Digital SLR: Life through a lens

Back in the day photography used to be a rarified art mostly due to the rarified gear that one had to possess to take even one decent picture. This meant multiple rolls of film, a heavy SLR and a multitude of lenses.

With digital photography, your options increased but other problems remained the same. But now your humble point-and-shoots have gained enough in stature to give any DSLR a run for its money at less than half the cost. These big-zoom beauties offer a breathtaking range of picture options and a wide array of settings to make sure you get proquality pictures wherever you go. Most of these cameras allow you to shoot manually, which means you're no longer a slave to pre-set modes; some even allow for taking pictures in RAW formats, resulting in better resolution pictures.

Then there are the big zooms that give you great options, meaning that you won't be left gnashing your teeth in fury because your tiny camera couldn't catch a spectacular sunrise above Mt Everest! Take your pick.
 

1. FUJIFILM FINEPIX HS20EXR
Specs
16 MP; 30x Optical Zoom;
3-inch LCD screen;
JPEG+RAW formats;
35mm equivalent wide lens
6400 ISO: M mode or lower;
Manual mode;
Price: Rs 22,000

2. SONY DSC HX1
Specs
9.1 MP; 20x Optical Zoom;
2-inch tilt LCD screen;
JPEG format;
28mm equivalent wide Sony G lens
3200 ISO;
Manual mode;
Price: Rs 17,990

3.CANON POWERSHOT SX30 IS
Specs
14.1 MP; 35x Optical Zoom;
2.7-inch LCD screen;
JPEG format;
35mm wide equivalent Canon lens
1600 ISO;
Manual mode;
Price: Rs 26,999

4. NIKON COOLPIX P500
Specs
12 MP; 36x Optical Zoom;
3-inch LCD screen;
JPEG format;
36mm wide equivalent Nikon lens
3200 ISO;
Manual mode;
Price: Rs 29,000

5. LUMIX DMC FZ100
Specs
14 MP; 30x Optical Zoom;
3-inch LCD screen;
JPEG+RAW format;
28-840mm equivalent lens
3200 ISO;
Manual mode;
Price: Rs 22,999

6. OLYMPUS SP 800UZ
Specs
14 MP; 30x Optical Zoom;
3-inch LCD screen;
JPEG+RAW format;
28-840mm equivalent lens
3200 ISO;
Manual mode;
Price: Rs 22,999