Going Gray Market for Digicams!

Last month i offered you a sneak peek into the gray market for mobile phones. This time we take you through the not-so-white market for another ubiquitous product, digital cameras.

Think digicams, and you'll probably end up thinking brands like Sony, Nikon, Canon, and Samsung.

Of which Sony and Nikon are popular, not so Canon -- mainly because of high prices, gray market sources said.

Meanwhile, Sony is popular because of good quality lenses and easy availability of spare parts, service being a non issue.

Talking gray market, customers cannot expect a full-fledged warranty. But yes, they can get a 10-days warranty from some shopkeepers if they are lucky.

And unlike the market for mobile phones, with digicams, there's a uniform credit limit of about 2 percent.

A quick survey revealed the top three digicams to be Sony Cybershot DSC W55, Sony Cybershot DSC W80, and Nikon Coolpix P5000.

The Sony Cybershot DSC W55 features a 7.2 mega pixel, 3x Optical Zoom, Carl Zeiss Vario-Tessar lens, a 2.5-inch display, and costs Rs 8,800 (MRP Rs 12,500).

The Sony Cybershot DSC W80 has almost the same features as the Cybershot DSC W55. The difference being it comes with 31 MB internal memory vis-a-vis W55's internal memory of 56MB. The W80 sells for Rs 9,800 (MRP 14,500).

Whereas, the Nikon Coolpix P5000 has a 10 mega pixel, and a 3.5x Optical Zoom, and costs Rs 13,500 (MRP 22,000).

Customers not interested in cameras with lenses that zoom in or out could go in for the Sony Cybershot DSC T20, which has an 8.1 mega pixels, 3x SteadyShot Optical Zoom, and a 2.5-inch LCD. The T20 sells for Rs 11,000 (MRP Rs 19,500).

The Sony Cybershot T20 and Nikon Coolpix P5000 are the preferred digicams on the higher side, while on the lower end, the Sony Cybershot W55 and Sony Cybershot W80 are quite liked.