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We hope you find our eighth annual Editor's Choice awards to be a useful resource as you brave the world of imaging technology. Photography has always been an art based on science, and never more so than today, as advances hurtle us along with startling speed. To produce this special section we turned to Executive Editor Russell Hart and a team of experts, this year including contributing editors Jonathan Barkey and Steve Pollock, Popular Photography & Imaging editors Dan Richards and Debbie Grossman, and writers Aimee Baldridge, formerly with CNET.com, and Phil Ryan, now CNET.com senior editor. In addition, Alexis Gerard, president of Future Image Inc., contributed an essay looking into photography's technological future. If the state of the art is this good now, just imagine what's coming down the road.
CHOOSE A SECTION:
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Entry Level D-SLRs
Compact-weaned photographers can now afford leave the point-and-shoot nest.
Advanced D-SLRs
Midpriced digital SLRs are getting so good that even the most serious photographers should consider them.
Professional D-SLRs
Our professional camera of the year has an image sensor the size of an old-fashioned 35mm frame.
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Camera Cellphones
The models we like best offer three-megapixel resolution, autofocus, and even optical zooming.
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Wide-format Printers
Some inkjet models force you to choose between them and your washer/dryer. These 17- and 18-inch printers are big enough.
Fine-art Printers
Epson is no longer the only 13x19-format, pigment-based kid on the block.
Snapshot Printers
Slide in a memory card, plug in your digital camera, or send images wirelessly to these compact printers.
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Photo Storage & Display
Multitasking & connectedness define the latest devices for storing, viewing, and sharing digital images.
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High-res EVFs
The convenience of an electronic viewfinder camera meets the image quality of a D-SLR.
Superzoom EVFs
Today's best models combine six megapixels with advanced metering, exposure, and AF options.
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Digital Compacts
Less expensive than an ultrathin, their bigger, more ergonomic bodies permit increased zoom range and contribute to sharper pictures.
Ultrathin Compacts
Our winner's innovative design builds an unusually wide focal-length range into a very small, thin camera.
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Lenses
Our favorites include both those designed for full-frame 35mm coverage and optics for the smaller-than-35mm chips found in most digital SLRs.
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Lighting
Portable flash sources still dominate a market in which small-scale product photography is still the driving force behind fluorescent.
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Imaging Software
Is correcting shooting defects with software bad practice? These programs make us beg to differ.
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Imaging Essentials
More and more imaging devices defy categorization, yet can be as indispensable as the familiar tools of the photographic trade.
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