Good shots

GIZMO GALLERY

Canon Ixus range has probably the best digital cameras. The latest, Canon Ixus 960 IS, is pricey at Rs 24,995 and is crammed with features starting with a whopping 12.1 megapixels, a 3.7x optical zoom lens with image stabiliser and ultra high refractive aspherical index to capture high-quality images through the zoom range.

Sony DSC W300 is a 13.6 megapixel camera and at Rs 16,550, Sony may strike a sweet chord with consumers. One big advantage is that you have scope to shoot at lower resolutions and increase the amount of zoom available. Sony W300 has a reassuring feel to it, aided by the titanium coating, though the 2.7 inch LCD does scratch easily. The button layout on the rear is sensible and mode dial easily located.

The Kodak V1073 with its 10 megapixels and a 3x zoom lens with optical image stabilisation is affordable with a few quirks. Its touch-based 3 inch LCD is practically unreadable in bright sunlight and the zoom control is awkward to use. At times the images shot looked perhaps a little over-sharpened.

With the camera regularly popping up a ‘processing’ message if we had taken more than one or two shots in succession, the time needed between shots seems mismatched. On the other hand, the burst mode was impressive, snapping three frames per second at full resolution.

Canon Ixus 960 has got the Face Detection (FD) feature just right. A dotted box appears over all of the faces it detects on the image before you take the shot and then optimises the focus. A 2.5 inch LCD with that displays sharp, vibrant images also has an anti-glare scratch resistant coating assisting against knocks, scratches or bumps, therefore prolonging the life of the camera. Battery life is good at around 240 images from a single charge. A 32MB memory card is supplied as standard.

Sony W300 seems to have far more features than a standard point and shoot camera. These include being able to adjust the level of the flash, a number of colour options, noise reduction and being able to adjust levels of contrast and sharpness. Battery life allows you to take up to 300 shots in between charges. Just 15 MB of storage have been built into the Sony W300, thus look for a memory stick.

Kodak doesn’t bundle an A/V cable with the camera, you’ll need to buy it separately if you want to connect the V1073 to a television. A ‘smart’ mode selects programme modes for user, fairly reliably switching between macro and landscape focus zones but lags behind the Canon’s Face Detection feature. The camera also has a ‘smart capture’ mode that helps pick the ideal scene setting and configuration for your shooting conditions.

The Canon Ixus 960 seems to have been manufactured keeping in mind that amateurs can get a professional camera performance. There is nothing to really dislike about the Sony W300 — sports plenty of feature. For its price point, the Kodak’s image quality is decent and should be seen as a basic camera that offers gimmicks like a large touchscreen.