P&S Camera in 15k range

I earlier had Sony DSC W35 as my first camera which went bad after a nasty fall on concrete floor. So I plan to change my camera.

The budget for new camera is 15K INR can exceed couple of thousands if I get a real good improvement in image quality and performance but not for unnecessary features.

Currently I have short listed Canon SX220 HS, Sony DSC - HX7V, Nikon P9100 & Nikon P300 (for its fast lens). Ideally, would prefer a camera with a fast aperture and a good optical zoom but can live without either of them (budget constraints).

My requirements are primarily:
1. Fast lens / large aperture
2. High zoom 10x or more preferably
3. Good Sharp Image Quality
4. PSAM Mode
5. if possible Raw format support
6. Long battery performance
7. Fast

I am not concerned about
1. GPS data
2. Video quality (I record rarely so can live with relative low quality too)
3. 3-D photos
4. Other frills like pet mode, smile detection, blink detection and so on

I have read that usually cameras cost will fall in and after month of Feb when most of camera manufacturers release new models.. is it so? Does the price revision happens in India also. I can wait till March if such option is there.

3 rd query: Seen a website gadgetsguru.com which is quoting the costs lower than other online stores see the link Cheap Canon PowerShot SX220 HS sales India | Canon PowerShot SX220 HS Themes | Canon PowerShot SX220 HS Digital Camera review for Canon SX200 HS. How is this site? Reliability and all.

Advance Thanks for your advice.

Get a Canon SX220HS

BTW read this thread. Loads of things that will help you :wink:

*www.thinkdigit.com/forum/cameras-camcorders/151133-new-point-shoot-camera-arnd-15k.html

I wil strongly suggest, checkout the SONY DSC HX9V... :doublethumb:

here's the link for da details on its official site :
DSC-HX9V : H Series : Digital Still Camera : Sony India
and among ur shortlists, I wil say the SONY DSC HX7V/B.. :thumbs:

DSC-HX7V : H Series : Digital Still Camera : Sony India
U SEE.. the 9v is da best ever till now compact digicam, nobody else hav these simply great features :wink:

lets see

1. Fast lens / large aperture - fastest is p300 2nd sx220HS
2. High zoom 10x or more preferably - highest S9100 2nd sx220HS
3. Good Sharp Image Quality - relative term..all r fine
4. PSAM Mode - SX220HS and P300 have other 2 dont
5. if possible Raw format support - none support raw but I think canon with magic lantern supports RAW...benefit to SX220HS
6. Long battery performance - Nikon wins here by 30-40 shots more
7. Fast - Sx220HS with Digic 4 is fast enough

Now u decide

First of all Thanks Guy for a quick reply.

thetechfreak said:
Get a Canon SX220HS
BTW read this thread. Loads of things that will help you
*www.thinkdigit.com/forum/cameras-camcorders/151133-new-point-shoot-camera-arnd-15k.html

@thetechfreak Canon SX220 HS is my preferred choice ... I just want to know others opinion in TDF.

Pratik Pawar said:
I wil strongly suggest, checkout the SONY DSC HX9V... here's the link for da details on its official site :
DSC-HX9V : H Series : Digital Still Camera : Sony India
and among ur shortlists, I wil say the SONY DSC HX7V/B..
DSC-HX7V : H Series : Digital Still Camera : Sony India
U SEE.. the 9v is da best ever till now compact digicam, nobody else hav these simply great features

@Pratik Pawar: DSC-HX9V is an excellent camera but its costly and out of my budget. Another point which I am interested in is PSAM modes which can help me learn photography better. But this feature is not present in HX7V so I am little less inclined towards it.

sujoyp said:
lets see

1. Fast lens / large aperture - fastest is p300 2nd sx220HS
2. High zoom 10x or more preferably - highest S9100 2nd sx220HS
3. Good Sharp Image Quality - relative term..all r fine
4. PSAM Mode - SX220HS and P300 have other 2 dont
5. if possible Raw format support - none support raw but I think canon with magic lantern supports RAW...benefit to SX220HS
6. Long battery performance - Nikon wins here by 30-40 shots more
7. Fast - Sx220HS with Digic 4 is fast enough

Now u decide

@sujoyp You gave a nice guideline. I am now comparing P300 with SX220 HS for its suitability for my usage.

Fast Lens : P300
High Zoom : SX 220 HS
Battery: P300
Fast: SX220 HS.
Vote 2 for P 300 vs 2 for SX220 HS

If you could give your opinion on usability of high zoom like 10X or so ..... I don't think that would be of much use without a tripod. Having seen photos of "angry bird" & "angry money" in your gallery at 500px was one of the reason I wanted to buy a camera of telephoto range. I assume you have used tripod for those shots.

"Magic lantern" to what I know is firmware enhancement for Canon SLRs and I don't plan to do any hack which may void the warranty so guess "RAW" is out of the requirement list.

Can you give me some idea on my 2nd & 3rd query regards the due price drop in market and reliability of gadgetsguru.com

No cam can beat P300 in aperture but when it comes to telephoto, it doesn't meet your primary requirement. And both the Sony models lack SA mode. If you want your cam to support RAW format, you have to think of Panasonic bridge cameras. But its few grand out of your budget.

SX220 has reasonably good sized aperture, x is well above your requirement. IQ is good, reasonably good battery life.

I am not sure about the reliability of those sites. But if you are looking for cheapest deal, you may find it in Sulekha gadget deals. If you are not sure and buy online, better look for COD option. And I think you would get a better deal with the local dealer in your town than the online seller who offers COD. You may get it around or little under 15k from your local store.

@shivkumar ....I took those pics with DSLR

and no I dont use tripod for birding

But I would say if u really interested in getting a zoom cam dont go for P300 ....u will get frustrated by its poor zoom...the basic logic behind zoom is u should get good shutterspeed to get sharp pic with zoom (lens quality do matter) soo in daylight u wont need any tripod at full zoom too

nac said:
No cam can beat P300 in aperture but when it comes to telephoto, it doesn't meet your primary requirement. And both the Sony models lack SA mode. If you want your cam to support RAW format, you have to think of Panasonic bridge cameras. But its few grand out of your budget.

SX220 has reasonably good sized aperture, x is well above your requirement. IQ is good, reasonably good battery life.

I am not sure about the reliability of those sites. But if you are looking for cheapest deal, you may find it in Sulekha gadget deals. If you are not sure and buy online, better look for COD option. And I think you would get a better deal with the local dealer in your town than the online seller who offers COD. You may get it around or little under 15k from your local store.

@nac thanks for clearing the doubt. I am not averse to panasonic cameras.

Can you or @sujoyp suggest one or two models in 15k range can add couple of grand more in the budget, if required.

sujoyp said:
@shivkumar ....I took those pics with DSLR and no I dont use tripod for birding

But I would say if u really interested in getting a zoom cam dont go for P300 ....u will get frustrated by its poor zoom...the basic logic behind zoom is u should get good shutterspeed to get sharp pic with zoom (lens quality do matter) soo in daylight u wont need any tripod at full zoom too

@sujoyp Congrats mate, you have a steady hand. I have tried using my friends D5000 with 55-200 lens but could never get such tack sharp pictures.

Another doubt: Can you suggest any camera with a larger sensor for below 20k INR preferably with RAW capabilities

what about Nikon Coolpix L120 ???

rajwansh2003 said:
what about Nikon Coolpix L120 ???

L120 is a great camera for its cost but uses 4 AA battery weighs almost half a kg and not at all pocketable. Not very comfortable for my wife to use.

If you want a compact cam with RAW support, it's max tele range will be 200mm.
Choices
- Olympus XZ1
- Nikon P7100
- Canon G12
- Canon S95
- Canon S100
- Panasonic LX5

These cams meet your requirements including bigger sensor (1/1.63, 1/1.7) except price (20k and above) and x range.
------------------------------------------

Fuji HS20
Fuji HS10
Panasonic FZ40
Panasonic FZ100
Panasonic FZ150

These all are SLR like bridge cameras, means its not compact and priced higher than your budget (20k and above). The sensor sizes are above 1/2"
---------------------------------------------------

Kodak Easyshare Max Z990 camera comes under your budget (15k) but its not compact and uses AA sized batteries.

I think we have covered almost all of the RAW supported cameras here. And no camera meets all your criteria. Now you have to relax one or more of them...

shivkumar as nac have listed all the good cams and almost all of them r above ur budget I will suggest u ->

1. Canon S95 ...its very good P&S with slightly bigger sensor
2. Olympus EPL1 ...with 14-42 kit lens it have almost all SLR like features and u can add zoom lens later
3. nex 3k with 18-55 lens - have biggest sensor in that size...u can add zoom lens later...bad thing is flash u have to carry separately(free)

but in all these u will have to compromise with zoom also nex3 with lens is not pocketable but epl1 is small with lens

Else SX220HS is good enough P&S

@nac & @sujoyp : thanks for list of RAW & Bridge Camera. I guess those are out of my range. The cheapest in the lot Canon S95 is also 20k+. So back again to SX220 HS & P300. Will decide on the final purchase after having a feel in the shop and price negotiation.

Thanks to all of you. TDF rocks.

Good that u decided

Sx220HS is a great cam

You can have a look at Nikon S9100

hey,.. but u said ur budget is 15k & willing 2 increase 2k for a really better cam..
so da sony DSC HX9V is for around 16990Rs (<17k)!!!!

aroraanant said:
You can have a look at Nikon S9100

@Anant S9100 doens't have PASM mode & I am interested to learn more about photography so I have dropped S9100 from my list.

sujoyp said:
Good that u decided Sx220HS is a great cam

@Sujoy Thanks for all the advice, I most probably buying SX220 HS but based on @Pratik suggestion considering Sony HX9V also (I think it has PASM mode). Whats your view comparing SX220HS vs. HX9V

Pratik Pawar said:
hey,.. but u said ur budget is 15k & willing 2 increase 2k for a really better cam..
so da sony DSC HX9V is for around 16990Rs (<17k)!!!!

@Pratik I am almost finalized but final decision and negotiation in the shop. Side note: Pratik you are too persuasive (in a positive way)

nope HX9V dont have PASM modes ....other than that HX9V is a great cam specially twilight and panorama mode r special

got an offer for sx220hs for 14.1k now i can spend may be 1k on some accessory. Any suggestions.

get a sandisk ultra 8 gb memory card for Rs.700

also if they r providing some cheap pouch for camera then get a good quality one...it may cost Rs.300-500 but worth it

Completed the purchase today 14.1K for the camera with a genuine canon pouch (soft pouch), but good quality & a 4GB class 4 Sandisk SDHC card. The camera battery is being charged now.

I am planning to buy a 8gb sandisk card as per @sujoyp suggestion. One doubt - is class 4 card good enough for 1080p video recording or class 10 card is required. One very good offer from flipcart is here . Is this card good or should i go for sandisk ( i feel them to be more reliable)?

Bro please just ignore transcend for that....like I said before get either sandisk ultra (class 4) or sandisk extreme (class 10) they r highly reliable and will work flawlessly with 1080p recording

Agree with sujoyp,sandisk cards are much better but I think you should get a class 10 if you are more into recording videos at 1080p

Absolutely right aroraanant