Point and Shoot cameras

[feelzie31]

Hi all,

sorry, I know that for most of you who are into photography, this kind of cameras are not something that would really interest you, my apologies. But I am looking to buy a P&S camera and was looking at the Nikon B700, B900 and Canon SX60. I just need something to bring along with me on my travels and since I know next to nothing about using DSLRs, I only am looking at one that will do the job for me and hope to get some advice. Am I asking in the right place? And if anyone could perhaps advice me or point me in the right direction, that would be most appreciated. Thank you.

feelzie31

 

[Wzierbovsky]

Well, what's the budget that you're working with? There was also a thread with similar questions just the other week:

http://www.clubsnap.com/forums/showthread.php?t=1665277

My advice there is the same as I would give here: that many smartphones today take pictures that are as good as budget compact cameras. You'd be fine with using smartphones. To really get potentially better images - and keep in mind that not everyone will appreciate or can even tell the differences - you'd need to move to the more expensive compact camera range that will be in the $600+ onwards.

The other consideration I can think of is how much zoom you intend to use in your travels. If you want/need to take pictures of far objects in your trips, then you're looking for the likes of cameras like the Sony RX10 or Panasonic FZ1000s - which are a lot dearer than the compacts in the link above.

 

[zaren]

1. What image quality are you happy with? DSLR's use large sensors. Compact cameras like the ones you mentioned use much smaller sensors -> lower image quality especially in low light/high ISO situations.
2. What camera size are you looking for? The three cameras you mentioned are all not compact sized and not much smaller than an entry level DSLR. If you want to travel light, you might want to consider a smaller compact camera with similar zoom range, for example the Canon SX720 HS which is also 40x optical zoom and half the size and weight of the 40x zoom Nikon B500.
3. How much zoom do you need? The cameras you cited all have large zoom range (40x, 60x) which is useful for travel. However, you can get better quality images with a mid-size sensor (larger than the small 1/2.3" sensor in most compact cameras including the ones you mentioned, and the large APS-C/Full frame sensor of DSLRs). The 1" sensor is a good compromise, and you can get a long zoom camera like the Sony RX10, Canon G3X or Pana FZ1000s as Wzierbovsky suggested above. Otherwise get a smaller 1" sensor compact with a smaller zoom range like the Sony RX100 V or Canon G7x II.
4. What's your budget? Larger sensor cameras are correspondingly more expensive than small sensor cameras.
5. Try out all three cameras you have shortlisted (as well as any you might also be interested in) and see how you like handling them in your hand. handling is important because you want to feel confident in using your camera and be able to get the photo you want with the minimum of hassle.

 

[zoomzoomzoom]

From the 3 models you listed (Nikon B700, B900 and Canon SX60), it appears that substantial zoom is important to you as a travel camera. There is a lot to like about Panasonic TZ100/ZS100 - 25-250mm equivalent zoom lens with 1-inch sensor in a pocketable frame. Canon PowerShot G5X has a smaller zoom range but retains other 2 attributes.

 

[danchan]

I started with a mega zoom bridge camera, which I bought for a holiday.
The idea was that the zoom range would be useful for travelling; I would have 40x zoom at my disposal!
But truth was, I did not use nor did I really need the entire range.
In fact, many times I did not use any zoom at all when capturing sceneries.
So I would recommend you to consider something with a smaller zoom range as well.