I bought the Canon PowerShot A520 just before going off on a short vacation to Singapore and Kuala Lumpur. Contrary to my friends’ advice to buy a camera there, I bought it in India so that I could get its feel before proceeding abroad. Amongst all the decently-priced (Rs.13,000/- to Rs.16,000/-), 4-megapixel models, I opted for this one as it had a 4X optical zoom, more than ay other model in this price range. And the best part was that the dealer agreed to bundle in an original Canon battery charger with 4 Ni-MH rechargeable cells, a 256 Mb memory card and a rather cheapie carrying case, all for Rs.13,500/- ! Not having much time to try out all the features of my new baby, I armed myself with the operating manual and studied the basic functions during my 5-hour flight to KL. But the more I studied the working of this beauty, the more impressed I was. I have absolutely no regrets over my new purchase. The camera behaves beautifully, for amateurs as well as for serious photographers. While the “AUTO” mode is invaluable for first-time users, the “NIGHT” mode gave breathtaking results when shooting night scenes without the flash. But the most interesting mode is the “STITCH” mode, where you can click up to 26 images and later merge them on the computer for perfect panoramic results. Needless to say, I used this mode to the fullest. As I was not very sure about the picture quality, I decided to play safe and use the ‘high-resolution’ mode throughout. Imagine my surprise when I discovered that even in this memory-hungry mode, I managed to get (hold onto your hat!), a whopping 141 exposures before the memory card was full! Just think what I could have done with a medium resolution, or with a 512 Mb card. Not only that, in spite of the fact that I used the LCD display (which consumes more current), throughout, I got all 141 exposures without having to re-charge the batteries – WOW! While I earlier considered the A520 to be a simple point-and-shoot camera, the “NIGHT” mode, the “PORTRAIT” mode, the “FAST” and “SLOW” shutter modes and the “SPECIAL SCENE” modes on this little beauty are sure to give even the semi-professional models a run for their money.

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