For few months my brother-in-law (BIL) has been asking me to help him shop for a digital camera that fits him. Finally early last month, we both could go out for it. I had done research on the web for the ideal camera for him:

  • He is a first time Camera user, so the camera had to be price wise mid-range. Since he doesn’t know his likings on a camera, this will keep his option open to buy a more sophisticated camera later
  • Since this will be the only camera in his family, the camera has to be very easy to operate – especially his wife and his kid. So the camera has to be a point and Shoot – definitely, a digital SLR is ruled out
  • He has a computer at home, so he can download the photos after each shoot. So a high-megapixel camera shouldn’t be a problem
  • It has to have few minutes of video recording as well since he doesn’t have a Digicam separately
  • It has to be light-weight so that it is easier for them to carry around

I ruled out Nikon right at first since there point ‘n’ shoot models compare badly with Sony and others in terms of features for the price. I generally like Sony Cybershot for their ease of use but found there new models focussing too much on a smaller size than quality/stability.
Canon IXUS 850IS Digital Camera

I found an ideal camera in the form of Canon IXUS 850 in eBay India. The features impressive – 7.1 Megapixels, Compact Size, Standard SD Memory, Image Stabilization (very important for first-time users) & Wide range optical zoom (which no other camera in this range had to this extent). Found good reviews in Cnet and DPReview. The eBay seller price was around Rs.20,500 and available from a Chennai Seller. Since I didn’t know the seller I decided to go to Camera Citi in Radhakrishnan Salai and buy it -so that my BIL could feel the camera before buying. We got a good deal at Rs.21,000 with 3 years Camera Citi Warranty and a 1GB Memory card free.

The photos he has taken with the camera are impressive as well, he is very satisfied. I found the camera very good that I bought the next model IXUS 900IS for my wife during my Tokyo trip from Yodabashi Camera Store for Rs.17,751 (Yen 47,080) with Japan only warranty.

While comparing prices I found very little difference in the prices of these cameras between Chennai and Singapore. So it is better to always buy it in Chennai, so you get local warranty and save the hassles of carrying them from abroad.

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