Top Studio Camera: Canon EOS-1Ds
Top Safari/Sport Camera: Canon EOS-1D
Top Entry-level SLR: Nikon D100
Top Non-interchangeable lens Camera: Nikon Coolpix 5700
Top Compact Camera: Nikon Coolpix 5000
Top Ultracompact Camera: Minolta DiMAGE 100
Canon EOS-1Ds: Top studio camera
Canon's EOS-1Ds is the first unanimous winner of this category since Nikon shook-up the market with the D1. The EOS-1Ds is hands-down the resolution king at the moment. With a full-frame (35mm-film-sized) sensor, it also provides 1:1 focal length equivalents with 35mm film and exceptional depth-of-field.
Canon EOS-1D: Top safari/sports camera
The EOS-1D was introduced late last year, and Canon marketed as a single camera to battle both Nikon's 1DX (studio) and 1DH (high-speed) cameras. Given the release of the EOS-1Ds, they didn't believe their own hype, but many would be forgiven for doing so. The EOS-1D's resolution was somewhere between the two Nikon bodies, but provided fast 8fps continuous shooting.
Nikon D100: Top entry-level SLR
Nikon released their entry-level SLR just after Canon updated the D30 with the D60. While the D100 and D60 are quite similar in spec, Nikon was able to come in both a little cheaper and a little better. Higher sensitivity, a larger sensor, a better auto-focus set-up. The Nikon D100 is also ready to shoot as soon as you turn it on, unlike Canon's entry-level dSLRs.
Nikon Coolpix 5700: Top non-interchangeable lens camera
The Coolpix 5700 is a relatively light 512g, but that doesn't win this category. The Coolpix provides good noise-levels, natural colours, and an 8x optical zoom while recording 5MP images in either JPEG or as a 12-bit raw file. At $1,200 its pricier than the Sony DSC-F717 which has better resolving power, but we'd prefer the Coolpix 5700 with its longer zoom lens, raw-recording ability, and size. The Coolpix 5700 also supports standard compact flash cards and microdrives up to 1GB.
Nikon Coolpix 5000: Top compact camera
This was a disappointing category this year. Last year's winning Canon Powershot G2 was released just before winners were chosen, so perhaps we're being unfair, but a year later and the Coolpix 5000—our choice this year—only just pushes past it.
Minolta DiMAGE F100: Top ultracompact camera
The Kyocera (Yashica) Finecam S4 is smaller, but frankly not as good of a camera as the Minolta DiMAGE F100. The 4MP DiMAGE F100 supports either TIFF or JPEG captures and up to ISO 800 sensitivity. The DiMAGE F100 also introduces a subject-tracking auto-focus mode which makes tracking a moving object (e.g. a toddler) easier.