Point and Shoot Camera Advice

[BenAG200]

Looking for a decent point and shoot camera, the Mrs has said she will get me one for xmas, but she want's me to choose one. If the truth be known I know nothing about cameras!

Ideally want something with good picture quality, decent zoom, as compact as possible (without compromising the previous two requirements), staying below the £200 mark and preferably not in pink! So what would you recommend?

 

[Paul]

Panasonic TZ-10

I have had the TZ-5 for about 3 years and they are brilliant for a PAS camera and I am sure the newer models are going to be even better

 

[will197]

Ive had quite a few point and shoot cameras as I like the way they dont take up space when your carrying them, but quality photos is the key. Most of the cameras Ive had are Sony BUT... I made the move to this....

Canon Powershot SX200i

It has a fantastic sized lens on it which lets lots of light in giving better quality of photo. The zoom is very good indeed and other features like anti shake for those all important evening shots plus plenty of other modes. It has HD video recording as well. By far the best point and shoot Ive ever owned.

 

[BenAG200]

Thinking about this one as it looks like a good spec for a decent price...

Panasonic Lumix DMC-FS30

 

[Paul]

^^^ Decent spec, however I would make a couple of points; 14.1megapixels is overkill and used for marketing, top end cameras only use about 16ish and thats purely because any more is wasted. If you printed it off at that size it would be about 4'x3' which is massive lol! You never really need anymore than 5-7mp as PAS cameras cannot give enough detail. As Will said you want something with a nice wide lens so that images are clearer, a large LCD screen and a big optical (not digital) zoom.

 

[Gazeratti]

Mega Pixels arnt everything as most people seem to make out there's more to photos then mega pixels like colour, depth and so on. my dad has a 2 year old 10MP Panasonic thing and its totally pants compared to my 2 year old 4MP Nikon

 

[Paul]

^^^ That was the point I was trying to make - just put better lol! ^^^

 

[Gazeratti]

Put in blunt yorkshire you mean lol

 

[Paul]

Lol and thats another way of putting it haha!

 

[Maz]

With the best camera in the world I still couldnt take a decent picture

 

[Gazeratti]

you would in time hun, its just a matter of being interested and getting to know the setting like me and paul not everyone likes to mess around with the settings they'd just rather have a small camera and stick it in auto and the job be done with, if you want a really good photo then you have to play i admit it is a desired thing and ive had the piss taken out of my for doing it but its my hobby and i like it

 

[Paul]

Couldn't agree more mate! Its like anything all it takes is practice! I am starting all over again ATM with the new camera!

 

[BenW]

The real benefit of a large diameter lens is that it lets more light in, means you can use a quicker shutter speed in poor lighting conditions which helps prevent image blur.

I had a Canon 17-55mm F2.8 lens for my Canon DSLR for a while and the difference between that and the standard lens was immense, really just because it let so much more light in. Can't stress how important it is to get a camera with a decent lens.

The canon above and panasonic alternative would be my top choices

 

[Ed...]

This thread has confusec the hell outa me lmao.