Finepix S602 Zoom: Photographers' delight

Fujifilm FinePix S602 Zoom: Fujifilm's 3.3 megapixel Super CCD is loaded with features: a wide range of light sensitivity settings (such as low-light conditions and freeze-action photography), "Motion photo" VGA movie recording at 30 frames per second with sound, and dual media slots that let you concentrate on the shooting without worrying about storage space. It is compact and easy to use.
Price: Rs 66,000 plus taxes

Powershot G2: Designed for creativity

Canon Powershot G2: The g2 is equipped with an ultra sharp 3x optical zoom lens with a 3.6x stepless digital zoom giving a total zoom factor of 11x. Designed for truly creative digital photographers, the PowerShot g2 has a four-megapixel CCD with 12 exposure modes including night scene, movie, manual exposure control and color effect.
Price: Rs 66,000 plus taxes

Coolpix 5000: Speed gizmo

Nikon Coolpix 5000: This high-end version features a 2/3-inch 5.24 megapixel CCD, 3x Optical Zoom-Nikkor lens and a shooting speed of up to three frames per second at full resolution. The macro mode lets you capture images as close as three-fourths of an inch away, and the movie mode shoots up to 40 seconds of video and audio.
Price: Rs 96,500*

Olympus E-20: This is Olympus's flagship five-megapixel digital camera-it can capture brilliant pictures up to 11" x 14". The progressive scan mode lets you photograph fast action scenes or shoot in very bright light with shutter-speeds up to 1/18,000 second. It also has a professional 'locked control' system, a wide variety of manual controls and a robust metal case.
Price: Rs 90,000*

Optio 430 RS: Sleek exterior

Pentax Optio 430 RS: The Optio 430 features a 4.13 megapixel, 1/1.8 inch CCD and an optical 3x zoom lens. It has an array of shooting modes for varied conditions, a selection of settings for exposure, focus and flash, and one of the smallest bodies in its class.
Price: Rs 37,800*

GUIDE

Resolution: The higher the resolution, the clearer and sharper the image. Cameras with resolution in the range of 2-3 megapixels offer average to good quality images. Serious amateurs should go for 4-5 megapixel cameras for greater clarity and depth.

Playback: Try choosing a camera that allows you as much space as possible to zoom in, magnify, or pan around a saved picture. Also look at the size of the LCD screen on the camera.

Connectivity: Users can choose between a direct connection from the camera to a computer via a serial or USB cable and a card reader that reads your camera's memory cards. Or you could opt for a camera that stays connected to your computer.

Power Source: Digital cameras are tough on batteries, so try to get a camera with rechargeable batteries.

Storage: Some of the digital cameras use a Smart Media card (like Fuji) while others come with a Compact flash card (like Nikon).