IN THE SPARE

room at Jennifer Anderson's Lovettsville, Va., home, you'll find an old baby carriage, a chalkboard easel for her two-year-old daughter and a wall displaying 40 photos, from squinting newborns to laughing toddlers. After her kids were born, the mother of three started snapping pictures of them with an old film-based point-and-shoot camera. But thanks to some high-tech upgrades namely, an $1,800 digital single-lens-reflex (DSLR) camera and an iMac loaded with the latest photo-editing software she's turned this room into the epicenter of a burgeoning photography business. As it turns out, most of those smiling sprouts on the wall aren't her kids they're images of children she's shot for clients.

Pro photographers are on alert: The well-equipped amateurs have gone digital. And while not everyone's looking to set up shop, serious shutterbugs after the perfect action shots of Junior's judo tournament are upgrading their point-and-shoot digicams to more sophisticated DSLRs, which offer higher image quality, interchangeable lenses and more overall versatility. Indeed, sales of digital single-lens-reflex cameras jumped 26 percent, to $2.2 billion, in 2007, says research firm IDC, while digital point-and-shoot models fell 22 percent compared with a year earlier. And with the market in flux, camera makers are loading up their DSLRs with a host of high-tech features that promise to reduce shaking, find faces in a crowd and even allow images to be transferred wirelessly between devices.

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It's no wonder SLRs are making a comeback. When they were first popularized in the 1970s, they were heavy, clunky affairs, and developing pictures often involved either inhaling a brain-numbing cocktail of chemicals in one's basement darkroom or forking out costly processing fees. These days camera bodies have gotten smaller and lighter, and software like Photoshop makes image refinement a far less toxic endeavor. Early digital SLRs carried breathtaking price tags (Kodak's first model, marketed to the military, cost a cool $25,000), but they've come down significantly; last year the average price dipped under $1,000, according to the NPD Group. But the main reason people are upgrading? The same reason they've always bought SLRs: fuller creative control over their images allowing them to decide what part of the frame should be in focus and whether to freeze motion or opt for an artful blur. Anderson, for one, really likes her DSLR's controls for shutter speed, which broaden her options with action shots. "Little kids move around a lot," she says.

And of course, with hundreds of lenses available wide-angle, portrait, tele-photo DSLRs introduce photographers to a far wider world of visual possibilities than the point-and-shoot. But consumers usually can't choose the lens when they buy a "kit" of camera body plus lens (versus buying body and lens separately); results with the kit lens can vary widely. At least that's what we heard from Maynard Switzer, a 30-year pro and instructor at the School at International Center of Photography, whom we enlisted to help us sort through some of the newest DSLR options. Together we ventured into the jungle of soaring buildings and blinking billboards that is New York City's Times Square, to determine which camera was the sharpest shooter of the bunch.

First up: the Olympus E-510 ($650), which comes with a 14-42mm lens, the smallest and least versatile of the group. Still, Switzer gives the E-510 points for being the only one with a lens hood to protect images from damaging sunspots. He camera skyward and shoots a giant beer bottle on a digital billboard: "See, no flaring!" But his excitement sours as he starts scrolling through the on-screen menu. "It's not intuitive," he says, struggling to adjust the white-balance setting. Once he figures it out, he snaps some pictures, but aiming at the bright blue sky makes the nearby buildings look too dark, while targeting the shadowy buildings overexposes washes out everything else. This model, he says, is "just not that sophisticated."

Can a new competitor in the camera wars do better? Switzer reaches into our bag and pulls out the A350 ($900), one of three new models by Sony, which released its first DSLR in 2006 after acquiring Konica Minolta's photo-imaging business. Switzer praises its strong 18-70mm lens, which easily zooms up 33 stories to profile the glass sphere atop the old Paramount Building. But it takes four tries at adjusting the shutter speed before he realizes that he needs to press not only "enter" but "menu" as well. (A Sony spokesperson says the shutter speed more easily adjusts by rotating the finger dial incidentally, the only way to do it before the advent of LCD screens.) Finally, to test the camera's image-stabilization feature, Switzer purposefully jiggles his hand while taking a picture of a moving taxi. His verdict? It's "pretty sharp" but still a "little too grainy."

Shaking and blurring could hinder the Panasonic's DMC-L10K ($1,300) as well, says Switzer, since its small, light body may not adequately balance its long, weighty lens. And he has to wait a few interminable seconds for the picture to take once he's pressed the button, a big drawback for a DSLR. What he does enjoy is the camcorderlike LCD screen, which snaps out to twist 180 degrees to the left and even more when flipped up or down. Holding the camera high above his head, he uses the screen to guide a high-angle shot of the crowd: "Look at how great this is!" he says. Less great, however, is the screen's "face detection" feature. Instead of focusing the lens on up to 15 faces in the picture, as advertised, it put small green frames around only three faces plus a woman's jacket and her shopping bag. When asked, a spokesperson explains that the faces need to be looking "at" the camera.

For similar features at a better price, Switzer prefers the Nikon D60 ($750). Its shorter, more powerful lens feels more "balanced" than the Panasonic, he says as he begins to direct an impromptu photo shoot with us as his model. (We're in good hands, considering he's published in multiple fashion magazines, such as Seventeen and Mademoiselle). "Very nice!" he says, complimenting not our pose but an innovation called Active D-Lighting, which highlights color even in shadowy conditions and makes our crimson cardigan pop against a black coat. But there's one glaring omission from the D60's list of features: live view. That means Switzer is forced to take every picture by looking through the camera's viewfinder instead of composing with the LCD screen.

In the end, it seems, size matters. The Canon EOS 40D ($1,500) has the largest and most "durable body" of the bunch, says our expert. Its also has the biggest LCD screen, at 3 inches, with clearly written and easy-to-adjust menu options. But could it be too big to handle? Switzer says that unlike with the other models, he needs both hands to adjust photo settings and toggle through the menu. Yet he pronounces the Canon's 28-135mm lens our winner, since it gives him crystal-clear shots that zoom up multistory buildings and digital billboards. "This could be used by professionals," he says, adding that some of his peers use it as backup for their $8,000 models. Alas, he's packed the powerful lens away just before we notice a crowd of tourists snapping and flashing away nearby at one of Times Square's most popular attractions: the Naked Cowboy.

Canon EOS 40D

Price: $1,500

Megapixels: 10.1

Ease of Use:

Picture Quality:

Overall:

While a bit unwieldy, this model tops the competition for its durable body, strong lens and quality images.

Nikon D60

Price: $750

Megapixels: 10.2

Ease of Use:

Picture Quality:

Overall:

Best value and great for snaps in shadowy settings, but the LCD screen doesn't offer a live view.

Panasonic DMC-L10K

Price: $1,300

Megapixels: 10.1

Ease of Use:

Picture Quality:

Overall:

Has a handy pivoting LCD screen, but unreliable face-recognition and slow shutter speed vexed our tester.

Sony A350

Price: $900

Megapixels: 14.2

Ease of Use:

Picture Quality:

Overall:

Had the most megapixels, and its powerful lens offered "good range." Some shots were "a little too grainy."

Olympus E-510

Price: $650

Megapixels: 10

Ease of Use:

Picture Quality:

Overall:

Small body but a weak lens. Pictures were overexposed or too dark. "Not that sophisticated," says our tester.

Learn to Accessorize

While the average price of a digital SLR camera fell to a new low last year, accessories pushed the actual cost to nearly five times that of an average point-and-shoot model. Here's what to keep in mind: Zoom lens: Range from $160 to $1,640, and you're usually limited to those made by the camera manufacturer. Experts suggest newbies spring for a kit that bundles together a camera body with one or two lenses. Tripod: Essential for still photographers, though most consumers can skip paying up to $80 for one. That's because no matter how much coffee you drink, many of today's cameras and lenses counteract shaky hands with an "image stabilization" feature. External flash: Popular models start at $100 and run to more than $600. Can be helpful in eliminating shadows and devilish red eyes, but they're not always necessary and add to SLRs' heavy-freight factor.