The 6 megapixel sensor, made by Sony (also used on the Nikon D50 and my late, lamented Konica-Minolta 5D and 7D), is famous for low noise at high ISO settings, so it's a great choice for baseball under the lights.

The downside, compared to the Canon, is 6MP instead of 8 MP. 6MP is plenty for nice 8"x10" prints. What 8 MP gives you is a little more flexibility for cropping pictures on your computer and still getting that large a print. The Pentax offers a slightly slower burst mode than the Canon (2.8 frames per second vs. 3.0).

Expect to pay about $600 online for a kit with a Pentax 18-55 lens. Add $200 for a Sigma 70-300 APO telephoto zoom lens.

The XT has an excellent 8 MP CMOS sensor that is also famous for excellent low light / high ISO pictures.

The downside, compared to the Pentax, is a smaller (1.8" compared to 2.5") LCD screen and lack of image stabilization. Canon does offer a series of excellent stabilized lenses (labeled "IS"), but these are very expensive. Using a 300 mm zoom you'll need very high shutter speeds, or a tripod, to avoid blur. [Most baseball action shots will need the fast shutter anyway. It's when you're not shooting action that you'll need to stabilize the camera.]

Expect to pay about $700 for an XT (a.k.a. 300D) kit with a Canon 18-55 lens. Add $200 for a Sigma 70-300 APO or Canon 75-300 telephoto zoom lens, or about $550 for a Canon 70-300 APO IS USM (putting us seriously over budget, but it's a great lens).

Nikon is famous for excellent ergonomics and a great flash system, and those are present on the D80. Although the D80 uses the same Sony 10MP sensor as Sony's own A100, Nikon has done a significantly better job of reducing noise at high ISO settings. This allows you to shoot as high as ISO 3200 and still get useable pictures. Sony doesn't offer an ISO 3200 setting, and the A100 is noisier at ISO 1600 than the Nikon at 3200.

Expect to pay $899 for the camera body only. Add an 18-55 mm zoom for less than $100 and the Sigma 70-300 APO for $200. Also expect to pay the same premium for stabilized lenses (Nikon calls them VR for vibration reduction) as you do with the Canon. See the description of the Canon Rebel XT, above, for information on stabilized lenses.

Three main drawbacks keep the XTi from being my top choice in this category. First the ergonomics. Although much improved over the XT, the camera still isn't nearly as good as the D80 (or the Sony Alpha). [However, if you like your cameras small and light, you may prefer the Canon. The only way is to try them out in the store.]

The second drawback is that, for some reason, Canon has not equipped this camera with a spot auto exposure setting. This could be bad news in high contrast situations.

Finally, although high ISO performance is on par with the Nikon D80 (and better than the Sony Alpha), Canon doesn't offer an ISO 3200 mode. Picture quality, however, is excellent.

Expect to pay about $899 for the XTi (a.k.a. 400D) with an 18-55 mm lens. See the Canon XT, above, for more lens choices.

The usual Nikon virtues - great ergonomics and flash system - apply here as well as to the D80. What you get that the D80 doesn't offer, in addition to the aforementioned body seals, is fast five frames per second shooting. This is extremely useful for shooting baseball.

Expect to pay about $1600 for the D200 body. Add an 18-55 mm zoom for less than $100 and the Sigma 70-300 APO for $200. Also expect to pay the same premium for stabilized lenses (Nikon calls them VR for vibration reduction) as you do with the Canon. See the description of the Canon Rebel XT, above, for information on stabilized lenses.

The 30D is a slightly larger camera than the Digital Rebel series and the ergonomics are much better. I haven't heard of anyone who doesn't enjoy using this camera. [Those of you who know Mike Cravey and have enjoyed his photography for the last few years should know that this is just an updated version of the 20D that Mike took all those great pictures with! The major change was a 2.5" LCD instead of the 20D's 1.8" screen.]

The 30D offers the same fast five frames per second burst mode as the Nikon D200. That's the major reason to choose this camera over the XTi (above). [The 8 MP sensor also features lower noise.]

The major reason to choose the 30D over the Nikon D200 is price. Expect to pay about $1300 for the 30D with the 18-55 kit lens. See the Canon XT, above, for more lens choices. You can have a 30D with a kit lens and a long telephoto for less than the price of the D200 body.