Image stabilization can give you the ability to shoot blur-free pictures in low light. They can add the equivalent of two to three f-stops or shutter speed increments to you image capture repertoire. Image stabilization is accomplished either in lenses or in the camera body itself. Both Canon and Nikon offer lens-based stabilization. All other DSLRs do image stabilization in-camera.

Basically, during image stabilization the lens or camera figures out how much shake you introduce into the shooting process and compensates for that shake by moving lens components or by processing the image in the camera while you are taking the picture. Some cameras shift the sensor to accomplish in-camera stabilization, while others do stabilization digitally on the image itself.

In-camera stabilization allows you to use almost any lens that fits on a camera. This is especially nice with both Pentax and Samsung DSLRs, which let you use almost any Pentax lens. Sony's DSLR offers the same advantages for Minolta A-class lenses.

Size And Weight

Entry level DSLRs are generally small and light. Pro DSLRs on the other hand are both larger and heavier. Add a quality zoom lens to a pro DSLR and you're talking as much as 5 or 6 pounds. That's a lot of camera to carry around and certainly more than you may want to carry on a vacation for example. Weight and the need for backup are the reasons a number of pros own more than one DSLR camera. For example a Canon user might use a large 1Ds Mark II for most shoots and a 5D or better an XTi for situations where a lighter weight camera would be more appropriate.

Other Issues Not In Features Table

To wrap up this section, I need to call your attention to some things that aren't presented in the features table.

The time it takes a DSLR to go from power-on to ready for the first picture is very important. The longer you have to wait, the more likely you are going to miss an important picture.

The time between a press of the shutter release and the firing of the DSLR's shutter and, if on, flash is also very important. If the lag time here is too long, you'll wind up with a picture of your subject that may be different than when you pressed the shutter. This problem can be especially annoying if you're photographing fast moving people and objects such as children, runners or cars.

Finally, the time between the finish of the last picture and readiness to capture another image is also important. If you're not happy with the last photo you took, you want to snap another as quickly as possible. Also, you may want to take a set of pictures in very quick succession. All of this works best with a camera that has a memory buffer into which images can be quickly loaded while earlier images are being processed.

While you'll find estimated times for all of these functions in the specs for most cameras, it's best to test speeds in a real-world situation. If timings feel good when you're taking pictures under varying circumstances, then you should be happy with the camera.

Generally, higher-end DSLRs have the hardware and software smarts to give you the shortest times in all three of the above situations.