Don’t get me wrong. I’m a Canon guy but with Nikon releasing one after another of class-leading DSLR cameras of late, Nikon seems to be winning the game, at the moment.

Ok, it’s down there with the rest in the entry level DSLR camera and in the point-and-shoot segments, but at this time of the year, Nikon is the only brand — in my opinion — which is sitting pretty at the top of the middle-range to high-end DSLR standings.

Think Nikon D300, Nikon D3 and the latest Nikon D700 — all released within a span of one year, and at a time when Canon seems to be more interested in the mass entry level DSLR market.

Hey, guess what. I might soon convert to Nikon photography religion.

But let’s just put it this way — if I want to buy an entry level DSLR now, I will go for Canon. I will choose the Canon 450D and the Canon 1000D anytime over the Nikon D60 or Nikon D40X.

But Nikon will definitely be the choice if professional camera is what I’m looking for.

I will chose the Nikon D3 anytime over Canon’s EOS 1Ds Mark III, Nikon D300 over Canon D40D and Nikon D700 over the upcoming, yet-to-be-named, upgrade of Canon’s full-frame DSLR, the 5D.

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Dear God,

As you may have already known, Nikon has come up with a new camera model, again.

It’s a camera, which if I may say, so perfect to my eyes that it could be used both in heaven and in hell.

I’m talking about the new Nikon D700.

I’m sure you know more than I do about what the new DSLR is capable of and how expensive it is to a lowly mortal like me.

At the rate the cost of living is going up down here on this earth, there is no way I can afford the camera with my present salary. Not even in my lifetime.

But I’ve been working hard to find extra income, alas, nothing seems to work. Even the Google Adsense on this blog is not performing.

I’m now writing this to appeal to you if you could somehow tinker with my fate and let me have the opportunity to own the D700. I will be forever grateful.

Thank you God, and may God bless you.

Thy humble mortal,

Jaxon S.

p/s: Should you ever decide to send Santa down my chimney this Christmas, would you be so kind as to remind him that a Nikon D700 would suffice? You know, I’m quite a grown man already and would have no use of all those candies.

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I was all ooh and aah when I review the image sample of Nikon’s high end professional DSLR camera, the D3. I’ve never seen such a clean image at ISO 6400. My goodness, where did all the grains go?

Might as well Canon — which used to win hands down in the high ISO performance — throw in the towel now.

Nikon D3 has just up the ante by over 2o,000 notch with its ability to shoot images from ISO 100 to a mind-boggling ISO 25,600.

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Casio is set to ship the world’s fastest camera capable of shooting 60 frames per second at 6 megapixel resolution. Now that’s fast.

The camera, which comes with 12x stabilised optical zoom, is also technically capable of shooting pictures you have missed or pictures you haven’t taken.

Now, how’s that possible? According to Casio, “Users can record images not just at the instant they press the shutter button, but before!”

“Continuously recording at up to 60 images per second, a maximum of 60 images can be saved in the camera’s own buffer memory even before the shutter button is depressed.

Even if users press the shutter a little late, they will still be able to catch that vital moment.”

It’s not call F1 for nothing. Here’s the specification of the world’s fastest camera. This camera will be very useful in macro photography environment.

Check also what the New York Times has to say about the Exilim Ex-F1 camera.

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According to Digital Photography Review, the Nikon D300 is the best semi-professional camera that it would be a big problem for Nikon to better this camera the next time around.

Phil Askey, who reviewed the camera, concluded that he found it difficult to find weaknesses in the D300. “My biggest problem writing this conclusion has been picking out the D300’s weak points,” he said.

He managed to find just three weaknesses however; four, if you include the price but he said, “There is price, but sometimes the best products demand a premium and the D300 is no exception.”

“Nikon’s biggest problem now will be bettering the D300; it raises the bar to a new high, and represents the state of the art despite strong competition from the likes of Canon, Sony and Olympus. There’s simply no better semi-professional digital SLR on the market,” he added.

I’ve come up with the 10 best camera review sites with DP Review occupying the top spot. For other camera views of the camera, you might want to check those sites.

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The arrival of Canon 450D has got me really thinking of graduating from point-and-shoot camera to digital single lens reflex (DSLR).

And with a better Malaysian ringgit-US dollar exchange of late, it seems I can afford the 450D.

This, to me, is a good camera. It fits nicely the segment between 400D and 40D. The 400D is much too small and light for me while the 40D is way beyond my budget reach. The price tag of US$900 (body and kit lens), will work out to around RM2,950, which is a manageable amount.

But I shall wait for two things before deciding on this camera — first, what the reviews say about the camera, and secondly, what Nikon has up its sleeves to contest what seems to me is the best entry-level DSLR todate.

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The following list — not meant to be exhaustive — contains what I think is the Top 10 digital camera review sites. The first five is accompanied by a brief info while the other five contains just links to the sites.

While each has it’s own strengths, I find Digital Photography Review, #01 on my list, to be the most comprehensive camera site overall.

#01: Digital Photography Review: DP Review, without doubt, is the most comprehensive camera review site.

From DSLR to compact cameras, to image storage and lenses, DP Review goes beyond discussing about the latest, though not all, camera models in the market.

It also discussed trends in digital imaging technology and accessories as well as an active forum with dozens of threads.

Started in January 1999 when digital photography was shifting from high-end industry to mass consumer, DP Review has recorded over 871,600,000 visits so far.

I won’t be surprise if by the turn of this decade, the figure reaches one billion mark.

#02: Steve’s Digicams: At first I want to put Steve’s Digitams and DCRP in the same #2 spot for I find the two to have similar strength.

But what I like more in Steve’s Digicams, is the way it presented the “Best Cameras” section, listing what I myself agree to be the best cameras in their category — from high end DSLR cameras to prosumer cameras and super-zoomers and compact cameras.

Steve’s Digicams would come expecially handy if you want to double check a particular camera model, just before you go to the shop to buy your camera.

Instead of listening to the shopowners’s ramble about which camera is better, you spared yourself the agony by first heading over to Steve’s Digicams for informed opinions on the camera models you are thinking of buying.

#03: Digital Camera Resource Page: As mentioned above, I wanted to list DCRP in the #2 spot along with Steve’s Digicams but for the reason which I’ve explained.

Having said that, I found DCRP to be a very useful site and even after browsing DP Review and Steve’s Digicams, I would always find myself drifting to DCRP for a second opinion about certain camera models.

I also like the way DCRP reviews are written and how the reviewers present their write-ups as though they are sitting right in front of you to tell you about what they think about the camera you had in mind.

#04: Imaging Resource: The first Top 3 camera review sites had been my most frequented sites since 2004 when I first came across these sites for opinions on a particular digital camera I was buying at that time.

Until recently, when I came across Imaging Resource.

Imaging Resource is what I call a buying guide site as the it looks to have been tailored as such. Here you can browse camera models by price, by megapixels, compare samples and so on. It also has a section dedicatied to — but not limited to — camera accessories.

Here you can also read about scanners, printers and softwares; all related to photography.

#05: Digital Camera Review: Digital Camera Review is perhaps a place where you can find the most comprehensive reviews on digital point-and-shoot cameras.

It still has highly informative reviews about DSLR cameras but just by the look and feel of the website, you can tell it is targetted at the compact camera mass market.

Even the “15 Most Popular Camera” section, which is measured by the click count, are from the compact to high-end non-DSLR cameras.

It also has a quick search functionality where you could search for camera based on their make, price range, megapixels and optical zooms.

Folks, that has been the first Top 5 camera review sites. And if five is not enough, then here’s another five review sites for your browsing pleasure, which I’ve also put in numerical order. Enjoy!

The other camera sites I frequented: #06: CNET Asia, #07: What Digital Camera, #08: Camera World.com, #09: PC MAG.com, #10: Digicam Review.

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