Last year, we were able to get our hands on just one digital SLR (DSLR) camera. We knew that a new Fuji and a new Nikon were just around the corner but Canon came to the party. And we were impressed with their D30. It offered six megapixel resolution and a huge range of user features.

The main drawback, at least as far as we were concerned, was the price: by the time you bought the camera and a couple of lenses, there wouldn't be much change out of ten big ones. That's a pretty serious investment for most people.

Well, things have changed a bit in the last twelve months.

Prices down, features up!

Just as the "happy snap" or point-n-shoot end of the digital camera market has made some pretty amazing moves in the past year (prices plummeting, features and quality soaring) the "pro" end has had its share of movement, too. Maybe not quite with the same ferocity but certainly enough to make us sit up and take notice.

We've been able to test-drive a couple of "prosumer" DSLRs over the past couple of weeks. They're not at the highest end of the pro market, although we understand that plenty of pros are waiting in line. Nor are they the type of camera that Mr or Mrs Citizen would be likely to buy to capture family holidays or baby pictures.

But they are exactly the type of camera that a keen amateur photographer would buy - the type of photographer who probably has a top-of-the-line 35mm camera body or six, a good selection of lenses and possibly even does their own film processing (gad, do people actually still do that?).