Nikon D1 Digital Camera

Nikon's D1 whilst 'only' 2.7 mp actually has a 10 mp sensor, it uses 4 optical pixels to deliver one photo pixel, good for low light in its day.
I still carry a D1 as my daily camera, I have higher resolution cameras (worth a lot more) but for almost anything that crops up at short notice the D1 will do the job. Mildly cropped images printed on A3, no problem, with almost no post processing most of the time.
Downsides, its HEAVY, actually it would make a good weapon should some lowlife decide they think its worth mugging you for it! Being a Pro body its capable of withstanding a lot of abuse and still working, however they do die if bounced or vibrated as some components break away from the circuit boards. Battery life is terrible, genuine Nikon EN-4's have a nice latch, but one of the shortest life spans, Delkin's replacements are much better, swap the latch ends and its the best of both, later D1 series bodies (D1x & D1h) are less power hungry. Dedicated chargers for mains and in car use are available, as is a seperate power supply for studio use (also needed for 'by the book' sensor cleaning).

Why buy? It will meter with Ai manual glass (my main reason originally), cheap to buy and a lot of shots fit on a small CF card. Good enough for a child to learn on and once set up (the menu's are awful) simple to use. Fast 4.5 frames per second AF (slightly faster fully manual), so good for sport, the 16,000/sec shutter in bright light means you can stop the action.