Suggest Digicam 12k - 15k

[nac]

Hi!

I am planning to buy a digital camera. But I have never owned a camera before. I have clicked few snaps with my friend/relatives digital camera. That's all my experience...

Since I don't know anything about digital cameras, I googled and read some information about digital cameras.

* I am a beginner in photography. It's interesting but I don't think I will develop interests on photography or I will want to learn. So a Big NO to DSLR/Interchangeable lens type cameras.
* And I don't want Ultra/Super slim cameras as it is expensive.
* I think point and shoot camera (Basic) is enough for my need/want. But I would like to consider buying Advanced P&S with manual focus/adjustments/controls and/or Mega/Super Zoom.
* It should have features like White balance, Image Stabilization, face/smile detection, red eye reduction, night/low ligt mode, anti-blur, scene presets, Self timer among others.
* Manual adjustments includes ISO, Aperture, Shutter, Zoom
* I am not going to print a flow-up, So 8 megapixels would enough, I guess.
* Video is not the main thing. So decent audio/video capture is enough.
* Memory card slot should be compatible with SD/SDHC/SDXC
* Design - I would choose the bulkier one when there are two pieces (one is compact and another is bulky) available with same features/price tag. I have no problem in design. It can be compact or bulky.
* Maximum budget around 12 - 15k. It doesn't need to be in this range, it can be even lower than this if there are cameras which satisfies my needs/wants.
* Brand - It can be any popular brands.

I would like to know something about digicam before buying it. So I think I'll take one week or two to get to know about digicam. Your suggestions/advice would really be helpful.

I will go with Basic Point & Shoot Camera or Advanced one with Manual controls (Preferably higher zoom of around 8x and above). Not in between. So your suggestions can be in both the segments.

To narrow down my choices, I started with Sony

Out of 13 available cameras, 3 are out of my budget. In the rest, I couldn't able to scan the entire spec sheet quickly and correctly. So I started looking for cameras with manual controls. Up to my ability (to look) I get two cameras DSC HX7V/B and DSC H70/B. Rest all are Auto, i-Auto etc.
In Sony - Two models HX7V and H70
I am not sure about ISO manual controls. It says auto and 100/200/400.... I don't know whether it is fully automatic or semi-automatic (Presets - which we can choose from). And I don't see memory cards in the bundle. Don't we get memory cards with the camera when buying.

Nikon - Out of 19, I get one here. Coolpix P300

Canon - Here I get two, Powershot SX130 IS and Powershot SX150 IS

I couldn't go in depth with other brands. I am thinking of checking Olympus, Panasonic, Samsung, Fujifilm, Kodak. So far, I have narrowed 5 models from three brands. If you think I have missed any models in those three brands, please let me know. And give me your views about these 5 models and/or the models you think which is better than these 5 models.

 

[choudang]

AFAIK, shutter-aperture-iso manual operation is only applicable to slrs, not to PnS cams. correct me if i wrong... after playing with canon 1100 IS, i moved to dslr.

 

[sujoyp]

@choudang you r wrong here...these settings can be found on canon sx130IS, sx150IS, SX220HS,SX230HS etc
Also these can be found in Panasonic TZ10,TZ20

 

[aniket.cain]

Get the Canon SX220. Has all the features you are looking for, combined with superb image quality.

 

[sujoyp]

Yes +1 for ankit.cain suggestion ...go for canon SX220HS it will fullfil all your requirements and will come in your budget

 

[nac]

Thank you aniket and sujoy.

SX220HS is little outta my budget. Already I have stretched from 12k. Let see what happens.

I was looking for negative points on those five models. Here they are...

Sony - HX7V Sony H70 Nikon P300 Canon SX130 IS
Slow start up - 4 Sec AF struggles in low light Slow Short alkaline battery life
Unique Sony USB connector Slow burst mode rapid loss of aperture while zooming Slower lens
Cannot see anything on display in bright sunlight Sluggish shot to shot performance small battery Lengthy flash recycle time
No external battery charger Below avg battery life Normal sized sensor, lacks RAW support
GPS is not sensitive bad low light photos Auto rotation not built in
only two aperture settings poor videos In-camera charging
Not sharpest 16MP doesn't improve photo quality
Offers minimal manual controls

I don't see any reviews on Canon SX150 IS.
I don't know why there were comparison of Nikon P300 with higher priced cameras.

Now I am gonna check with other 5 brands Panasonic, Samsung, Fujifilm, Kodak and Olympus

Few things I would like to add now...

* NO to touchscreen models.
* Water/Scratch/Dust/Shock/Freeze/Crush proof sounds nice. Ok, if it comes in my budget.

Battery - What kinda battery is best? Matchbox(Lithium-Ion) like batteries or Pencil (NiMH-AA) like batteries. Performance/cost wise...

I don't know how much I will get benefited with GPS/Compass.

 

[aniket.cain]

You mentioned your budget as 12k-15k, that is why I mentioned SX220. Otherwise, get the SX130 IS. If you use Sanyo Eneloop batteries, you will get much better battery life, and it supposedly reduces flash recycle times also. and you get all the manual controls that you want.

 

[nac]

You mentioned your budget as 12k-15k, that is why I mentioned SX220. Otherwise, get the SX130 IS. If you use Sanyo Eneloop batteries, you will get much better battery life, and it supposedly reduces flash recycle times also. and you get all the manual controls that you want.

.....

In Canon website, they have quoted 16k. That was the reason I said, it's little away.

About batteries, so NiMH is better. Right?

I checked some other brands. Here they are...

In Olympus, there were no mentioning of Aperture/f.no, Shutter Speed. I couldn't find whether there are any models have manual controls.

In Kodak, there are no models which have manual controls.

Panasonic - Some have price tags and some don't. I started checking models in the order they are displayed. After checking 10-15 models, I feel that Panasonic is heavily priced. May be there are plenty of features, but this price would tear up my wallet. Almost, 2/3rd of the models I checked were out of my budget.

If you guys think that I gone some where wrong checking the models of the above three brands or if you know any models which fits my criteria from these brands, Please correct me/let me know.

Samsung - Out of 32 models, only 4 have manual controls. In that four, one fits my budget "WB600".

Already we have narrowed down 5 models. This is the sixth one.

Fujifilm is yet to check... No price tags in their website. Should look in some other site.

 

[sujoyp]

pencil cell battery makes the camera fatter and heavier...

 

[aniket.cain]

SX220 is available on eBay for 14.6k. After applying some coupon, you can get it for lesser than that. 14k will be a good price for it.

*www.ebay.in/itm/Canon-PowerShot-Digital-Camera-SX220HS-12-1MP-14x-Optical-Zoom-/330619205666?pt=LH_DefaultDomain_203&hash=item4cfa70b822

Otherwise, if you dont have problems with the bulkiness of SX130/150 then you get this one too. SX150 is just SX130 upgraded to 14MP instead of 12MP on SX130.
Not many P&S have manual controls. And, SX130 is renowned for its image quality. You can comapre its quality with other cameras here:
Product Face-Offs Cameras - DigitalVersus

 

[nac]

Aniket - Thanks for the link to compare cameras and thanks for the ebay link.

So now we add Canon SX220 HS

And from Panasonic I narrowed Lumix DMC TZ10 (Panasonic prices are from both official and third party site)
After looking into third party site we take Samsung WB700
From Fujifilm - S3300, S1800, S2950

Now we have total of 12 models in our pool to pick. I don't know how many models I missed which could fit my criteria.

There were not enough information about Olympus models. So I don't know whether there are any models with manual controls in Olympus and in Kodak.

Here are the 12 models

1. Canon - Powershot - SX130 IS
2. Canon - Powershot - SX150 IS
3. Canon - Powershot - SX220 HS

4. Sony - DSC - HX7V/B
5. Sony - DSC - H70/B

6. Nikon - P300

7. Panasonic - Lumix - DMC - TZ10

8. Samsung WB600
9. Samsung WB700

10. Fujifilm S3300
11. Fujifilm S1800
12. Fujifilm S2950

Which is the best among these digicams? Your help will really by appreciated. Thank you.

 

[sujoyp]

TZ10 was a nice cam ...but now its old tech

I would go for canon SX220HS eye closed

 

[nac]

I step into some showrooms today to get a rough idea of cameras and it's price. I didn't hear any show room offers to give discount of more than Rs.400/- from MRP. Now I am surprised, how come in online price much lower than the MRP. I even see 28% less than MRP.

And there were only limited models available. If we need any other models, need to order and get it.

When I hear SX130 IS is bulkier, I was thinking cameras of photographers who carry theirs in wedding/reception. It is just little bigger than the compact cameras. We can very well say it is a compact one. If we are wearing cargos, it will fit very comfortable. But it's doubtful with pencil fit jeans.

Out of that 12 models, I could find only 7 models.

S3300 (Boxed) - I didn't see the opened one. - 13.5k
S2950 - This is the biggest piece in our pool - 10k
SX130 IS - 10.5k
SX150 IS - I just saw it in the rack. 13.6k
HX7V - 14.6k
H70 (Boxed) - I didn't see the opened one. - 12.6k
P300 - 14.6k

And almost all the showrooms got SX130 IS. And the best price for this model is 10.5k. And we get 4GB memory card, Pouch, 2*AA Batteries and charger (Brand - Chamelion/Uniross). Only two batteries can be charged at a time. I don't know how good are these brands (charger).

 

[aniket.cain]

If you can buy online, then try this:

Canon Powershot Digital Camera SX130 IS 12.1 MP, 12x Optical Zoom | eBay

 

[sujoyp]

Y dont u just get you cam online...u r getting better price and more freebies also u will get the cam of your choice

between all the above models get sx150IS...its slightly better then SX130IS

after getting pencil cell wala cam get a quick charger which takes 1-2 hrs to charge...6-8 hrs for charging is too much which normal chargers do

 

[nac]

If you can buy online, then try this:

Canon Powershot Digital Camera SX130 IS 12.1 MP, 12x Optical Zoom | eBay

Y dont u just get you cam online...u r getting better price and more freebies also u will get the cam of your choice

between all the above models get sx150IS...its slightly better then SX130IS

after getting pencil cell wala cam get a quick charger which takes 1-2 hrs to charge...6-8 hrs for charging is too much which normal chargers do

I have never bought any product online. May be I doubt how reliable it is... I mean whether the product is actually new one or used. How can I claim warranty, what about bill... Yesterday, there was an offer for 8749/- now its done.
And if the freebies comes with the normal charger/alkaline batteries, again I have to spent some money on to buy rapid charger and NiMH batteries.

After I reach home today, I was looking for reviews of Canon SX130 IS. I don't what's wrong with AA batteries. And they say "Meager battery life". There were so many negative remarks on that. OK, how long Lithium-Ion batteries can be alive before flashing "Low battery". And how long it will take to charge it up fully to reuse.

And one more important negative remark is "Slow performance".
*Slow Auto-focus
*Slow shot-to-shot performance
*Slow flash recycle

I think it's going to be sleepless night for me thinking about cameras, price...

 

[aniket.cain]

Now do a Google search for Sanyo Eneloop with SX130, and read about its performance.

 

[sujoyp]

@nac ...I read that SX130IS have lightning fast focusing and exposure speed

It have digic 4 processor...I am sure all performance is upto the mark

dont worry about the performance of SX130IS its very good performer...if you r fine with the shape /size and AA cell then u should get it

I read in review that the supplied battery gives just 130 shots...soo u have to get a set of more rechargeable.

 

[nac]

Now do a Google search for Sanyo Eneloop with SX130, and read about its performance.

Yeah, I did. It's promising and I also read good review about Uniross Hybrio 2100 mAH batteries. Now I am ok with battery life. I am thinking about buying a good battery charger. As sujoy suggested, I need rapid/quick charger. After reading some information from websites, quick charger alone will not do good. Should buy a Smart/Intelligent (conditioning/discharging) quick battery charger. I didn't understand fully (vague understanding) about conditioning/discharging batteries - "Management of NiMH batteries". I don't know what are the choices here? If you know any brand, let me know. Preferably from Indian manufacturers.

@nac ...I read that SX130IS have lightning fast focusing and exposure speed

It have digic 4 processor...I am sure all performance is upto the mark

dont worry about the performance of SX130IS its very good performer...if you r fine with the shape /size and AA cell then u should get it

I read in review that the supplied battery gives just 130 shots...soo u have to get a set of more rechargeable.

I am very well OK with design and structure. In fact, I like bulkier one than compact. Yes, it does have everything good but it is slow. I think this I have to compromise.

Any suggestion on Smart/intelligent battery charger with reasonable price. I am sure it's going to shoot up somewhere in 4 digits

 

[sujoyp]

mine is uniross quick charger...it charges 4 NIMH AA cells in 1 hour bought it for 1200

There is also a model of Sanyo Eneloop with 4 cells and it charges in 2 hour..cost 1800