Konica Minolta Dynax 5D / Maxxum 5D W/18-70MM Digital Camera

I researched long and hard before buying my first DSLR. What stood out for me when looking at the Konica Minolta Dynax 5D was its internal anti-wobble stabiliser. This costs a fortune when the mechanism is the lens, but here it comes with the camera so any lens you attach to it is stabilised. This has enabled me to take remarkable shots, for instance of cathedral ceilings, despite the low light and being hand-held.

The standard wide-angle lens is amazing, it soaks up so much detail in its huge field of vision. When friends are with me taking pictures on their snapshot digicams, they cannot believe how much of the view can fit at its widest setting (yet there is a sizeable difference when it comes time to zoom in so it's perfect for portraits and close-ups too).

A friend of mine has spent many hundreds of pounds over the years buying every new faddish digicam as it came along, but his photos have never matched what this one is capable of capturing. It's all down to the quality lens, the image stabilisation, the freedom to move from programmed settings to fully manual, the solid construction, straightforward controls and long-lasting battery!