| 1. | Canon Digital Rebel XTi with 18-55 EF-S, black finish | Yes, a 10mp D-Rebel (the 400D) at the $600 price level. Canon is clearly more competitive on prices than they used to be. The stakes are higher. They just lost 2007 to Nikon in Japan. |
| 2. | Nikon D40 with 18-55 DX lens | Already sliding below the magic $500 mark, at $480, it is competing price-wise with the older D-Rebel (350D), although they are not a one-on-one match. One blind spot on the D40 is the focus motor issue. Hopefully Nikon won't release any more DSLRs like that! |
| 3. | Canon Digital Rebel XT with 18-55 EF-S lens, black | Speaking of the D-Rebel, the 350D (XT) is at $460, an ATM bill below the 6mp Nikon! *Gasp* Yes, it's an older DSLR, but cheaper than the Nikon? And with more megapixels! Now if it had a spotmeter... |
| 4. | Canon Digital Rebel XTi, body only, black | Even this D-Rebel is getting close to the magic $500 mark. Currently at $530, it is probably one press release away from sliding under $500. The press release is of course the anticipated replacement at PMA 2008, with the rumor-name of Digital Rebel Kiss 450D XT-whatever. |
| 5. | Canon 40D, body only | The Nikon D3 and D300 may have created the DSLR-equivalent of Beatles-mania, but it looks like the 40D is quitely moving boxes off the shelves at a nice pace. At a price of $1150, it is miles away from the Nikon D300. Buzz or no buzz! |
| 6. | Canon 40D, with EF 28-135 | At around $1385, it seems to be a popular kit despite the 35mm full-frameness of this lens that makes it a rather mundane equivalent on the 40D with the 1.58x sensor |
| 7. | Olympus E510 with the two lens kit | OMG! A non-Nikon/Canon dSLR in the top 10? Oh my! What about the duopoly? Its price is very competitive with the CaNikons, at $650 you get a two lens kit and sensor shift stabilization. |
| 8. | Nikon D80, body only | The best bang for the buck DSLR among Nikons in our opinion is priced at $780 and does not have the focus motor nonsense of the D40 and D40x. Currently competing price-wise with the Canon 30D, which in our opinion is the best bang for the buck dSLR among Canons. |
| 9. | Nikon D40x with 18-55 DX | Speaking of the D40x, it competes with the D-Rebel XTi (400D) on price, although it currently costs about an ATM bill more. Not a one-on-one matchup, but people looking to buy on a specific budget will no doubt compare them head to head. |
| 10. | Nikon D300, body only | The Robin of the duo is selling at or above list price. This is an interesting phenomenon we haven't seen in a while among digital cameras. Nikon has increased production of both the D3 and D300 but apparently demand continues to surpass supply. |
| 11. | Nikon D40, two lens kit | This introductory bundle at around $640 is offering newcomers two traditional kit lenses but of the DX variety along with some Nikon branded trinkets. This is an interesting proposition compared to the one lens kit. |
| 12. | Canon 5D | The price is falling again! Now at $2010, the EOS 5D gets closer to the psychological barrier of $2000. This would be the first 35mm full frame DSLR at under $2000 while a brand new current product, and certainly fuels the rumor-speculation of a new Canon 7D that would come in below the 5D and at or below the $2000 mark. As you may recall the $2000 mark was the price barrier that brought mid-range DSLRs into the spotlight at the legendary PMA 2002 with the Nikon D100, Canon D60, Fuji S2, and Sigma SD9 getting announced in quick successsion. |
| 13. | Nikon D80 with 18-135 DX | At around $1050, this includes a small discount on the 18-135 DX mid-range lens. A good kit for someone who is quite familiar with SLRs, and wants to start fresh with digital. |
| 14. | Canon Digital Rebel XTi with 18-55 EF-S, silver | The silver D-Rebels are trailing in popularity the more professional looking black D-Rebels, but their prices are more or less similar. |
| 15. | Canon Digital Rebel XT, body only, black | Yes DSLR fans, you can get a Canon DSLR for $400! That's right! It is of course slightly older and has "only" 8-megapixels, but it's a $400 DSLR from Canon any which way you slice and dice it. |
| 16. | Pentax K10D with 18-55 DA | Hey, we have the second non-CaNikon in the list! This DSLR is in our opinion the biggest bang for the buck dSLR among current DSLRs because of its $640 price after a $100 Pentax mail-in rebate. After the rebate is cashed in, you are essentially paying a similar price to a Nikon D40x or a Canon D-Rebel XTi 400D. |
