# what to look before buying a digital-camera



## hellomotto (May 17, 2006)

Look I am going to buy Canon S2 IS  digital camera . But at the showroom  before taking a particular model what r the things I should look for  so that I can be sure that I am getting right product as well as product right ?


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## gxsaurav (May 18, 2006)

keep one thing in mind, MegaPixel isn't everything. Look for the other 2 most important features, Shutter lag time, & colors

4 MP is enough for home use, even 3.2 MP is good enough for home prints, so.... good battrey life & the save-reload time, after each photo taken should be considered more


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## knaadhan (May 18, 2006)

always check for a good optical zoom...digital zoom is useless...check for the pictbridge technology....most importantly it shouldnt have a proprietary rechargeable battery...they will black out when u want to urgently take a photo...select a model which accomodates normal alkaline batteries which u can recharge externally...canon uses Compact flash cards which are eaily available so no prob...


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## mod-the-pc (May 18, 2006)

Look for the following features


Various available white balance settings
Image stabilization (get along with shaky hands)
Red eye reduction (Can do that using software, less work if its in camera)
Video capture resolution (for those occasional ones)
Electronic/Optical viewfinder (the LCD becomes faint in bright sunlight)
Manual Focus
Macro mode (for high detail pics of very near objects)


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## hellomotto (May 18, 2006)

No  actually what  my question was  somewhat different  . Actually I have fixed the model ( canon s2 Is)..........and I know  all its specifications , but at the shop the  particular piece I will receive  what r the things I will test at the shop to get sure that with what i am going home  is error free and OK


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## suave_guy (May 18, 2006)

check whether all the picture modes are working and specially the macro mode

check whether the optical zoom is working properly(will check the lens mechanism)

check the digital zoom also, no harm..

check what kind of batteries this camera can use for the future use

check whether the charger(is available) is working fine and if incase they are providing the dock than check for that also

make sure the package contains the cds and USB cable

take a short video also

if incase you have a SD card than take it with you and check it by inserting it into the camera and see if its able to detect the memory card

check whether the flash light is working properly, generally there are different modes for flash also for eg auto flash, fill flash etc

check whether the viewfinder screen is working fine(no dead pixels or any physical damage)

check whether white balance and exposure settings are working effectively or not

hope this helps...

ENjoy...


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## hellomotto (May 18, 2006)

thanks a lot suave_gay     ,  any more suggation ??


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## ymhatre (May 18, 2006)

keep the focus of the camera on a medium/fast moving cieling fan.... then snap it....
IF the image comes with the blades of the fan straight enough then its lens is cool....
if the blades appear lot curly then lens are not tht good....
also consider macromode factor.....
keep the focus of the camera  very close at a flower or any thing which is fine n minute... then snap it....
if the flower or object  looks very clear n natural then its good camera...
rest all is suggested....


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## mangemayur (May 19, 2006)

hellomotto ,
 Go for the S2 IS ... its the Best in its range... S3 IS is also out (the major difference is S3 IS is the 6 MP)
 I got the S2 IS around 3 months back.... and i m in love with it.... the quality is superb man.... 12 X of optical zoom, the lense and ....
 the only thing i found missing was the shutter speed in manual mode. it give max 15 Sec of exposure in the manual mode... which i wanted to be on a bit higher side.
 make sure that u go for atleast 2300 mA battries (Rechargable) along with it... i had got one extra pack also.... the camera is power hungry but with 2300mA X 4 Cell, i could took 100+ photos with the flash..

you can go for more review / Comparision  on *www.steves-digicams.com/


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## Drizzling Blur (May 23, 2006)

An other informative thread, im looking to buy a camera form the Canon Powershot series, will keep all these points in mind and decide what to buy.


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## zombie (May 24, 2006)

*Another S2 IS fan. Good to know. I have been using S2 IS for 4 months now. And trust me its a beauty. I am kind of into aviation photography. It test you and your camera to the hilt. Fast shutter speed and lower lag times are a must. And a good viewfinder always help if you are out in the sun as LCD wont be any good. So my piece of advice is take a shot of an aircraft coming in to land...zoom so that it fills the frame from nose to tail...click it and then check out the picture.*


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## alienspiesu (Dec 29, 2006)

hey guys i was lookin for info on buyin a cam,, got a lot frm here// thx 2 u all...


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## Tech Geek (Dec 29, 2006)

alienspiesu said:
			
		

> hey guys i was lookin for info on buyin a cam,, got a lot frm here// thx 2 u all...



you did not post the link properly


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