Digital SLR camera are getting more and more popular and it's not hard to see the attraction. Basically, they have all the functions of a normal professional camera for those that fancy themselves as a bit of a David Bailey plus some extra gimzos to help those who just want to take a good picture without it blurring and add to the mix the fact you can take the memory card out and print of thousand of pictures on your printer without going anywhere near a chemist makes them a surefire hit.

Canon has been leading this revolution in photography with is mid-range of cameras. In 2003 it launched the acclaimed 300D before storming the world with its successors, the 350D and the 400D. With nearly 50 percent of the market it wouldn't be too long before the rivals caught on and caught up. Pentax, Olympus, Sony and Nikon have all responded with new cameras eager to tempt potential customers to part with their hard-earned cash. So it wouldn't take too long before Canon had to fight back with a new camera.

The 450D was launched earlier in the year in order to compete better against the rival Sony A200, Nikon D60 and the Olympus E-420. It features a 12.2-megapixel CMOS sensor, a larger 3-inch monitor with Live View mode, nine-point AF system and 3.5fps continuous shooting.

It would be easy to think that the 450D is just a 400D with 50 added to the number, but you would be wrong. While it has many of the features and components of the 400D it now sports a new DIGIC III processor as well as a new nine point wide area AF systems and re-designed sensor.

Not only that, when you take the camera in your hand it is a little lighter than the 400D, 35g lighter to be precise. as well as it measuring 128.8 x 97.5 x 61.9 mm, the 450D is 50g lighter than Sony's A200. It would be easy to say that the construction is gossamer in places but it belies a ruggedness which should stand up to day-to-day use.