 "Ideal Digicams Under Rs 10,000")
Why would I want to write a feature on the top three under-10K cameras? It’s simple; there are people who can’t afford a high-end camera and want a little guidance. So we did the testing for such folk, and wrote this feature. However, it’s important to know that budget cameras have their limitations, and are often good only for simple point-and-shoot. So here you go!
Pentax Optio E30
I recommend this one for the scene modes. When it comes to budget point-and-shoots, there’s very little by way of fiddling with settings, so it’s either auto or scene modes. I would suggest using the latter, since it uses the best settings for the best situations and does what would ordinarily involve technical know-how of exposure compensation and aperture settings.
The E30 is equipped with 3x optical zoom and comes with a plethora of scene modes such as snow, fireworks, food – and if eccentricity hits you in the middle of nowhere there’s a special pet scene mode with a choice for colors (black, gray, or white). You can even choose from built-in frames. Sports mode is just right for shooting moving objects. The macro mode, which enables you to get up close with the subject, is handled pretty well too.
This 7.1MP camera is capable of handling colors quite well, and although you will find a small amount of smudging, I can vouch that it’s much less than what we get to see in most point-and-shoots. Besides, you can also resize, crop, rotate, add a voice memo, and even protect the image so you won’t delete it by mistake. The E30 also gives you an option of viewing all the images on the camera in a slideshow.
It takes AA batteries, and here lies the biggest fault with the camera. It’s power hungry, but what do you expect from a camera that costs around Rs 6,500?
To read the full review click here.
__PAGEBREAK__Canon PowerShot A550
A 7MP job, the A550 goes one notch higher than other cameras in the same price range with 4x optical zoom. It comes with a 2-inch LCD screen, which displays 86,000 pixels.
You have access to modes like Auto, Portrait, Landscape, Night Snapshot, Kids and Pets, Indoor, Scene and Manual. Further, more scene options are available through the scene mode. These consist of night scene, foliage, snow, beach, and fireworks.
The camera also offers presets, such as a high-speed movie mode that offers 60fps with 320x240 QVGA. Like most of the A-series cameras, this works on two AA batteries, which are available even in remote villages. Remember to use only alkaline batteries though.
Like all Canon cameras, this one too features the AiAF (Artificial Intelligent Auto-Focus) that intelligently and automatically selects one or more focusing points based on factors such as subject position and motion. The A550 offers a 9-point AiAF system.
For an entry-level product, the camera performs well. The colors are neither dull nor too saturated. The detailing too is quite good, although the pictures loses some sharpness when blown up. Pictures shot in daylight turned out really sharp and crisp, and delivered a good amount of detailing.
The cost of the camera? Rs 8,500 with 1GB SD card free, so it’s worth picking one up for yourself.
To read the full review click here.
__PAGEBREAK__
Nikon Coolpix L10
The Coolpix L10 is a 5MP camera, with 3x zoom. Apart from choosing your image size and quality, you can also avail of white balance options, BSS (best shot selector), and color options like black and white, sepia, cyanotype and vivid color.
In the scene menu there are plenty of settings for various conditions such as indoor party, fireworks, sports, dusk and dawn, face priority AF, etc. There’s even a setting for changing the menu display to icons. Closeups with macro are quite good. The colors are clear, and though the detail level is not perfect, it’s quite sharp.
It costs Rs 7,000, so if you’re satisfied with the features, go for it.
To read the full review click here.
 "Israel targets top Hamas leaders in Doha; Qatar, Iran condemn strike as violation of sovereignty")
 "Nepal: Oli to continue until new PM is sworn in, nation on edge as all branches of govt torched")
 "Who is CP Radhakrishnan, India's next vice-president?")
 "Israel informed US ahead of strikes on Hamas leaders in Doha, says White House")
 "Israel targets top Hamas leaders in Doha; Qatar, Iran condemn strike as violation of sovereignty")
 "Nepal: Oli to continue until new PM is sworn in, nation on edge as all branches of govt torched")
 "Who is CP Radhakrishnan, India's next vice-president?")
 "Israel informed US ahead of strikes on Hamas leaders in Doha, says White House")
