuously shoot 3 images per second, up slightly from the 2.5 images per second possible with the D40. If you're shooting in Raw format, you can capture a maximum of 6 images continuously. In JPEG format I managed to shoot 15 to 20 consecutive shots at the maximum rate.

The D40x has a well-chosen set of features for novices. To help you avoid getting lost in the details, the D40x provides an excellent built-in help system: If you aren't sure what a setting will do, simply push the '?' button and a small help screen pops up on the LCD.

The camera's image quality is superb, especially from ISO 100 to ISO 800; color noise increases when you shoot at ISO 1600 or 3200, but that's a normal trait of digital SLRs in this price range. Noise became most evident when we used zooming or printed images out at sizes larger than 11 inches by 17 inches.

Nikon allows you to do some image conversion in the camera. For example, you can use the D-Lighting feature to brighten backlit images; or you can perform a rudimentary crop on an image, or overlay dark and light versions of a photo to create one that uses the best tonal range from each photo.

The D40x's only downsides will seem minor to most inexperienced digital SLR users. I could live without exposure bracketing--which involves taking a sequence of photos at slightly different exposure settings--but I wish that Nikon had given the D40x a depth-of-field preview feature, since it's such an important concept to understand. Also, though dust wasn't a problem with the unit I tested, some sort of dust reduction system would have been a nice addition.

Canon Canon EOS 40D

Canon EOS 40D Digital SLR

I've used a wide spectrum of digital SLRs, from entry-level models up to pro models. Once you have a taste of the capabilities of a professional camera, you can't easily go back to a digital SLR that's less full-featured; likewise, if you want to step up from an entry-level digital SLR, you have to get something with extra oomph. The Canon EOS 40D ($1150 body only, or $1300 with a 28mm-to-135mm lens, as of 12/10/08) delivers outstanding image quality at a price that's in reach for photo enthusiasts and professionals alike.

The EOS 40D received a score of Very Good in the PC World Test Center's latest image-quality tests. Images were well balanced, with good color saturation and accuracy, under both flash and natural light.

One of the EOS 40D's advantages is that it has enough high-powered features to appeal to enthusiasts as well as to professionals seeking a second camera. It has many of the same capabilities, in fact, as its higher-end cousin, Canon's $4500 1D Mark III. The two models share a 3-inch, live-view, 230,000-pixel LCD; Canon's DIGIC III image processor; highlight tone priority for preserving the details in bright areas of an image; and similar menus and controls.

This camera has a 10.1-megapixel, 1.6-focal-length-factor CMOS imaging sensor (up from 8.2 megapixels on the EOS 30D), which is faster and provides better color accuracy than that of its predecessor. The EOS 40D can shoot at up to 6.5 frames per second, up to a maximum of 75 Large/Fine JPEGs or 17 RAW images. That speed will be particularly helpful for shooting in a variety of special circumstances, such as when you're trying to capture a gymnast's back handspring on the balance beam.

The EOS 40D has a nine-point autofocus sensor, as the 30D had. But this model's version has been completely redesigned so that all nine components are cross-type sensors--an approach that makes it more likely that the sensor will lock on to your subject, since the sensors are reading both the horizontal and vertical areas. The autofocus proved fast and accurate in my hands-on tests: I had no difficulties capturing sharp images of the U.S. Navy's elite flight team, the Blue Angels, as the jets zoomed overhead during an air show. Even more impressive is that I could capture them rapid-shot, and didn't feel at all at a disadvantage as compared with using an 8-frames-per-second 1D Mark II. Other features such as the ability to add a transmitter to wirelessly control the EOS 40D and send images from it will appeal to professionals seeking a backup or secondary-use camera.

The menus and controls on the EOS 40D are similar to those of other models in Canon's digital SLR line; if you're moving up from a Digital Rebel or migrating down from models such as the EOS 5D or the 1D Mark II or Mark III, you won't take long to master this model. I particularly liked how the jog dial worked with the four-way joystick to navigate through the clean menu system.

Another benefit the EOS 40D has over its predecessor: It integrates a multitiered dust-reduction system like the one Canon already has in place for its Digital Rebel XTi and 1D Mark III. As an avid photographer, I find this feature the most exciting: Dust is the bane of any active digital SLR photographer's existence, and is the primary enemy you need to worry about every time you swap lenses. (Read more in "The Dirt on Digital SLRs' Dust.") You can set the sensor to self-clean whenever you start the camera; in my experience, the process was so quick that it didn't cause any tangible delay in shooting. While I have not done a scientific study of how good Canon's dust-cleaning system is, I can report that during my tests I swapped out lenses several times in less-than-pristine, open-air conditions--and the images I've taken appear to be dust-free so far.

Like most cameras, though, the 40D has a few frustrating quirks. My biggest gripe: The image I saw through the viewfinder didn't quite match up to what the sensor captured. Using the 28mm-to-135mm lens that came with the 40D, I repeatedly found that I would get just a bit more around the edges of my image than what I saw through the viewfinder. That meant retaking some shots so that I could frame the image correctly without resorting to an image-editing program. I also disliked that in Program mode, you can't change the ISO setting; in this mode, the camera automatically controls the ISO.

The strengths of the Canon EOS 40D overshadow those minor drawbacks, however. On the whole, it is a powerful, scalable camera. If you're graduating from a Rebel-series digital SLR, this is a great step-up model whose versatility will grow along with you. And if you're a more advanced shooter or a pro looking for something smaller and less costly than Canon's top-tier cameras (the 1D and 5D series), this camera is perfect for you.

Samsung GX10

Samsung Digimax GX-10 Digital SLR Camera

Can changing the name on a camera save you money? Yes, when you take the Pentax K10D and call it the Samsung GX-10 Digital SLR Camera. The former, with a 27-83mm (35mm equivalent) zoom lens sells for $800, more or less, while the latter--virtually identical camera body and same lens--sells for $750. Given the GX-10's features, it's a bargain.

A bit on the bulky side, this DSLR still feels solid and comfortable in the hand, and has controls that are well placed for productive photography. I found that my index finger and thumb fell naturally in the right places for using the two setting-selector dials (one is in front of the shutter trigger; the other is on the back of the camera where the end of your thumb rests). The GX-10 looks and feels like it's ready for rugged use, with a solid body and seals on its battery, media, and I/O port doors. I still wouldn't take it into rough weather, though, because it has no seals where the lens attaches to the body.

I found only one truly irritating feature with the GX-10's design: The latches for the battery and SD Card media doors are small, fold-out twist locks. Turning these tiny and somewhat sharp lock tabs with my fingertips was actually painful.

In some ways, the GX-10 is a combination of old and new. Unlike nearly every other consumer DSLR currently on the market, it has no special scene modes (such as action shooting, scenic, beach and snow, portrait, and so on). On the other hand, its dedicated RAW button is unique. If you're shooting JPEGs and want to quickly switch to a higher-quality RAW image, you simply press the button. The camera will then take the shot in both RAW and JPEG formats. Press the button a second time and you're back to just JPEG mode.

Another enlightened feature is the stop-down button next to the shutter release (it's actually a dial that also turns the camera on and off). In one mode, it performs the traditional function of manually stopping down the lens aperture so that you can check your focus throughout the scene (in other words, the depth of field). In the second mode, it displays a preview of your photo on the camera's 2.5-inch color LCD by taking the shot, but not recording it to the SD Card media. It saves you the trouble of taking a series of pictures and then deleting them until you get it right.

Other highlights include a flexible system for limiting the automatic ISO's top and bottom range; an extended automatic bracketing feature that lets you pick white balance, contrast, saturation, or sharpness as parameters (this is much more than what you get with most other DSLRs); and a multi-exposure control that lets you overlay one or more images on top of another, in camera, without overexposing the final composite photo.

Mac users will probably want to look elsewhere: The capable RAW processing and image editing applications that Samsung provides are Windows only. You can get an Adobe Photoshop plug-in (Camera Raw 4.3) that supports the RAW format, but you'll need either Photoshop CS3 or Photoshop Elements, or an image-editing application that recognizes Photoshop plug-ins.

I was generally pleased with test shots produced by the GX-10. They were a little underexposed in many cases, but that's fairly common with digital SLRs. Colors were accurate and nicely saturated. In shots with extreme contrast, the GX-10 did a good job of maintaining shadow details. My one area of concern was image sharpness: Most shots, when viewed on screen at 100 percent magnification, looked noticeably softer than similar shots taken with a Sony Alpha DSLR-A700 and a Panasonic DMC-L10K that I reviewed at the same time. The PC World Test Center's formal evaluation had similar findings--the GX-10 ranked third from the bottom among models we've tested for image sharpness.

Nevertheless, the GX-10 gives you a lot for the money, even if it is a bit behind the curve in the latest DSLR technical advances. It has the same features as some other consumer SLRs, but the controls are not nearly as extensive, flexible, and nicely designed as, say, those on the Sony A700. Nevertheless, the GX-10 gives you a wealth of options, and as a Pentax in disguise, the selection of lenses available is relatively good.