For two and a half years, an extraordinary run in the fast-moving digital camera market, the shopper looking for the lowest-cost Nikon digital SLR reached for the Nikon D40, a 6.1-megapixel model originally priced at $600. Now the company has finally ...

The new camera is virtually identical in size and shape to the D40, which is a good thing. Sometimes entry-level SLRs have an unpleasantly toy-like quality. The D3000, however, feels like a Nikon SLR is supposed to feel, with a well designed right ...

The Olympus SP-590UZ brings the most powerful zoom lens available to the ultrazoom party, with a massive 26x (equivalent to 26-676mm on a 35mm camera). The $450 camera records 12-megapixel images, but unfortunately lacks HD video capabilities. As with ...

The most important of these photographic controls is the variety of shooting modes; the SP-590UZ has the full suite of manual, aperture priority, shutter priority and program (plus a number of automatic modes). There's also a good bracketing function, ...

You're bound to enjoy the double-takes from passersby when they see you shooting with the Olympus E-P1 - it has the retro look of a 50-year-old rangefinder camera, with its metal body and leatherette grip. Under the hood, though, the digital photo ...

And this is the first camera to deliver on the "micro" part of the Micro Four Thirds format promise. Micro Four Thirds was jointly developed by Olympus and Panasonic as a way to build smaller digital cameras that still support interchangeable lenses, ...

The Micro Four Thirds format, jointly developed by Olympus and Panasonic, is designed to allow interchangeable-lens cameras without the traditional SLR mirror system that lets you see out of the lens you're shooting with. Instead, Micro Four Thirds ...

When the first Micro Four Thirds camera, Panasonic's Lumix G1 was released last year, though, it really wasn't that "micro" - just a hair smaller than many traditional SLRs. It did have one breakthrough feature that made it stand out from the crowd. ...

Canon has brought the ability to record video in an SLR to their newest entry-level camera: the Rebel T1i. For a $899 sticker price, the T1i ships with an 18-55mm f/3.5 IS lens, and can shoot 15-megapixel images and high-definition video at 1920x1080 ...

One of the other primary differences between an entry-level and slightly higher-end SLR is that the less expensive models only have a back LCD, not one on the top. They also have a single dial for altering settings, where a pricier unit will have two, ...

Nikon introduced the first SLR with video recording capability, the D90, in 2008, and has now followed up with a sub-$1000 sibling, the Nikon D5000. The two cameras share the ability to shoot movies at 1280 x 720 resolution (known in the high-def TV ...

One interesting feature of the D5000 is a 2.7-inch LCD that's mounted on a hinge, flipping down from the camera body, then rotating up to 270 degrees. It's useful when you want to hold the camera at an unusual angle - over your head to see past a ...

The Olympus E-620 delivers all the key features of the company's more upscale E-30, but in a more compact body and at nearly half the price ($699.99 for the body alone, $799.99 with a 14-42mm lens). The two cameras provide 12-megapixel resolution and ...

The E-620 is a relatively petite SLR, measuring 5.11 x 3.70 x 2.36 inches (130mm x 94mm x 60mm) and weighing in at 16.76 ounces (475g) for the body alone, without lens or battery. That's a big plus for portabilty, and a boon for folks with small hands ...

The Nikon D3x is the company's latest high-end SLR, designed for studio use. This model costs $7999 without lens, and weighs a massive 43 oz (1.2kg), as it's meant to spend most of its life on a tripod rather than carried around your neck. The D3x is ...

The D3x viewfinder offers 100% field of view, a rarity among SLR cameras, which means that what you see through it is exactly what will be recorded in the image. It also has three LCD screens, one monochrome on the top, another monochrome on the back ...

For those interested in moving up to a digital SLR without making too deep a dent in the wallet, the Pentax K2000 is a very appealing choice. Priced at $599.99 including a lens and an external flash unit, the 10.2-megapixel K2000 is a solidly built ...

The Pentax K2000 is small and very portable, weighing in at just a little over a pound with the included 18-55mm lens attached, but it doesn't have the insubstantial, toy-like feel we've experienced with some compact SLRs. The grip is better suited to ...

The Olympus E-30 is a new, mid-range SLR that costs $1299 without lens, and shoots 12-megapixel images. Olympus has added a number of features usually seen in point-and-shoot cameras, most notably a bevy of scene modes, and their new Art Filters, ...

The camera's overall build quality is impressive. It's 5.5 inches wide by 2.95 inches deep and 4.23 inches high (141.5mm x 75mm x 105.5mm) and weighs 23.1 oz (655g) without the lens. It's a very comfortable weight, and it feels solid in your hands. ...