Camera: Canon G6 I wanted a camera that fits in the pocket, something to fill the hole left by the money, full manual controls, good build quality. It could just as easily have been one from a whole range of the top makers, but this one felt very comfortable to handle and use. A camera that I would keep even if I finally decided they have built a DSLR worth buying. I believe there is little to chose between the top makes other than this, they are all producing results that would have been perfectly acceptable a few years ago in a 35mm film slr. I am not into the 'machine gunner' approach and prefer to go for one shot where I have decided at the time the parameters of the image, speed means nothing to me. Burst mode is to photography like the word processor is to illuminated manuscripts imho. It has it's place for photo journalists and professionals who need to get an image quick. I will one day buy a DSLR because the quality in some specific situations is higher. They have not yet built the one where I can feel comfortable that it has all that I want and I will not want the next one down the line, that does have those things all in one camera. The Nikon D200 looks close in spec. but I will wait see how it performs and what the rivals bring out. With prices falling almost daily must admit my plastic card has been very tempted by the Minolta 5D as a stop gap. My philosophy: as cindy has said the camera is a tool to produce the image.

And every one said, 'If we only live,
We too will go to sea in a Sieve,---
To the hills of the Chankly Bore!'
Far and few, far and few, Are the lands where the Jumblies live;
Their heads are green, and their hands are blue, And they went to sea in a Sieve.

Edward Lear
http://www.nonsenselit.org/Lear/ns/jumblies.html