Advice on compact digital camera please?

[Ratel10mm]

Hi all

We're looking to replace our 5 year old Canon Powershot. What are the current best options please, given our desired feature list below:

Fastest possible power-on-to-take-picture time possible.
More compact than the Powershot. We tend not to carry it everywhere now & rely on our iPhones. But we could do with more control than the iPhone can provide.
Good lens.
Good optical zoom.
Preferably not rechargeable battery. We found with our first digital camera that we inevitably ended up without power at some point. (Mostly due to forgetting to charge the batteries, or pack the charger)

We are currently thinking of:
Panasonic / Lumix
Another Powershot
Or a Sony Cybershot
Dunno what models in those ranges.

Any recommendations please?

[PhilipA]

Until my Lumix TZ30 failed to retract on two occasions after the first "FAIL" was not fixed properley under warranty I would have recommended the Lumix TZ30 as an amazing device. I have it back from the second warranty repair now in 9 months but it did do 1000 shots or so in South America no problem. The warranty repair took about a week and a courier delivered it FOC on a Saturday morning!!!!
We had a Lumix TZ3 for over 5 years until it died with no problems despite dust , being dropped etc etc .They are amazing in their flexibilty and features for the size.
I think there is a TZ40 now the model and has Wifi. I found that the GPS feature of TZ30 was too cumbersome and didn't use it.
My daughter just bought a Canon which is MUCH bigger heavier and more expensive ($700 vs about $400) than the Lumix , but has more flexibility on exposure etc etc.

If you are not unlucky like me I recommend the Lumix as the best package in the smallest size with 14times optical zoom and more digital.

All you need for travel and then some.

Regards Philip A

[Shepp]

GoPro

[PhilipA]

The compacts will do High Def stereo movies also with a BIG Zoom.
These can be incorporated into slide shows automatically from the camera to TV or using software on a laptop..

If you have a Go Pro you also have to get a Steve Wahlberg selfie stick. I have bought my son one for Christmas. The ultimate ****** gift.
Regards Philip A

[Sirocco]

Which powershot are you using?

If you know the Canon controls I would be inclined to stick with what you know. Canon also make some great compacts. The S100/110/120/200 series is probably what you would be looking at for a compact.

Alternatively the Sony W series with Carl Zeiss lenses.

The above are packed with features so see which suits your needs. Would you like to WiFi images to your phone/tablet for example? will you be printing your images or just used digitally? etc etc.

Im not sure your going to get away from rechargeable batts. Using something like AA batts will be a low end camera.

Pop into your local reputable camera store and get a feel for the cameras and shoot from there.

G

[Fred Nerk]

My main gear is based on a Canon Eos 5D Mk2. But I am very happy to use my Nikon 100AW Coolpix. It is waterproof, robust and has GPS and compass. I take photos of the fish I catch that remind me of where and when. Very happy with the quality too. Gimmicks like panorama actually get used more than I thought they would. Nice underwater video of trout being released. It does lots of stuff you can't do with the Eos. Easy to carry in a pocket. The new model (110) is even more robust and survives greater depth.

I actually prefer rechargable batteries and carry spares and 12 volt recharger.

My two cents....

[lt8x7]

Check out the Nikon AW1

[VladTepes]

I've been researching this and from what I have read and discussed on photo forums I believe the lumix 200 is the pick of the bunch.

[superquag]

Try this for a novel approach...

The usefulness of a 'compact' point & shoot is inversely proportional to the size of the Instruction Manual.


I'm trying to use a Nikon Coolpix S9300 (with inbuilt GPS) and there's no way around printing out and reading the 240+ pages. Not impressed.

The Wife's little Canon IXUS 125HS is what I invariably grab for those everyday snaps. Never even bothered with the Instructions...

But her OLYMPUS XZ-1 is a disaster, too long to check and set up and easily knocked off it's settings (lens collar rotates as does the navigation wheel.)

If you've been happy with the CANON, results as well as ergonomics, I'd tend to stick with it.
Before you ask, yes, I've still got my film cameras, SLRs in 35mm and 120/ 6x6, both so much easier and quicker to use !

[Dougal]

Get another power shot. With add many functions as you can in the size you want.

I have had three canons, currently have a g12 which is bulky but truely excellent. I bought a waterproof fuji for work and it's crap. So hard to use, no logical controls and photo quality isn't there.

[VladTepes]

I bought the lumix fz200

The cd manual is useless
Fortunately there is a guy on YouTube with excellent instructional videos. He's also written a great book which can be had for 30 bucks or he offers it as a download pdf for FREE. awesome.