Digital SLRs group test

Digital SLRs used to require the brains of an astrophysicist to use, the wallet of a playboy to afford and the muscles of a weightlifter to carry around. Not anymore. You can now pick up a light, easy to use digital SLR for under £400 – and the image quality will still blow you away.

All the cameras we tested come with simple, auto-everything modes and at least one zoom lens, so you can just pick up and start snapping. But some extra features are well worth looking out for. While all digital SLRs can frame and focus using an optical viewfinder, many now also have Live View LCDs, allowing you to frame on the screen, just as would on a compact camera. An image stabiliser lets you shoot sharp pictures in low light, and a good burst mode means you won’t miss any action.

Finally, don’t splash out too much on huge resolutions or big lenses straightaway. The cheapest 10 megapixel cameras give more than enough detail for large wall-hanging prints, and the beauty of digital SLRs is that you can always buy new lenses later on.

Canon EOS 1000D + 18-55mm IS lens

Canon has digital SLR cameras to suit all levels (and budgets), but even this bargain model should wow new users. It gives bright, accurate colours and lots of detail in most conditions, although its automatic white balancing isn’t the strongest – this means that inside shots might look a little yellow. Live View mode is slow but works well enough and there’s little chance of novice photographers getting confused by its clear, simple menus. A great first SLR.
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Go to the Canon EOS 1000D + 18-55mm IS lens product page >>

Nikon D60 + AF-S DX 18-55 VR lens

Nikon has stripped down its serious cameras to create a usable, friendly budget camera. But its baby/bath water filtering process has been almost perfect – you get all the colour accuracy, detail capture and processing smarts (including a clever D-Lighting system that boosts shadow detail) of its more expensive brethren, but with none of their complexity. One word of caution: make sure you buy the bundle with the image stabilised VR zoom, for blur-free shooting in dim light.
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Go to the Nikon D60 + AF-S DX 18-55 VR lens product page >>

Olympus E-420 + 14-42mm lens

There’s much to love about the E-420, from its pocket-friendly (but tough) build to its long list of advanced options, such as dust reduction, exposure bracketing, great close-up shooting and an unbeatable choice of focusing options. Only the somewhat vague levels of detail, especially in shadows and highlights, count against it. The price is right though, and it’s well worth looking at the E-420 dual lens kit, which adds an powerful telephoto zoom to the standard 3x lens for not a lot more.
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Go to the Olympus E-420 + 14-42mm lens product page >>

Pentax K200D + 18-55mm lens

Without Live View and home to only basic image stabilisation, the K200D is best suited to someone upgrading from an earlier budget digital SLR rather than an absolute beginner. It’s a tough, heavyweight contender that can soak up real world punishment, shrugging off bumps and rain showers with ease, and has lots of manual settings to play with. The downside is that you’ll need to use these to see it at its best, adjusting sharpness controls or even shooting in RAW (the high quality ‘digital negative’ format).
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Go to the Pentax K200D + 18-55mm lens product page >>

Sony A300 + 18-70mm lens

Sony’s photo expertise was developed in compact cameras and this shows all too clearly in the A300. It’s certainly well built and festooned with fancy features: a good SteadyShot image stabiliser, powerful batteries (700+ shots between charges) and an anti-dust system. Sadly, while it’s ahead on technology, it’s behind in two crucial areas: shooting speed and image quality. Photos lack the detail and clarity of the best here, and it’s just not fast enough on the draw for action shooting.
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Go to the Sony A300 + 18-70mm lens product page >>

Pricerunner Recommended
Nikon D60 + AF-S DX 18-55 VR lens

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Go to the Nikon D60 + AF-S DX 18-55 VR lens product page >>

This group test features the best products from the most popular price range for Digital SLR cameras – under £400.

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