Sony Cyber-Shot wx50: great pocket camera at this price!

Sony Cyber-Shot wx50

This is a powerful pocket camera from Sony and we recommend it for those who want good value for money. It is slightly old [more than a year now] but nothing great has changed since then except for wider screen and touch screens. Touch screens have their disadvantage too, as the controls are dim outdoors. Being a small digicam, its control are slightly smaller than other cameras.

At present the camera is available for around Rs. 7400 though some dealers are charging up to Rs. 8300 also. At around Rs. 7400, it is a great bargain.

Among the good features of this camera, are –
-its very light weight and size. It is an ultra-compact model;
-low price (comparable cameras from other brands might cost you a thousand bucks more);
-many features for amateur photographers that lead to sharp images, less chance of hand-shake, good photos in low light conditions, ability to take multiple shots of a wide scenery; 5x optical zoom; 16 megapixel image size; HD video quality.

But let us caution you that it is NOT a super quality camera. If you want to buy cameras with very high zoom, size in megapixels, etc etc, you will have to shell out much more money. But, seriously, for your day to day needs and travel photography, do you really need those features?

DISCLAIMER: I have not received any consideration for reviewing this camera from Sony or any of its associates.

Canon IXUS 255 HS: good stylish pocket camera

This is a sleek new model from Canon, costing around Rs. 12 thousand in Delhi as of August 2013.

Among its likable features are-

• 10 x optical zoom
• image stabilisation
• light weight: 125 gram
• HD movie, with dedicated button for video recording
• wi-fi to connect wirelessly to PC or smart devices

As with other cameras from Canon and other brands, it boasts of high image size (12.1 MP), numerous shooting modes and 3" monitor. Its brochure talks of a great number of speed, aperture and ISO variables, which are not of much use in compact cameras.

This model is available in black, silver, pink.

Overall, a good compact / pocket camera, with Canon guarantee of quality. Nothing exceptional, but light-weight and stylish [like the gaudy pink?].

Nikon Coolpix S4200

I found a camera shop boy pushing Nikon Coolpix S4200 to a customer with zest and was provoked to write this review [after a long gap, sorry].
I too posed as a customer and asked for specs. Then I did a bit of search on Nikon website. Here is the review.
People who want an inexpensive but good camera often ask for a range below Rs. 10,000. But in return they might not get what this money should get them. Nikon is a very good camera brand and this camera also boasts of good lens, high zoom and good picture size, but should have  been  priced around Rs. 7000 and not around Rs. 8500 as it costs now.

Good things about it:

Slim body
Touch-screen navigation
Image stabilisationOptical zoom of 6 x.
Image size up to 16 megapixel
Many shooting modes
Can take HD movie
Claimed good battery life; Li-ion battery

Almost useless feature:

Many in-built filter effects

Are Sony cameras the best?

A friend today asked this question and I asked back, why did he think so. His impression of Sony seems to have been made based on high popularity of Sony LCD televisions and also  the sleek designs of Sony pocket cameras.Sony's advts saying that its battery lasts much longer and it uses Carl Zeiss lens also add to customer getting swayed towards their cameras.

But the truth is that all major camera makers have similar quality of lenses and sensors. The overall design and build quality are also nearly similar. What sets a particular model apart is the features that it has, e.g. zoom. Before buying a camera, one should match such features with one's requirement. For example, whether one wants to make prints or keep the photos in digital formats only; whether one needs to shoot distant objects (e.g. wildlife) too often; and so on.

ultra-compact camera, worth the price?

Let's introduce you to the COOLPIX S01camra, a highly compact one, and yet with some good features.

The selling point of this mini is its size; it fits into your closed palms: it is even smaller than most smartphones. To compensate for lack of space for buttons, it has touch screen for display as well as setting changes. 

The camera boasts of about 10MP picture size and 3x zoom, good qyuality of pics and also HD quality movie recording. 

But, is it worth the price it comes for: about Rs. 7000 [or $140] at present? Yes, only if you - especially ladies - were in the lookout for a camera that was feather-witht and small, so that you could fit in your pocket / purse and carry it everywhere. But why not use the smartphone camera, if you want to keep yourself so light? Some solace here: its optics are likely to better than most phone cameras, even those with very high pixel counts. Then it has built-in flash, not found on many phone cameras.

The camera comes in white, silver, pink and red colors.

Panasonic Lumix DMC-FH4: OK at this price

Lumix FH4 is a rather good camera at this price (Delhi: Rs. 4500 or less: equivalent to ~ $85)

This pocket camera comes with 14 MP censor and HD video recording and 4x optical zoom. Its ISO goes up to 1600 and it also has high sensitivity mode with ISO at 6400.


Panasonic also boasts of iA (intelligent automatic) mode: “You just choose the iA Mode, aim at your subject, and shoot. Six detection and correction functions are simultaneously activated to optimize the settings, so you get stunning photos every time.”

Sony HX-100V: will you buy it?

Sony Cybershot HX-100V is a superzoom camera, with 30x optical zoom. It is often branded as a semi-DSLR with its zoom, goo quality video and other features.

However, at the price of Rs. 21,000, I won't recommend it. It is neither here nor there. If you are into professional photography, why go for 1/2.3 sized mini sensor? You are not going to get as good results as from an entry-level SLR. If you are a hobby photographer, why spend this much amount?

Canon PowerShot SX150 - a super affordable superzoom

Canon PowerShot SX150 IS

This camera is a superzoom pocket camera that scores great in most compartments:
Zoom – 12x
Video – HD [720 pixels, at 30 frames per second Zoom available in video mode too
Very sharp images
Sturdy make with professional looks
Many pre-set modes as in the case of most Canon cameras
Large display screen
Image stabilization: reduces shakes
14 megapixel CCD sensor
The best aspect of this camera is its price. You can get it at below Rs. 7500 ($150)in Delhi.

But it has some problems too, and of course such problems occur in many other pocket cameras:
Noisy images at high ISO levels: the noise is prominent even at 400 ISO
Performs poorly in dim light conditions
Heavy, large in size

In all, it is a camera for people who’re going to use it for outdoor photography. At this price, you are not likely to get 12x optical zoom, that too in a Canon camera.  

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Canon PowerShot ELPH 300 HS: fine camera

This excellent featured camera comes in the range of around Rs. 11000-11500 in Delhi.
A good pocket camera by all means if you want a good and yet very small sized camera.
Specifications:
very thin design
12 mp
optical zoom 5x
shooting speed good
1080 HD video
ISO 100-3200
shutter speed 15 – 1/2000 sec
wide aperture 2.7
red eye removal
dedicated movie button
comes in black, red, silver colours
good low light performance  

Bargain digital camra prices in New Delhi

As on today, the following cameras are available at bargain rates in Delhi. Bargain with the dealer to get these or lower rates and don't pay any higher:


Olympus VG 150 --Rs. 4300
Nikon Coolpix L26 --Rs. 5300
Canon Powershot A810 --Rs. 5500
Sony Cybershot W630 --Rs. 8200
Nikon  Coolpix S6200 --Rs. 9000
Fuji Finepix 2980 --Rs. 9500

These colorful digital cameras: will they become fashion statements?

One noteworthy trend of late is the use of vibrant colors on camera body. So much so that often that the tiny cameras look like fashion accessories. When I asked ladies in my company whether they’d go for the bright colored digital camera if they were to buy a new one, the replies were mixed. 

My impression, so, is that people still want to go for the formal camera colors. Yes, they look professional. When even high-end cameras start coming in bright colors, the overall perception would change and more people would go for colorful pocket cameras.

Fujifilm FinePix SL series cameras

Fujifilm’s FinePix SL series cameras come with a great zoom lens that is reported to get fine pictures even at very high zoom levels.

All these cameras are new and come with high zoom ranging from 24x (SL 240) to 30x (SL 300). Yet they are not too high priced. For example, SL 300 is available in Delhi for around Rs. 18,000 [$360].

These cameras also come with high ISO range going up to 6400, so you can take pics at very dull light conditions too. The CCD for SL 300 is 14.3 megapixel, 1/ 2.3 inch in size.

You can record movies in 1280X720 pixels at 30fps, which is quite good. Moreover, you can use optical zoom in video mode, which is often not available in pocket cameras.

We won’t talk about the numerous shooting modes, picture stabilization and other stuff that is available routinely in this range of cameras. The build quality and shape of the cameras of this series [for that matter, all Fuji cameras] is quite professional.

Overall a very good camera in this price range.

Selectiong a digital camera: similar Nikon, Sony compared

How different it is to make digital camera selection!

For a non-professional camera buyer, the range of compact / pocket cameras available in the market from top brands is so confusing that making a decision becomes quite a burden on the brain. Even if you take a professional photographer with you to the store, he might not be of great help when the specs are so nearly matching, or pros and cons are evenly balanced.

Here we compare the two cameras of the same price bracket [present Delhi price around Rs. 13000]:

Nikon Coolpix L120 and Sony Cybershot DSC-HX7V

The Nikon camera is much heavier [about 400 g] than the Sony [about 200 g].  Both look equally trendy, though Nikon gives a feel of professionalism more than the Sony piece.

Both have many similar specs when it comes to standard settings, aperture, speed, sensitivity, back display, connectivity, dimensions etc.

Both have similar censor sizes and nearly same megapixel counts: Nikon 14.1, Sony 16.2.

The biggest difference is in the zoom: while Nikon comes with an amazing 21x optical zoom, Sony has respectable but lower 10x zoom. This can make a great difference if you go for shoots that require zoom, such as wildlife photography.

Another difference worth mentioning is the video size: Sony can take videos in 1920x1080 size at 60 frames per second, but Nikon’s maximum is 1280x720 at 30 frames per second. Both are decent for a pocket camera but Sony is a clear winner here.

Nikon cameras take heavy duty AA  batteries that can be easily purchased at departmental stores and can be recharged with universal battery chargers. Sony cameras come with their proprietary batteries and these can be charged only with their own chargers. It is also worth remembering that the charge in Sony batteries lasts longer than a pair of AA batteries. 

Now, decide which digital camera  you want out of the two?

Difficult, isn't it. As for me, other considerations being nearly similar, I’d go for the Nikon camera for its built, zoom and use of standard batteries. 

Inter-changeable lens pocket cameras: win win!

The new generation of pocket cameras launched by all major manufacturers come with big lenses that give fantastic results – in some cases comparing with highly expensive digital single-lens reflex cameras [DSLRs] or the professional cameras. Yet, they are relatively very less expensive. For example, the Sony Nex 3 – among the first in this series – now comes for around Rs. 20,000.

These cameras can be fitted with professional lenses with different zoom capacities and filters. Of course, if you buy such lenses, the cost can go mani-fold.

Where these camera score over pocket cameras with smaller lenses is they have big lenses and a large sensor. So, there is more light, and more detailed and rich photos. It is another plus point that the photos are also  large [up to 14.2 megapixel]. Besides, there are many aperture and speed steps. Since these are high-end pocket cameras, they have noise reduction, high quality video recording, image stabilization, and many more controls. The video quality is also good.

These cameras are also much less bulky than the DSLRs and so can be a great choice for travel / wildlife photography.

So, if you are planning to buy a pocket camera but will like to get very high quality pics, go for this new series of cameras [Sony: Next3, Nex 5, Nex 7; Nikon 1 J1; Canon Powershot G11; etc] . If you can afford a few dollars / rupees more, it is worth investing that much more money in this category of cameras. These days, there is good demand for quality stock photos - and such photos can be sold through many photo selling websites. While ordinary pocket cameras do not always capture photos that meet professional standards, photos taken with these inter-changeable lense pocket cameras are fine enough.

Canon Powershot A 810

Canon Powershot A 810 is a basic camera but with great feature at this price [less than $85, Rs. 3500]. It is a good camera if you do not want to experiment too much with aperture and speed, and do not have to do low-light photography. Great for travel. 

It produces good and very colorful photos in proper lighting. Yes, keep the lighting in mind and use flash when in doubt.

Use rechargeable Asian Age batteries. Keep extra batteries if going out in the field for a long time.

Its 10 megapixel photo size is very high and you need not bother about it.

It has 3.3 x zoom. It means, you can increase the size of objects by 3.3 times of the usual size. Use it when taking photos from a distance. But it is better not to use zoom when not required. Avoid ‘digital zoom’

It can take good quality video but without zoom. The quality is not very good but passable; you get only such quality from this range of point-and-shoot cameras. Keep light in mind and do not move camera too much during shooting.

Basic but good digital cameras in Delhi

The most popular basic cameras that are good too arte listed below. As of June-July 2012, these are in the range of $100 or Rs. 5000 or less:

Canon Powershot A 810: 10 megapixel; 3 x zoom

Sony Cybershot DSC W 330/ 350: 14 megapixel; 4x zoom

Nikon Coolpix S30: 10 megapixel; 3 x zoom

All these come from good companies. The problem with Sony is that you have special batteries. If the batteries drain during your holiday, you cannot put normal AA/ AAA batteries into them.