i want to purchase a good camera for myself.
i want something better than point and shoot cameras but not as complicated and costly as a DSLR. it should have DSLR like functions with the ease of point and shoot cameras. and it should have very good optical zoom (more than 15x). it should also have very good anti-shake and anti-blur kind of features which i believe is best in sony. price range is Rs. 25,000.00/= max.

i have shortlisted--
SONY DSC HX1
&
SONY DSC HX100V

please tell me how are these cameras and which is best among them. also any other cameras in this price range which are worth considering.

(Note: i have used 2 sony camera's and one nikon and one cannon in the past, all point and shoot, and i beliieve that electronics and software part of sony is very good, and nobody provides anti-shake feature like sony. anti-shake and anti-blur feature of cannon and nikon is not as good as sony. i know that nikon gives real life like colors but it is of no use if the picture is blurred. sony also gives a lot of other fancy features like anti blink etc. etc. i am heavily biased towards sony)

also tell me if there is any other camera which is as good as these two, with additional feature of hotshoe for attaching external flash.

my wife is going to US, so may be i will get it a bit cheap there, just a little bit worried about warranty issues, but i guess sony gives worldwide warranty.

Hey man, i agree to your point as in point and shoot camera sony is the best as i myself used Sony DSC H50 camera for more than 2 years. its a cross breed kind of camera with 15x zoom you may say and features are better than ordinary camera.

I used Sony DSC HX1 and i found it quiet good and light as compared to my existing one. dint got a chance to try other one. Also the CMOS sensor does judgement for the price it asks.

I tried my hand at basic canon DSLR and found out that I cant take macro using basic 18-55 lens(need clarification on this ) .... which means i need to carry a macro lens with me and changing lens has some risk involved and time... Zoom though i feel is not a requirement at all times but at times can be handy ...Most DLSR users recommend DSLR over high end P&S camera..... I AM CONFUSED .....

Which factor plays important role in capturing images, is it the CMOS sensor or the processor which processes the light captured by the sensor ? Is the processor on a basic DSLR better than those on High end P&S camera ? Is the contrast clarity on a Basic DSLR better than high end CMOS P&S etc etc ... though on price point Canon 1000D and Nikon P500 are neck to neck .... hence finding it tough to take the call

The sensors in DSLR are bigger which allows them to have better dynamic range and better noise reduction capabilities, means excellent low light pictures. The processor is also better in DSLRs than a Point and Shoot. If you want to shoot Macro with DSLR, you need to buy a separate Macro lens for it; no other way. .....

Can some one please put light on the various types & brands of filters available in market and their usage ? ... I recently bought 550D and have attached OSAKA 58mm UV filter atop the 18-55 IS kits lens for protection. I am not happy with the daylight landscape pics which appear a bit blur, over exposed and smeary. Don't know if its filter that causing the probs or improper camera settings (I used Full Auto and CA modes) or due to my shaky hands.
Also I have heard a lot of CPL and ND filters. How good are these and which brands to prefer? I had option for Hoya HMC UV filter too but I went for OSAKA which were Rs. 500 cheaper compared to Hoya.

..... i want to know a few tricks on using dslr. if anybody can post a link, i'd be pleased. ...

There is sire, there is a way around!! Its called as the lens reversal technique!!! .....

@kkrk2 - ingenious method & wonderful photographs you developed there . I am really amazed that you managed these by just hand-holding the lens in front of the camera .. a difficult feat with two hands and tiny critters .

Btw .. the only 58mm lens on slr's I can remember was the 58mm helios f2 on zenit slrs , is this that one ?

I am not well versed with digital photography having had just casual use of one old 3mp nikon coolpix upto now .

......That old Nikon F reversing-ring adapter should be usable as-in on current Nikons digital slr's too , as they share the same old F mount ,or not ?

Got the Fujifilm Finepix S3300 yesterday with 26x optical zoom. Anybody using it in the forum? Haven't read the manual yet but the features are good and I think its VFM. Got it for 14500 Rs with 4GB memory card and battery charger

Hopefully you have learned your lesson with filters , never buy substandard glass to put in front of your camera . Hoya filters are very good . Be aware of fake hoyas etc in the market . HMC hoya is difficult to maintain than MC hoya . Best coated filters i've used were nikons , hoya , canon & B+W . I still have a stack of em rotting in a box with my other film photo stuff . Circular polarisers are good for deepening blue skies and cutting polar haze like lights bouncing off a glass window pane or waterbody . Never found ND filters much useful , they just cut the light and change the exposure time .

Thanks for your input sir ... well where can I buy genuine Hoya or B+W filters here in Mumbai ?? ... I got OSAKA one from jjmehta ... he had only Tiffen as other option ... neighboring shop had Hoya HMC for Rs. 850 but I am not sure if its genuine or not (can u suggest any ways to find it out?) ... I have also heard about Marumi filters but don't know where to get them ... can you please guide me ?

......
@kkrk2 - mine is an old nikon coolpix 3100 which I use for illustrations and webshots mainly . It has very good macro ability . I got it secondhand for 800Rs with a 256MB sandisk CF card , two AA Sanyo Eneloops and charger .