Photo gallery:Pentax K20DIn case you haven't been paying close attention to the digital SLR market lately, there's been a shift toward CMOS sensors. Though Pentax has stuck with CCD for its entry-level K200D SLR, they have moved to a 14.6-megapixel CMOS c...

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.

Photo gallery:Canon EOS 1Ds Mark IIICanon's 1Ds series of cameras exists in a class of its own. With pixel counts well above anything else offered in a 35mm-format digital SLR, an attention to detail that addresses the needs of high-end professionals, and...

Very low noise, high quality images; 21.1 megapixels; live view shooting; pro-level build-quality and performance.

High price tag; heavy body; no AF in live view mode.

The 1Ds Mark III marks another high-end success for Canon, though you'll need a lot of spare cash if you want to own this ground-breaking camera.

Nikon likes incremental upgrades. Just as the company issued the D70s before moving from the D70 to the D80, they made a handful of upgrades to the 12.4-megapixel D2X to create the D2Xs. In addition to improving the LCD viewing angle and tweaking the auto...

Top-notch image quality; professional body; very low noise even at high ISOs.

Expensive; large and heavy; no full-frame sensor.

Nikon's flagship dSLR ranks among the best 35mm-format cameras currently made, but some pros may take umbrage with its less-than-full-frame sensor.

No one makes a digital SLR like Sigma does. Ever since the company started making them, it has eschewed the CMOS and CCD sensors employed by most manufacturers and opted for three-layer sensors made by a company called Foveon. In Sigma's newest model, cal...

Removable IR-cut filter lets you use the SD14 for infrared photography and acts as a dust shield for the sensor during normal photography.

Slow performance overall; overly noisy images at ISO 800 and ISO 1600; poor control scheme; inelegant design and ergonomics.

Sigma and Foveon fans, who have been waiting eagerly for this camera, might be interested in the SD14, but consumers can easily find more bang for their buck from other SLRs on the market.

Canon EOS 1D Mark IIIIf you've ever looked at the sideline of a major sporting event and seen a gaggle of huge white lenses, then you've witnessed Canon's dominance in the sports shooting world. Part of the reason for Canon's edge is its 1D series of SLR...

Extremely fast, 10-megapixel continuous shooting; very low noise; highly customizable; well-designed body with weather sealing; 3-inch LCD; abundant optional accessories.

Heavy; may be a bit too large for people with small hands.

Canon's EOS 1D Mark III offers a luxurious cocktail of high-resolution, extremely low noise, blazingly fast burst shooting, abundant customization, and a build quality and ergonomic design among the best you'll find in today's camera market.

It's no secret that Fujifilm models its dSLRs on Nikon bodies, but its latest model, called the Fujifilm FinePix S5 Pro, may as well be a clone of the Nikon D200--from the outside at least. Inside, Fujifilm swaps out the Nikon guts for its own array of el...

Very low noise at higher ISOs; wide dynamic range; solid, well-designed body.

Slightly sluggish AF system; low effective resolution for a pro-level camera; bloated file sizes.

While a wide dynamic range lets it serve up tons of highlight detail and impressive overall image quality, the S5 Pro isn't for high-speed sports photography, and it could use more resolution.

Lumix DMC-L10When Panasonic introduced its first digital SLR, the Lumix DMC-L1, a lot of people had high hopes, which were subsequently dashed. Now, Panasonic has put out the 10-megapixel Lumix DMC-L10. If the L1 was Panasonic dipping its toes in the SLR...

The L10 has a nice body design, and its articulated LCD makes live-view shooting much more useful.

The L10 is only available as a kit, has trouble focusing in very low light, tops out at ISO 1,600, and its live mode has limited functionality when using most lenses

A nice body design and good image quality make the DMC-L10 an enticing entry-level SLR, but a pricey kit lens makes this kit too expensive.

As a camera company, Leica built its reputation on the back of its rangefinder cameras. From the Leica II, introduced in 1932, through the M7 still available today, Leica rangefinders have endured, in no small part thanks to a reputation for top-notch cra...

Nikon D40In many ways, you might consider Nikon's D40 the Zelig of digital cameras. Is it a digital SLR with the spirit of a point-and-shoot? Is it a point-and-shoot with the power of a dSLR? It depends upon who's doing the shooting. While the D40 will ne...

Excellent feel and compact size; very customizable menu architecture; nice guidance for dSLR newbies; excellent noise characteristics for high-ISO shots.

Slow kit lens; occasionally slow to focus; only 6 megapixels; raw editing software costs extra; control scheme can be awkward; no automatic sensor cleaning.

The Nikon D40 is a great transition camera for going from point-and-shoot to your first dSLR.

Things are about to become very interesting in the world of digital SLRs. Now that Panasonic has its Lumix DMC-L1 in stores, three of the world's largest consumer electronics companies have joined the big leagues of digital imaging. How the L1 fares again...

Fast, image stabilized kit lens; built-in bounce flash; can preview shots on LCD.

Expensive kit is your only option; very noisy at higher ISOs; somewhat clunky design.

Panasonic's Lumix DMC-L1 is a nice first attempt at a dSLR, but a clunky design and noise at higher ISOs destroy its chances for dSLR superstardom.