Nikon D700

The D700 boasts many of the flagship D3's features, but squeezes them into a smaller and lighter D300-sized body. So the D700 sports the D3's 12.1 Megapixel full-frame sensor, 3in VGA monitor, 51 point AF system and Live View, but additionally features a popup flash and anti-dust features. The viewfinder may not deliver 100% coverage, but as a full-frame model it's still large, and continuous shooting remains a respectable 5fps - even with 14-bit RAW files. There's also AF micro-adjust and in-camera correction of vignetting and chromatic aberrations. The D700 faces tough rivals in Canon's EOS 5D Mark II and Sony's Alpha A900, but handles admirably while delivering great quality output. It's also steadily becoming the most affordable of the new full-frame models.

Pros: Superb build. Quick handling. Full-frame. VGA screen. HDMI.
Cons: 'Only' 12.1 Megapixels. No histogram in Live View.
Overall: A superb DSLR, but compare closely with its full-frame rivals