Point and shoot opinion

[ABQ]

I'm looking for a little opinion assistance from the exceptionally skilled photography crowd around here. Though I own a nice Nikon D90 DSLR (nope, not the top of the line by any means, but what I could afford at the time and my skill set doesn't warrant much more than that) I've taken the Nikon to WDW many times and taken some decent pictures with it, however for an upcoming trip in December, I'm not looking to carry it this time around.
I refuse to rely solely upon a cell phone though and began looking at a new point and shoot to at least provide me with some ability to capture a quality shot. I'm looking for something with a small enough footprint that I could fit it in a pants pocket without much trouble. Meaning the lens must retract a bit, if not entirely into the body.
Price is not the greatest concern, though I'd like to keep it under 500 dollars.
Right now, though it may be crazy to buy sight unseen, I'm considering the not even yet released. Fuji XQ1 <-click me , it's specs alone are rather fantastic. So, what else is worth consideration?

 

[NowInc]

For JUST under $600 you can snag a Sony DSC-RX100. I have seen some AMAZING photos come from that thing.

 

[ABQ]

The 1.8 Zeiss lens on the Sony certainly puts it up there in the land of awesome, but that is a bit more than I'd like to spend. Though it is in stock now. Might come down to what I can have on hand when my flight leaves in a month. Thanks for pointing it out @NowInc

 

[CP_alum08]

Ive always been a proponent of the Canon G series. They make a couple different versions, check those out.

 

[KeithVH]

+1 on the Canon G's. Subcompact? Maybe an S95?

 

[LucyK]

Which super zoom P&S do you recommend for an amatour photographer? I'm interest in something with at least a 30x optical zoom.

I have the Canon S30ix with 36x optical zoom but I'd like to upgrade to something better.

 

[KeithVH]

LucyK - what is your budget?

Timely question for me. I currently don't own a superzoom or "bridge" camera. But I decided that's what I'm taking next trip (54 days!). I've been doing a lot of research and have come down to two choices - the Canon SX50 or the Panasonic FZ200. Technically, I'd say the FZ200 is the best of the bunch if for no other reason than the constant f2.8 lens. It only reaches to 600mm but it goes to 25mm at the wide end. Those two features alone are a selling point for me. The Canon is probably a close second. It goes to 24-1200 BUT has a variable aperture (lets in less and less light as you zoom) and movies are only 24fps.

They do make great travel photography cameras. Although I'm not sure the reach is needed at the World. Maybe moreso on a nature hike or something like that. There are several here who will try to sell you on a mirrorless but those are almost always a boatload of money and lack features of the superzooms. I would say check the reviews of DPreview to make the final decision.

 

[MickeyPeace]

Canon Elphs are good and very compact. 24fps for video is actually desired. Gives a filmic look while having smaller file size than 30 or 60fps.

 

[ABQ]

Well my pre-order of the Fuji XQ1 from Amazon seems to be on the way. Crossing my fingers that it is what all I'm hoping for in a Point and Shoot. Now to start saving away for the Nikon Df to replace my aging D90.

 

[ddbowdoin]

Well my pre-order of the Fuji XQ1 from Amazon seems to be on the way. Crossing my fingers that it is what all I'm hoping for in a Point and Shoot. Now to start saving away for the Nikon Df to replace my aging D90.

When the time comes come talk to me, the price tags of that DF can get you a whole more than what Nikon is offering

 

[LucyK]

@KeithVH Up to $600. I'm struggling into making the move to DSLR because I don't want to deal with lenses and all that stuff. But I go to a lot of music concerts and the big zoom is very important to me.

I also would like something less bulky so I'd be fine with a 20X or 26X as long as the camera body would also be on the smallish side. I'm leaning towards the Sony Cyber-shot DSC-HX50V, any advice on that?

 

[ddbowdoin]

@KeithVH Up to $600. I'm struggling into making the move to DSLR because I don't want to deal with lenses and all that stuff. But I go to a lot of music concerts and the big zoom is very important to me.

I also would like something less bulky so I'd be fine with a 20X or 26X as long as the camera body would also be on the smallish side. I'm leaning towards the Sony Cyber-shot DSC-HX50V, any advice on that?

concert lighting (ie, low) and point and shoot sensors is just a plain bad idea... no matter how much you spend on a P&S it will only disappoint you.

 

[LucyK]

concert lighting (ie, low) and point and shoot sensors is just a plain bad idea... no matter how much you spend on a P&S it will only disappoint you.

I've had some great looking photos in the past using my SX30is. It's just some pictures for personal use and Facebook albuns, nothing really fancy. I just can't be bothered with interchangeable lenses and what not so a p&s will have to do.

 

[KeithVH]

ARGH. Keyboard failure after I typed a great response about the Sony.

Short story. With the Sony, a tough call among the 3. All things considered, it's as good as the Canon at least. And $100 cheaper than either. AND it has wifi so a cool feature to share pics.

I don't think you could go wrong with any of them.

 

[LucyK]

Thanks Keith!

They'll probably release the HX60V before my trip so I'll have to read all the reviews again to make a decision but the compact body does give the Sony an advantage over the others. And the wifi feature is pretty neat!

 

[KeithVH]

Best of luck with your choice. Just make sure to spend a good hour or two practicing with any new camera before you go. Learning the buttons and menus beforehand takes away a lot of stress when you have a need to adjust things right when you need to take a shot in the parks.

 

[englanddg]

I am fond of the Sony Cybershot WX-80.

• 16.2 megapixels
• Exmor® R CMOS image sensor
• Carl Zeiss® Vario Tessar lens
• 8x optical zoom
• 16x Clear Image zoom
• Built-in Wi-Fi®
• Full HD 1080/60i video
• Dual record of stills and movies
• Optical SteadyShot™ image stabilization, up to 10 fps
• Creative Picture Effects
• Beauty Effects

One of the things I like best about it is that it allows for full 1080 video recording while also snapping full 16.2 megapixel photos with it AT THE SAME TIME.

It sometimes has trouble with low-light (what point and shoot doesn't?), but for around $140 dollars, I think it's a great in-park camera.

 

[Voxel]

I just go a Nikon s9400 for my upcoming trip to Disney and I love the camera.

But if you have a ~500 budget I would recommend the Sony Mirrorless camera. If I had more money I would have gone for that camera.

 

[ABQ]

So I got my Fujifilm X-Q1 and have to state I'm quite pleased.

It was not cheap by any means, but a price drop to 449.99 at release time was welcome.

Image quality is fantastic, it's wifi ability and push to smartphone via app are a plus. Thus far the only snag I ran into was that only pre-release versions of LightRoom and Photoshop can handle the RAF (RAW) files it takes, but those have been around a little while and I expect them to go full release soon enough. It's not the longest lens out there, but it does well. It has made me a believer in the X-Trans CMOS Sensor.

 

[NowInc]

Honest question....what is the battery life like on a mirrorless P&S? Enough to get someone through a whole day of shooting?