Olympus E410/E420 - The smallest DSLR so far and the cheapest. Olympus' lens range is a strange one, they have nice small sharp consumer lenses, a brilliant middle range, and ridiculously huge sports orientated lenses that weigh a ton considering how small their cameras are. Combined with the 25mm f2.8 lens this is the smallest SLR available and for anyone used to the old style film cameras and standard lenses this will be a digital dream come true. Pity about the white balance, highlight clipping and tiny viewfinder - the one on the E3 is far far farrrr better. If your going on Safari also check out the E510/E520 combined with the 70-300mm lens - giving the 35mm eqv of 140-600mm in a very nice compact package - if I was going to Africa (one day...) I'd seriously be considering it.
Canon 450D - This is the pick out of the entry level DSLR's. 12mp with a 3inch screen that supports live view, while staying small and light - it's kit lens is image stabilized and MUCH sharper than canons previous kit lenses, the 2nd kit lens - the 55-250mm IS - is fast becoming legend, canon can't make enough of them, even announcing in Australia that none will be shipped here for at least 6 months (if you can get one grab it). The camera it's self has a weaker AA filter than most SLR's resulting in sharper pictures straight out of the camera, some say it's like a mini EOS 5D in terms of it's image quality. It's well worth the extra money over the 400D. If you need faster frame rates or stronger build quality then have a look at the 40D, but the image quality is actually slightly better from this little baby.
Canon 5D - While approaching 3 year in age this is still one of the best DSLR's around. Full frame 12mp sensor and great handling make it a favorite camera for many pro's and advanced amature photographers. I've had it for a few months now and couldn't be happier. Just be warned... you have to back it up with good lenses to get the most out of it, which means lots of $$$ - but the quality is simply amazing. It is only 3 frames per second so if your after something for sports you might be better off with the 40D - or step up to a 1DmkIII.
I was going to include Nikons D300 in the mix but earlier today saw the announcement of the D700 which will walk all over the D300 as far as image quality is concerned and is smaller and lighter but with the same sensor as Nikon's pro level D3 camera. If your saving up for a D3, wait for this and save the rest of your money, if you are looking at the 5D and don't already have a ton of Canon lenses wait for this baby. If you do have a kit of canon lenses then wait for canons answer to the D700 - the new 5D is well overdue and should be along soon. I'm quite happy with my 5D and probably wouldn't change unless I could afford it and see a major usable advantage - if I had a Nikon D200 - this D700 would be the upgrade i've been waiting for.
