Top Studio Camera: Canon EOS 1Ds Mark III
Top Safari/Sport Camera: Nikon D3
Top Enthusiast SLR: Nikon D300
Top Entry-level SLR: Pentax K200D
Top Non-interchangeable lens Camera: Panasonic Lumix DMC-LX3
Top Compact Camera: Canon PowerShot G10
Top Ultracompact Camera: Fujifilm FinePix F100fd
Canon EOS-1Ds Mark III: Top studio camera
The Nikon D3 is a great flagship, but the EOS-1Ds Mark III still wins in the studio.
Nikon D3: Top safari/sports camera
Nikon's flagship D3 broke Canon's streak in this category. Not only did Nikon release a full-frame camera (the EOS 1D is a 1.3x crop), it did so with a 12MP sensor that could shoot 9fps up to a pushed ISO 25600, and can connect to a GPS receiver.
Nikon D300: Top enthusiast SLR
The Nikon D300 acts like a mini-D3, which is great news for the enthusiast-segment. The D300 has weather sealing, as 12MP sensor, and calibrated sensitivities to ISO 3200.
Pentax K200D: Top entry-level SLR
Even basic weather sealing was previously unheard-of in this section of the market, but the Pentax K200D has a surprisingly professional feel to it for a $600 camera. It also comes with in-built image stabilization.
Panasonic Lumix DMC-LX3: Top non-interchangeable lens camera
How does a very-compact camera win the top award, but neither of "top compact" nor "top ultracompact"? In the past this category has been dominated by large SLR-like cameras, since those tended to have the best lenses, highest resolution sensors, and ergonomics which attracted enthusiast photographers. With Moore's Law and the march of progress, as well as the introduction of cheap entry-level SLRs, photographers that would have previously bought a bridge camera like the Sony Cyber-shot DSC-R1 or the Olympus Camedia E-10 are buying Nikon D40 or other entry SLR. This led to a shift in focus to the compact segment, and the Canon PowerShot winning both the top NILC and top compact slots in 2007.
This year, we picked the Panasonic Lumix DMC-LX3 as the top NILC because it is a great carry camera. It is the smallest camera we've ever picked for this spot (smaller than the compact winning PowerShot G10), it has a 8m range for its in-built flash and has a hot-shoe, it takes 2.5fps, and has a fast (f2.0-f2.8) stabilized lens. What is there not to like? The equivalent focal length is middling; most ultracompacts have a longer range. For a photographer looking for a small camera to carry though, the 24-60mm equivalent range is gold for the street.
Canon PowerShot G10: Top compact camera
Why the PowerShot G10 instead of the Panasonic Lumix DMC-LX3? The G10 has better resolution (although the image quality benefits do not seem to full reflect the difference in megapixels), an optical viewfinder, but really it came down to the 5x zoom range. We felt that the extra range on the long-end (140mm equiv.) would be more useful to most enthusiasts looking for a compact camera (personally, we miss the extra range at the wide angle). The PowerShot G10 has a slow 0.7fps burst rate.
Fujifilm FinePix F100fd: Top ultracompact camera
The FinePix F100fd has exceptional low-light ability for such a small sensor, and its 12MP SuperCCD offers an option to extend dynamic range to reduce clipping highlights. If you want something a little smaller, and with the 5x zoom shifted toward the wide-end, you could try the Panasonic Lumix DMC-FX37 which is also a good camera in this segment.