Labs

It's the most expensive camera here by quite a margin, but the new EOS 40D is a step up from any other camera below £1000. Performance is astonishing, hitting 6.5fps for 75 continuous frames, and focusing is fast too. The kit lens has 5x zoom and image stabilisation. The huge 3 inch screen can display live previews - a rarity among DSLRs - and there's a separate passive LCD for settings, plus comprehensive physical controls and huge scope to customise picture quality. Detail is in line with the cheaper 10 megapixel SLRs, but colour reproduction is truly fantastic, with unbeatable depth and subtlety to pictures.