The Digital Photography
Consumer Review

Our Digital Camera SLR Reviews

The digital SLR(single lens reflex) is an incredibly versatile and sophisticated camera. Regardless of which brand you choose, they all have interchangable lenses that allow you to create plenty of special effects in your photos that just aren't possible with the smaller point and shoot cameras. But before you rush out and buy a digital SLR camera, consider how you plan to use it. If you just want great looking photos of special events like weddings, anniversaries, and family gatherings, and maybe some great travel shots too, then you probably will be just as happy with many of the compact digital camera models that are on the market today instead. The learning curve on SLRs is much steeper, they are usually more expensive initially, and you will probably never put most of it's advanced features to good use anyway.

On the other hand, if you are something of a photography hobbyist that likes to get be creative with your photos, perhaps even having total control over all the exposure details yourself, then a digital SLR camera is just what you need. Or perhaps the camera will be used by more than one family member and it must be both easy to use for some and allow lots of creativity for others. A digital SLR can stil fit that bill too. And of course, if you are a professional photographer, there is no question that if you are going to buy a 35mm digital camera, it has to be an SLR, and a very good one at that.

So which digital SLR cameras are the best? Actually, there are several very fine SLRs available from the most recognized brands like Minolta, Canon, Nikon, Olympus, Pentax and so on. But if you read all the independent and consumer reviews, a few clear winners always seem to rise to the top and here are our digital camera SLR reviews:

• For ease of use for beginners, the Pentax ist DX is a fine choice as it pretty much does everything for you in automatic mode. Even in manual mode it has features built in to help guide the correct exposure for each scene if you choose. It's large and bright 2 inch LCD is a pleasure to use as well in both dimly lit and brighly lit surroundings. It's also very small and lightweight and uses AA batteries. A normal kit includes a 18-55mm zoom lens and costs just under $1,000, although it can be found for less if you search well enough online.



• For more advanced users the Nikon D70s is a great choice as it has more sophisticated features that an amateur photographer would appreciate such as 1/8000 second maximum shutter speed and continuous shooting capability at 3 frames per second up to 144 shots, making it an excellent choice for fast action shooting. The exposure metering system is incredibly accurate, and almost all reviews of the overall results from this camera are very enthusiastic. When purchased as a kit with a 18-70mm lens, it costs around $1200 although it can also be found for less if you look hard online.



• For even more advanced photographers the Canon EOS 20D has enough power and features to keep even the most demanding of amateur photographers happy for some time. In fact, Popular Photography selected the 20D as the highest rated camera of all in their review. One main advantage that the Canon 20D has is it large 8 megapixel capability, allowing photographers to make superior, sharp enlargements from it's stored files. Couple that with a fast 5 frames per second continuous shooting capability and you have a very high quality, versatile camera for around $1500 or so.

It's hard to go wrong with any of the SLRs mentioned above, but we have tried to select a winner for each level of photography from beginner to near professional. One other tip is that if you already have a 35mm SLR film camera with lenses, check to see if thopse lenses can be used on the digital SLR cameras now being made by that manufacturer, as many can and this can save you lots of money in the long run.