Bargain buy: Camcorder

Price is not the same as value. The most expensive product isn’t always the best value for your money. This section highlights the least expensive model in a product category. If price is of no consequence, check out the most expensive model.

Entry level
Canon MD120
Price – Rs 13,495
Features – Mini DV recorder, 0.8 megapixel sensor resolution, 1/6-inch interlaced CCD optical sensor, 35x optical zoom, 1000x digital zoom, electronic image stabiliser, 9 shooting programmes, night mode, 10 digital effects and 9 digital faders

For: Recording beautiful memories without spending a bundle

Our pick

Sony – DCR-DVD 808E
Price –  Rs 34,990
Features – DVD recording format, MPEG-2 video codec, 1.3 inch CMOS sensor, Dolby digital 5.1 creator audio format, 10x optical zoom, 80x digital zoom, 4 megapixel still image resolution, capture still images even during video recording, electronic image stabiliser, night shot mode, memory card supported, composite output, S-video output

For: Those wanting a loaded gizmo at a reasonable price


Top of league
Canon HG 10

Price – Rs 89,995
Features – 2.96 megapixel,
CMOS sensor with 1920x1080 recording pixels, recording in MPEG-4 AVC/H.264 video compression format,AC3 audio format, built-in 40GB hard disk drive, 10x optical zoom, optical image stabiliser, 9-point AiAF for still images, 3.1 megapixel still images high-speed continuous shooting of 4.1 frames per second, simultaneous stills and video recording, HDMI terminal

For: Those aspiring to be professional movie makers


Purchasing power

The all-India consumer price index has eased to 4.8% from December 2007 levels of 5.1%. Shillong continues to have the highest inflation rate, almost three times the national average. Among the four metros, only Kolkata is above the national average, with inflation at 7.9%.

All-India price inflation 4.8%

HIGHEST INFLATION RATES
Shillong	12.8%
Gulbarga	10.6%
Kohima	10.2%
Jaipur	9.1%
Kharagpur	8.3%

 

 

LOWEST INFLATION RATES
Bhavnagar	1.3%
Rohtak	1.5%
Shimla	1.6%
Mangalore	1.7%
Nagpur	2.3%

Figures are percentage annual rise in consumer price index for urban non-manual employees from Jan 2007 to Jan 2008
 

 

Rates of relevance
5 HEALTH INSURANCE PLANS

 

Company	Plan	Annual Premium
Star Health	Medi Classic	1,200
National Insurance	Mediclaim Policy	1,377
Bajaj Allianz	Health Guard	1,453
Tata AIG	Maharaksha	2,220
ICICI Lombard	Family Floater - Plan*	6,423
For individual aged 30, cover of Rs 1 lakh for one year. Service tax extra *Family floater plan D covers four members for a combined sum of Rs 2 lakh Source: Company websites

•  Health insurance is necessary if you do not get cover from your employer. If you factor in the tax benefits, the premium is even lower

• Though the premium per lakh of cover is higher in the family floater plan, the premium per head works out to be significantly lower