Straight Eight: Canon EOS Digital Rebel XT
Who? Major-league performance fans on a minor-league budget. What? Canon EOS Digital Rebel XT. Why? As Pop Photo Lab tests proved, the Rebel XT, with 8MP (rather than the 10MP of the $165-more Rebel XTi), provides Excellent image quality -- as in Excellent resolution and color accuracy, plus noise no higher than Moderately Low up to ISO 400. Its very light body has a stainless-steel chassis, and it gobbles up about 65 highest-quality JPEGs at 3 fps -- faster than a number of newer and pricier DSLRs. It captures in RAW. Okay, the 1.8-inch LCD is dinky by today's standards, and it lacks the XTi's self-cleaning sensor, but not much else is missing. Now! $498, street, body only; $575 with 18-55mm f/3.5-5.6 EF-S kit zoom.
Grand Deal: Olympus E-510
Who? DSLR buyers who want a full-featured outfit, right out of the box. What? Olympus E-510 with two-lens kit (14-42mm f/3.5-5.6 and 40-150mm f/4-5.6 Zuikos). Why? This is quite a bundle. First, the camera: a compact, ergonomic Four Thirds system unit whose 10MP sensor delivers Excellent image quality from ISO 100 to 1600. It offers unlimited live view and sensor-based image stabilization. Now, the lenses: With a combined focal-length range equivalent to 28-300mm, they're exceptionally light and compact. And in Pop Photo Lab tests, both put up Excellent SQF and very low, often Imperceptible, distortion numbers (except at 14mm, where barrel distortion was Visible). Now! $1,000, street.
The Un-SLR: Fujifilm FinePix S9100
Who? Performance hounds hunting for a long zoom in one tidy box. What? Fujifilm FinePix S9100. Why? Start with a 9MP Fuji Super CCD HR sensor, with good noise suppression up to a maximum of ISO 1600, then add a 2-inch tilting LCD and a 100-percent electronic viewfinder, dual memory card slots (xD and CF), fast startup and low shutter lag, and RAW file capture with Hyper-Utility software for conversion and editing. Now outfit it with a 28-300mm equivalent f/2.8-4.9 zoom lens -- with macro focusing to less than half an inch. That would make for a pricey DSLR. But if you can deal with a fixed lens and an EVF, the S9100 does all that. And it gives you something no DSLR does -- video. Now! $375, street.
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