Nikon has released two new DSLR cameras at opposite ends of the spectrum – the D3000 and D300s.

While the £430 D3000 is designed as an entry-level model to hold your hand through advanced digital photography, the £1,500 D300s sits at the professional end of the market.

It succeeds the successful D300 from which the same 12.3 megapixel sensor is retained.

The 10.2 megapixel D3000 is designed for those who feel they have outgrown point-and-shoot photography, but need to be guided through advanced settings.

An on-camera guide system takes you through the intricacies while there's also an 11-point autofocus system.

Nikon d3000

Using the 3-inch LCD screen, the camera suggests the most appropriate settings for a particular scene, while there are also 15 on-camera image retouching options.

Rising to ISO 1600 and with a fast response time, the D3000 can also hit 3 frames per second (fps) should you need.

The D300S brings 720p HD movie capability, can shoot 7fps and adds both CF and SD memory card slots so you can choose which images are stored where – you could even use a dedicated card to store movie footage, for example.

Adding the optional MB-D10 battery pack onto the D300s means you can reach shooting speeds of 8fps.

A Type-C HDMI port means you can display the HD video on a screen, though disapprovingly videos shot at the highest resolution are limited to five minutes. The reason? It's a limitation of the AVI format the camera uses to store the footage. Mono audio is supported on the camera, while there's a 3.5mm audio in jack enabling an external stereo microphone to be added.

The D300s also packs a 51-point autofocus system and Nikon's fasr Exspeed image processing system as well as Nikon's Picture Control system which, it says, makes for a more consistent output of images.

A kit is available featuring the D3000 plus the 18-55mm VR lens for £500. Both cameras are available from 28 August.

Nikon also announced two new lenses, the £730 AF-S DX NIKKOR 18-200mm and a professional £2,000 70-200mm lens with 7 ED glass elements.