The Pentax K100D has a sensor resolution of six megapixels, and accept lenses using the Pentax KAF lens mount. The stabilization mechanism – dubbed “Shake Reduction” – is undoubtedly the standout feature of this model. Focusing can be controlled automatically or manually, and uses a phase detection system with 11 points (nine of them cross-type) to determine focus. Images can be framed using a penta-mirror optical viewfinder, and reviewed on a 2.5″ LCD display with a resolution of 210,000 pixels.

A choice of program, aperture- and shutter-priority or manual exposure modes; 16-segment multi, center-weighted or spot metering; shutter speeds from 30 – 1/4000 second; user-selectable ISO sensitivity from 200 – 3200 equivalent, plus eight white balance modes including fully manual white balance let your creative juices flow. For fun snapshots, the K100D offers a range of automatic controls including eight scene modes and four Picture modes (the latter essentially being scene modes that have positions on the mode dial rather than being accessed through the LCD display). A five-mode flash strobe is also available, along with a two or twelve-second self timer.

A remarkable function is the digital preview, which enables you to check the depth of field on the monitor before capturing your image. In fact, you will already be taking a photo, but the difference is that the Pentax K100D will store it in the buffer, instead of instantly writing it onto the memory card. In practice, however, this function did not prove particularly handy; I much rather prefer a depth of field check in the viewfinder. Fortunately, this function is also available on the Pentax K100D!

To improve the image quality, Pentax have equipped their K100D with new algorithms, which should -among other things- help to reduce noise. Not that Pentax users had any reason to complain! Pentax even offer prospective users of a K100D the chance to work with ISO 3200; a unique feature in this class of DSLR cameras. The speed of the camera, which formed a major disadvantage of the Pentax *ist DS2, is another feature that promises improvement. The auto focus provides you with eleven focus points, nine of which are cross-type sensors.

The D50 is especially good for kids, sports and action compared to more expensive fixed-lens cameras. I prefer it over everything else from other makers because it’s so easy to use, works fast, focuses fast, responds immediately to your inputs and the image quality is fantastic. The D50 is a far cry better than any fixed-lens camera, even the much more expensive Sony DSC-R1. Unless you really understand abstract concepts like White Balance fine tuning you’ll never find anything missing from the D50. Don’t let the low price fool you: it’s a great camera and I wouldn’t be able to tell the difference between prints from a D50 compared to a $5,000 D2X. I’ve seen 4 x 5 foot enlargements from the D50 that look superb. The only limit to the D50′s picture quality is the photographer, not the D50.

It’s especially attractive for photographers moving up from digital point and shoot cameras who want the added flexibility of an SLR, but aren’t quite ready for the higher prices of Nikon’s more expensive DSLRs. In addition to aspiring new photographers, the Nikon D50 should also be desirable for more experience photographers wanting an inexpensive, fun to use DSLR. We’ll talk more about that later.

With the D50, Nikon has a comprehensive line-up of DSLRs. Their Nikon D70 is a huge market success, offering a winning combination of image quality and performance. In addition, the price was very low compared to similar DSLRs. Its success sent a shockwave through the photographic community and not only encouraged a new group of photographers to go digital, it also caused some scrambles among other manufacturers.

Full manual control is also available, so for more advanced photographers or for those looking to expand their hobby, the D50 still offers all they need. Continued shooting of up to 137 pictures makes action photography a reality while pictures are instantly recorded on SD memory card. A new hi-speed USB 2.0 connection supports fast transfer of images when connected to a PC. This is where D70/D70s owners will sit up and take notice as they still have to make do with a relatively slow 1.1 USB connection.

As most DSLRs today use CompactFlash as the preferred back-up medium, it may come as a bit of a surprise to see this digital camera – just like most compacts – employ SD-cards. If this is your only camera this is fine, as it is obviously the memory card of the future. However if you would like the D50 as a back-up to your other Nikon DSLR this would necessitate the need to carry SD-cards as well as CompactFlash cards. A better option then would be to buy the D70s instead, as the price difference between the two cameras is just about the same as the cost of a large SD-card.

At the bottom of the consumer line are the cheapies – ultra-low cost, low-quality, slow lenses with plastic mounts and no distance scales. Most of the kit lenses – 28-80 and 28-90 lenses with typical aperture ranges of 4.5 to 5.6 – fit into this category. These lenses are built to be sold as inexpensively as possible and don’t have very good optical quality. The only exception to this basic rule is the 50mm 1.8 II – plastic lens mount – which has excellent optical quality despite its cheap build quality, because it isn’t a zoom lens like all the others. The cheapies are easily recognizable by their all-plastic construction and straight, parallel-sided lens barrels. Most of the new cheapies have a silver (chrome) ring around the end for looks.

The Canon EF Lenses  includes a ring-type ultrasonic motor (USM), which allows full-time manual focus, even when the camera/lens are set to autofocus. Autofocus is slower and more cumbersome than with a non-macro lens, due to the large range of distances available. The lens has an internal/rear focusing system, so the length of the lens and therefore distance of the front element from the subject does not change as the focus ring is moved. The lens is a flat-field design, optimized for edge-to-edge sharpness of flat subjects.

This lens categorization sometimes gets very confusing. For example, Canon release newer versions of lenses all the time, numbering them with Roman numerals. Sometimes the new lens is an improvement. Other times it’s not.

For example, the EF 28-80 3.5-5.6 USM isn’t a bad lens. It has a metal lens mount, similar build quality to the EF 28-105 and fits into the second of the six tiers listed above. However, the EF 28-80 3.5-5.6 II USM is an all-plastic cheapie which fits into the first of the six tiers above. (all 28-80 3.5-5.6 lenses from marks II through V are plastic cheapies, in fact) The EF 50mm 1.8, as noted below, is generally considered to be a better lens than the EF 50mm 1.8 II.

Canon also release updated versions of lens hoods using Roman numeral designations. Quite often the mark II version of a hood will fit the same lenses as its predecessor but will have a black flocked interior lining to reduce lens flare.

In July 2005 Konica Minolta and Sony made an announcement that they were to jointly develop digital SLR cameras. This agreement hinted at shared technology between the two companies such as auto focus, metering and Anti-Shake coming from Konica Minolta and sensors, electronics and batteries from Sony. Some six months later Konica Minolta dropped a bomb on the camera market by announcing that they were withdrawing from the camera business and had transferred certain camera assets including the Maxxum/Dynax lens mount and related SLR technologies to Sony.

Almost a year on since that first announcement we have the new Sony Alpha DSLR-A100, a compact, ten megapixel (CCD) digital SLR with a (Konica) Minolta lens mount, Anti-Shake (now Super SteadyShot) and a definite cross-breed appearance. It’s fair to say that while this camera may share some components with previous Konica Minolta digital SLR’s Sony’s involvement has brought external styling, build quality and finish up to a higher standard. The lens mount is to be called the ‘Alpha mount’ and Sony has announced no less than 19 lenses which will carry the Sony Alpha branding (although many are based on existing Minolta lenses).

When it’s time to recharge the battery, just pop it into the included external charger. It takes about 175 minutes for a normal charge, and 235 minutes for a full charge. This isn’t one of those handy “plug it right into the wall” chargers — you must use a power cable.

Much to my dismay, Sony will not be offering a battery grip for the A100.

Okay, now let’s talk about accessories, starting with lenses. If a lens worked on the Maxxum 5D or 7D then it’ll work here too. If you have an older Minolta lens then you’ll want to check with Sony support to see if it works. Sony will be offering 19 lenses with the A100 initially, including three with the Carl Zeiss label. If there’s a type of lens you want, it probably exists. And, since the A100 has CCD-based image stabilization, there’s no need to buy special lenses to get this useful feature.

Next up are flashes. Like the Maxxum cameras, the hot shoe on the A100 is proprietary, so you can’t just attach any old external flash. Sony will be offering two flashes, the HVL-F36AM ($250) and the HVL-F56AM ($350), and I assume that other Minolta flashes will work too. There is also an off-shoe adapter which uses a proprietary flash sync cable.

In overall styling the Alpha ?100 resembles, not surprisingly, the Konica Minolta 5D, however it is far from being merely a re-badged Minolta. In order to be taken seriously in the highly competitive DSLR field, Sony has had to come up with something unique and special, and in my opinion it has succeeded admirably. The ?100 is crammed full of advanced technology designed to make taking good pictures easier, addressing most of the major problems that can ruin your pictures.

Fujifilm has just launched another high-spec camera in its semi-pro S series, the new FinePix S6500fd. It fits into the range between the soon-to-be-replaced S9500 and the lower spec S5600 (reviewed here in May) although it’s far closer to the higher end of the scale. It inherits many features from the S9500, most notably that excellent f2.8-f4.9, 10.7x optical zoom lens. It’s also about the same size and weight as the S9500, in fact it’s a couple of millimetres wider and taller, although it is a little lighter. In other words, the S6500 is far closer in size, shape and weight to a digital SLR than to most other fixed-lens cameras.

The S6500 is supposed to be the lower-spec camera, so it lacks a few of the S9500’s features. For starters it has a 6.3-megapixel SuperCCD HR sensor, compared to its older brother’s 9.0-megapixel sensor. Its 2.5in, 235,000 pixel LCD monitor is bigger and sharper, but lacks the S9500’s fold-out ability. It has a much simpler control layout, which unfortunately means that some useful features, such as the self-timer, are relegated to the menu. It also lacks the cable release thread on the shutter button.

In which case the so-called ‘bridge’ cameras like this one are ideal. They have all the look of a DSLR and many of the manual functions available, but also a comforting amount of the work can be handled automatically. In terms of picture quality you know you’re going to be on to a winner as Fujifilm has employed its 6.3-megapixel Super CCD sensor and Real Photo Technology II, as well as a comparatively new feature which should improve your portrait pictures. Before we look at that, let’s review some of the statistics. The maximum resolution is 2,848 x 2,136 and the light sensitivity ranges from ISO100 to 3200 which means you can achieve exceptional results in poor lighting conditions without always having to use flash. Talking of which, the camera uses intelligent flash which can be adjusted to your circumstances and there’s a ‘Natural and Flash’ mode which can take two rapid pictures, one with and one without flash, so you can compare and contrast the results.

The fixed Fujinon lens offers an impressive 10.7 times optical zoom lens. The actual zoom range is 6.2 to 66.7mm which is the equivalent of a 28 – 300mm lens on a 35mm camera which should cover most situations. In use, this focal length range is very easy to hand hold although at the longer end, for sharper pictures you should consider using a tripod. Generally, digital cameras tend to have a rocker switch. The zooming on this camera is by way of a twist barrel control.