Lab

Digital SLRs

If you want to use your camera for more than just remembering where you went on holiday, you need to take full advantage of every photo opportunity. That takes a level of control that the average point-and-shoot compact can't provide.

For decades, the professional photographer's daily tool of choice has been the SLR (single lens reflex), and now there are digital SLRs. There are many reasons why they're superior to compact cameras, some of them specific to the digital technologies used. Faster performance and better hands-on controls let you keep shooting without waiting for the camera to keep up. DSLR image sensors, the part that turns light into a digital picture, are physically larger and therefore capture images much more accurately, especially in low light. Meanwhile, their optical viewfinders, while they may seem old-fashioned, let you see what you're about to shoot with far more detail than a little LCD screen can manage.

Now that excellent digital SLRs cost as little as £275, creative photography is open to more people than ever before. And if you're thinking a camera at that price must suffer a lot of compromises, you may be very surprised by the results of our tests.

In the field

This month we tested all the latest digital SLRs under £500. There are a couple of older models you may also want to consider. The Nikon D40 and D80 sit either side of the newer D60, reviewed here. All these cameras are made for amateur photographers, but there's nothing amateurish about the photos they take. Image quality is easily up to the demands of professional printing.

It's also important to be aware that the difference between the best and worst is much subtler than we see in group tests of compact cameras. DSLRs do vary in the quality of their photos at default and automatic settings, but a key attraction is their range of manual settings. All include not just manual focus and exposure but also controls for contrast, saturation, sharpness and noise reduction. Nonetheless, there's significant variation in capabilities in areas such as detail and noise (graininess); our reviews reveal how each model fared.

Just as important is how easy it is to unlock the camera's full potential. Straightforward controls and fast performance are crucial, as they enable you to take plenty of shots before the moment passes. Automatic exposure bracketing takes three pictures of varying brightness, allowing you to choose the best later. Image stabilisation counteracts camera shake - particularly useful in low light, where slower shutter speeds are necessary, and when using zoom (telephoto). It's a common feature in upmarket compacts, and now becoming common in affordable digital SLRs too.

As an alternative to the usual JPEG files, these DSLRs can also store images in RAW format, which preserves more image information, enabling better processing and correction. For this you'll need to use the software supplied with the camera or a third party image editor (such as Corel Paint Shop Pro Photo, Adobe Photoshop Elements, Serif PhotoPlus or Ulead PhotoImpact) that offers RAW support for your particular camera.

One thing that compacts have and DSLRs usually don't is the ability to preview the scene you're about to shoot on the LCD screen. Instead, you set up your shot in the optical viewfinder, and use the LCD to check it afterwards. However, 'live view'is becoming more common in DSLRs.

Picking a winner from these six cameras wasn't easy. Each one offers something special, and we'd be quite happy to own any of them. Read on and see which will suit you best.