Excellent photo quality as high as ISO 6,400; fast focus and shooting, even in low light; first-rate build quality and control layout.

Relatively heavy; low resolution for its class; viewfinder only provides 95 percent coverage and lacks interchangeable focusing screens; occasional issues with automatic white balance under artificial light.

As long as don't need seriously high-resolution photos, video capture, or machine-gun-fast sports shooting, the Nikon D700 has everything you need in a pro full-frame camera for a reasonable price.

Interchangeable lenses; fast performance; excellent photo quality; flip-and-twist LCD.

Accident-prone jog dial; some restrictive feature implementations; no movie capture.

The Panasonic Lumix DMC-G1 is a camera that people will either love for its speed, photo quality, and interchangeable-lens flexibility or hate for its large-ish size, electronic viewfinder, and occasionally frustrating design.

Excellent performance and photo quality; solid, comfortable shooting design.

Relatively basic feature set for its class.

A very good midrange dSLR, the Canon EOS 50D is a compelling--but not necessarily a must-have--choice for Canon upgraders.

First-rate performance; solid, well-constructed body with nice viewfinder; video capture capability; great photo quality.

Middling kit lens; poor HDMI output implementation.

Like the D80 before it, the Nikon D90 delivers an excellent dSLR for the money.

Excellent photo quality for its class; solid performance.

Maximum ISO of 1600; no spot meter; annoying, in-viewfinder, focus-point display.

The Canon EOS Rebel XS is a good entry-level dSLR, but only its photo quality stands out among the competition.

Full-frame sensor; well designed, pro-level weather-sealed body; very low noise, even at extremely high ISOs; fast.

Resolution lags far behind the Canon EOS-1Ds Mark III and Sony's forthcoming 24-megapixel dSLR.

Nikon's flagship dSLR packs a full-frame 12-megapixel sensor and is a highly versatile imaging powerhouse that lets photographers create images previously impossible to capture.

Impressive performance, 14 megapixels at a relatively low price; weather sealed; nice control layout; wireless flash control.

Slightly inaccurate colors; shake reduction could be more effective.

Pentax's 14MP K20D is a great choice for a midlevel SLR and offers a lot of bang for the buck.

Impressive performance, 14 megapixels at a relatively low price; weather sealed; nice control layout; wireless flash control.

Slightly inaccurate colors; shake reduction could be more effective.

Pentax's 14MP K20D is a great choice for a midlevel SLR and offers a lot of bang for the buck.

Sensor-shift image stabilization; wireless flash control; sensitivity-priority mode; dust and water resistant.

Inaccurate, though still pleasing colors; tends to underexpose images; no live view mode.

Pentax's K200D entry-level SLR gives a lot of bang for the buck and has better performance than last year's model. Despite low noise and pleasingly detailed images, technically inaccurate colors keep it from capturing the gold medal for image quality.

Sensor-shift image stabilization; useful Live View implementation with flip-up LCD.

Kit lens could be better; mixed performance; small viewfinder; interface annoyances.