"Affordable" Digital SLRs Several full-featured pro-level SLR digital cameras have been introduced recently, bringing to 11 the total . . . in the $2000-$7000 range. That's not exactly "affordable" to many, but it's way better than the five-digit price tags for the really high-end digital cameras and backs. All of the cameras in this category are produced by film-camera companies: Canon, Contax, Fujifilm, Kodak, Minolta, Nikon and Sigma. Output resolutions range from 2.7-6+ megapixels. All use CompactFlash card storage (and will accept IBM Microdrives, up to 1 GB), and one also accepts SmartMedia cards. All of these cameras provide program AE, shutter- and aperture-priority AE and manual exposure control. Canon EOS-1d Based on Canon's top-of-the-line EOS-1v pro 35mm AF SLR, the EOS-1d offers all of that camera's pro performance and features, plus 2496x1662-pixel (4.15-megapixel) digital images (with simultaneous RAW and JPEG capture when desired) stored on CompactFlash cards and Microdrives. Features include a top shutter speed of 1/10,000, flash sync up to 1/500, access to more than 50 EOS-mount lenses from 14mm to 1200mm (with just a 1.3X "telephoto" effect, due to the larger-than-most CCD image sensor), ISOs from 100-3200, a 2-inch LCD monitor, a 45-point CMOS AF sensor that provides quick and accurate autofocusing down to EV 0 and can keep up with the camera's maximum 8-fps shooting rate, 21-zone evaluative metering (plus 13.5% partial, center-weighted and 3.8% spot metering), very sturdy construction, depth-of-field preview button, mirror prelock, 100% viewfinder, E-TTL flash hot-shoe plus a PC terminal for studio flash, a host of exposure modes (shiftable program AE, shutter- and aperture-priority AE, metered manual and depth-of-field AE) and much more. Dimensions are 6.1x6.2x3.1 inches and 44.1 ounces; street price is around $5500. Canon EOS D60 This is quite a deal: Canon essentially took the popular D30, replaced the 3.25-megapixel CMOS sensor with a 6.51-megapixel CMOS sensor, improved performance—and lowered the price nearly $1000! At around $2200 street price, the new EOS D60 produces images with 3072x2048-pixel (6.3-megapixel) resolution, and is a full-featured EOS SLR, with such niceties as 35-zone evaluative metering (plus center-weighted average and 9.5% partial metering), wide-area AF with three selectable AF points, shutter speeds from 30 seconds to 1/4000 plus bulb (and maximum flash sync of 1/200), built-in E-TTL autoflash plus a hot-shoe for dedicated accessory flash units and a PC socket for studio flash, and the ability to use the full line of Canon EF lenses (which, due the fact that the imaging sensor is smaller than a full-frame 35mm image, produce the cropping of a lens 1.6X longer on the D60 than when used on EOS film cameras). Digital features include a burst rate of 3 fps for 8 frames at maximum resolution, adjustable ISOs from 100-1000, 36-bit RGB color, DCF file format with JPEG and Canon RAW recording modes, image storage on Type I and Type II CompactFlash cards (and IBM Microdrives), and a 1.8-inch TFT-type color LCD monitor. Its USB interface works with newer Power Macintosh G3/G4 and Windows computers. Dimensions are 5.9x4.2x3.0 inches and 27.5 ounces (without battery or CF card). Contax N Digital The big "hook" here is the fact that this new camera's 6.29- megapixel CCD sensor is the same size as a 35mm film frame—24x36mm—so there's no "pseudo-telephoto effect." Each of the Carl Zeiss N-mount lenses it uses provides the same field of view it does when used on a Contax N-series 35mm film SLR. Other assets include all the basic features of the top-of-the-line Contax N1 AF 35mm SLR (solid construction, dual focus function, five-point wide-array diagonal autofocusing, fine focus bracketing, shutter speeds up to 1/8000 with flash sync up to 1/200, three metering systems, five exposure modes, custom functions and more), plus a two-inch LCD monitor for immediate playback, high-speed digital image procesing and FireWire/IEEE 1394 image transfer, three JPEG compressed formats plus TIFF and RAW with storage on CompactFlash Type I and II cards and IBM Microdrives, 3 fps shooting at maximum resolution, a menu of white-balance selections, shooting assist information and more. Street price is around $7000. Fujifilm FinePix S2 Pro Fujifilm has also doubled the resolution of its "affordable" interchangeable-lens digital SLR, replacing the 3.4-megapixel FinePix S1 Pro with the 6.49-megapixel FinePix S2 Pro. Featuring a next-generation Fuji Super CCD that can produce 12.1-megapixel image files (4256x2848 pixels) from its 3024x2016-pixel sensor, the S2 provides two card slots, so you can store images on SmartMedia or CompactFlash cards (or Microdrives). Based on a Nikon N80 body, the S1 Pro provides 3D Matrix metering with D-type AF-Nikkor lenses (also center-weighted and spot metering), autofocusing down to EV -1, shutter speeds from 30 seconds to 1/4000, a built-in TTL autoflash plus a hot-shoe for accessory Nikon flash units, and compatibility with the full line of AF-Nikkor lenses (and some manual-focus Nikkors). Digital features include ISOs from 100 to 1600, burst shooting of up to seven frames at 2 fps, a 1.8-inch TFT color LCD monitor, FireWire and USB compatibility, and three file formats (RAW, TIFF and JPEG). Dimensions are 5.6x5.2x3.1 inches and 27 ounces without batteries. Street price is around $2400.