[redrage]

Originally Posted by tsk1979

Good choice
Canon EF-S 55-250mm f/4-5.6 IS - Test Report / Review

Thank you for the link Tanveer, any idea on who i could test it there?

[ramki067]

hello friends,
I'm sourcing Canon A580 Digi cam from a friend in US. Is this model good enough for family occasions and photography in weekend trips? What are the other consequences do i need to be aware when i'm sourcing from US? Your suggestions are welcome.Thanks in advance.

Regards,
Ramki.

[tsk1979]

Print out a focus test chart.
Take a tripod and your camera along.
Read instructions for focus test chart. Open lens wide(Max aperture) and shoot the focus test chart at 45 degrees angle.
http://www.dphotojournal.com/focus-test-chart.pdf

Another test which I like is the battery test.
Line up 10 AA batteries making them stand, so that they form a line in the shape of / when viewed from above.
Aim at center battery and see

[navin]

Originally Posted by tsk1979

Open lens wide(Max aperture) and shoot the focus test chart at 45 degrees angle.
Line up 10 AA batteries making them stand, so that they form a line in the shape of / when viewed from above.

The "18 battery" test is more practical. I like to use 4 Sony, 4 GP rechargeble and 10 Unison rechagreable batteries as they have green / orange (GP/Sony), and Black/Silver (Unison) and this becomes a simple test for CA as well.

battery layout UUU SGSG UUUU GSGS UUU (no spaces).

for the 55-250 test at 55, 70, 100, and 250mm.

test at wide open and check for readability, bleed, etc... on the biggest monitor you can find (borrow a 17" laptop if RK wont let you take the lens home). The camera's LCD does not show adequate detail (then again I have old eyes).

[s0uljah]

Price (street): US$ 300 or less
Release Status: Not discontinued (current or upcoming)
Zoom wide (W): 28 mm or less
Image stabilization: Yes

^^With the above criteria the models that DPreview.com threw up were :

Nikon Coolpix P50 Review: 1. Introduction: Digital Photography Review
Panasonic Lumix DMC-TZ3 Review: 1. Introduction: Digital Photography Review
Panasonic Lumix DMC-FX33
Panasonic Lumix DMC-FX07

This will be bought overseas and for a student. Someone whose primary use will be birds, scenery and probably social gatherings, sports.

Budget including expanded memory(2gb?) and maybe additional battery or charger would be around 12k INR.

Any suggestions for other camera's or for a unit that offers maybe some manual tweaking would be appreciated

[Steeroid]

Update:

D50 (Body + OE 18~55 Lens) sold.

Next target - D300.

[jaibir]

Folks,

I just ordered a Nikon SB600 speedlight. I'll need to pick up AA sized batteries for it. Any suggestions on what would type of rechargeables would be suitable (NiMH or something else)? Also, if NiMH, what rating?

Thanks
Jaibir

[NetfreakBombay]

I think Any decent AA should work for this flash (as well as for camera)

I use 2700 mah Powerex and 2700 mah Sony (Picked up Sony ones from Chroma).

Both have been working well so far.

[kb100]

Okies... URGENT ADVICE PLS -- What do you all think I should start of with

Sigma 17-70
or
Tamron 17-50

I am terribly confused. (am in this state almost permanently lately)

[tsk1979]

Tamron 17-50 is a high quality lens, the sigma 17-70 is a above average quality walk around lens

Originally Posted by navin

Which one? I was told the new 18-55 IS is not so bad. Some even compared it in IQ to the 17-85 IS.

Old one.
Anyways the 17-85 lens itself is not a good one. Killing distortions at wide end

[ramki067]

Folks,
Can you please answer my queries

Originally Posted by ramki067

hello friends,
I'm sourcing Canon A580 Digi cam from a friend in US. Is this model good enough for family occasions and photography in weekend trips? What are the other consequences do i need to be aware when i'm sourcing from US? Your suggestions are welcome.Thanks in advance.

Regards,
Ramki.

[s0uljah]

Ramki,

Here are approximate costs in India : Canon Digital Camera Price - jjmehta.com

There's really no 'consequences' as such buying in the USA... except maybe saving money

It seems like it will do the job. Also ask your friend to bring a good pair of re-chargeable batteries and an 2gb memory.

[jaibir]

Ramki, I'm no expert on point and shoot cameras but I do know a bit about Canon ones. AFAIK Canon makes decent entry level cameras which have a reasonable feature set and good performance for the price. Like most compacts, high ISO performance is poor, meaning no low light photography. If you plan to use this indoors without a flash, you might want to consider the A590IS - i think the price difference is pretty small and the added feature is pretty useful.

The price of the camera would be well below the Customs INR 25k limit. In any case, the duty rate on digital cameras is 10% or less (they are considered computer peripherals for some reason). You can check the India official price of the camera on jjmehta.com and the grey market price on ebay (use it as reference - the local grey market would be 5-10% cheaper).

[ramki067]

Thanks very much souljah!
I've asked to bring a 2GB memory card, about rechargeable battery i shall inform him.Thanks.My friend said the Canon cameras sourced from US doesn't have an international warranty, will authorized dealers here service those cameras if any problem arises?

[NetfreakBombay]

Originally Posted by jaibir

The price of the camera would be well below the Customs INR 25k limit. In any case, the duty rate on digital cameras is 10% or less (they are considered computer peripherals for some reason). You can check the India official price of the camera on jjmehta.com and the grey market price on ebay (use it as reference - the local grey market would be 5-10% cheaper).

One clarification here.

Duty does not depend on type of item being imported if it is part of traveler's baggage. Rate of customs duty is flat (It is approx 35%). And as you mentioned it is applicable only above 25k (this is total value of ALL items being brought in).

This classification (electronics / computer part) etc applies if something is being imported commercially or through courier etc.