What is the best point and shoot in the market today ?

[square_wave]

I am looking to buy a secondary camera for casual photography.
- Budget 12 20 k
- Good zoom capability. Not looking at ultra zoom capabilities but need just enough to probably zoom into a bird on a tall tree.
- Want reasonable wide angle capability.

 

[reignofchaos]

Olympus XZ-1 is fantastic if you want something reasonably compact at a reasonable price (MRP 25k in india, street prices are lower). If you are willing to spend more, you can look at the micro 4/3rds cameras with interchangeable lenses.

http://www.dpreview.com/reviews/OlympusXZ1/

 

[kaushik]

I get 19k...Nikon DSLR ..why waste 25k on PS .
Grab LUMIX/SONY stuff in max 8K ,wide angle lens is a plus

 

[reignofchaos]

I get 19k...Nikon DSLR ..why waste 25k on PS .
Grab LUMIX/SONY stuff in max 8K ,wide angle lens is a plus

Because this point and shoot will probably deliver better images than a 19k DSLR with a kit lens. Also there are times when you can't lug around a DSLR - especially parties and such when you'd look like a clown if you are carrying a DSLR :lol:.

At times you need reasonable quality images and you can't carry a DSLR. That is when a super fast compact like the above is very very useful. My primary camera is a 40D with a canon 17/55 f/2.8. But most of the times, when I don't particularly care about image quality and need convenience, a small high quality P&S like the above wins.

 

[grubyhalo]

If someone could pick this up for you from the US, then I'd just go for this one. At it's price, it can't be beat.

@ROC: Thanks for the info on the XZ-1. Never knew about this one, seems pretty promising. So you have this one?

 

[square_wave]

Agree with ROC.

Thanks for the tips guys.

@ Kaushik,

What Lumix model is available for 8k ?

 

[sam9s]

I am looking to buy a secondary camera for casual photography.
- Budget 12 20 k
- Good zoom capability. Not looking at ultra zoom capabilities but need just enough to probably zoom into a bird on a tall tree.
- Want reasonable wide angle capability.

I am selling my Nikon L120, 20 days old to venture in to DSLR catagory ...... its a spectacular PnS, infact its not exactly a PnS, its a bridge camera, just google the reviews, here the link if interested ..

Nikon Coolpix L120+Carry Bag+2GB SDHC+Charger+4 Rechargable cells+warranty+sw CD | eBay

Under your budget ...11.7K
21x zoom
Wide Angle ... " which is f/3.1 at wide angle and f/5.8 at the telephoto end. The focal range, on the other hand, commands respect, starting at 4.5mm (equivalent to 25mm) and going all the way to 94.5mm (equivalent to 525mm)"

 

[Kittu]

Another thread here discussed on same topic, may be use ful.

http://www.hifivision.com/general-lounge/21533-point-shoot-camera.html

 

[anm]

Canon s95 - Canon S95

you can also try nikon V1 or J1 - they are compact with ability to change lenses. Your usual lens may also work. But these are very new.

Nikon 1 V1 Camera | Compact Camera System
Nikon 1 J1 Camera | Compact Camera System

 

[anm]

this one is slightly more expensive with no interchangeable lenses - Fujifilm FinePix X100 Review: 1. Introduction: Digital Photography Review

 

[sachin_k5]

Very happy with my canon sx130IS you can get it at 10500 at flipkart. just the right size and you will not look like a free photographer in social functions.

It has shutter and aperture settings as in a dslr

 

[charanbee]

I have been using the Canon SX130 for a while now. It is probably the best entry level "bridge" camera. There is a newer version - SX150 which is even better and highly recommended.

The Nikon L120 is around the same budget as the SX150 BUT it does not have an option to use manual controls which was a MAJOR consideration for me. Nikon uses the "award winning" Intelligent Auto mode which is quite useless in the real world. If it does not have option to control the shutter speed and/or aperture it is no better than a regular camera you get for 7-8K.

Although the Nikon does have better flash, wider lens, and more zoom, the Canon is more flexible and for daily use, as good as any Nikon. Also it uses only 2 AA batteries while the Nikon uses 4, is bigger and not as good to look at.

If you are getting and SLR get a proper one, getting one for <20K is a waste of money.

So yea my recommendation would be the SX150 IS. around 14K i think.

 

[isoton]

NIKON S-6200

16Megapixel / 10X optical zoom = Rs.10600

I bought this recently good picture clarity.

 

[dijeesh]

I get 19k...Nikon DSLR ..why waste 25k on PS .
Grab LUMIX/SONY stuff in max 8K ,wide angle lens is a plus

hi for 19k which nikon dlsr are you refering to.

 

[HTuser]

I bought Canon SX220 HS recently for 15.2k.

While searching I categorized P&S cameras into Four.
Bulky feature rich cameras like Canon Powershot SX40 HS
Feature rich compact cameras (costly, less zoom) like Canon Powershot S95
Compact cameras with medium features like Canon SX220HS
Ultra compact cameras like IXUS 1100HS

You need to decide on some more features needed, there are equivalent models with other makes as well. Panasonic, Nikon, Sony etc also can be considered.

I shortlisted Canon Powershot SX220 HS and Sony DSC-HX9v, then decided to go with Canon.

Some features you may consider to chose the right model:
24mm lens for wide angle
Medium and feature rich models if you need aperture priority, shutter priority, manual focus etc
Full HD recording capability
Touch Screen
Panorama mode
Mini HDMI port
GPS

dpreview.com is a very good site to compare the features of different cameras

I am looking to buy a secondary camera for casual photography.
- Budget 12 20 k
- Good zoom capability. Not looking at ultra zoom capabilities but need just enough to probably zoom into a bird on a tall tree.
- Want reasonable wide angle capability.

 

[deba]

If you want a real good portable camera then go for the Nikon P7100...its very good....

 

[reignofchaos]

Some features you may consider to chose the right model:
24mm lens for wide angle
Medium and feature rich models if you need aperture priority, shutter priority, manual focus etc
Full HD recording capability
Touch Screen
Panorama mode
Mini HDMI port
GPS

dpreview.com is a very good site to compare the features of different cameras

Other than a wide angle lens and ability to use P/Av/Tv/M, nothing of the rest really matters if you are a serious photographer. An exposure lock button would be really helpful. Other than that, I only care of an effective focal length of around 25mm-100mm or thereabouts and a lens that is as fast as possible. A reasonably big sensor also helps - megapixel doesn't matter as most of you folks would know. You'd also want the camera to output the images in native camera RAW format so that the images can be inported into Photoshop as is.

The Olympus I recommended has all of the above other than an exposure lock button. The lens is f/1.8 at the wide end and only goes up to a very respectable f/2.5 at the long end. The sensor is a reasonably big 1/1.63" CCD and it has a reasonably fast burst mode. This means low light images without a flash are an actual possibility.

 

[borg]

Olympus XZ-1 is fantastic if you want something reasonably compact at a reasonable price (MRP 25k in india, street prices are lower). If you are willing to spend more, you can look at the micro 4/3rds cameras with interchangeable lenses.

Olympus XZ-1 Review: 1. Introduction: Digital Photography Review

I own this camera . it's been more than 6 months now,purchased from hongkong for 480$ with memorycard and some other stuff. Primarily used by my wife to take baby pics(mainly indoor( low light) and ofcourse without flash).
Takes good pics in auto mode. The camera may be capable of doing more but we being noobs it is always in auto mode

[/URL] Uploaded with ImageShack.us[/IMG]

never found the need to use flash indoor after getting this. Only problem i found is when i try to take pictures up close,(trouble in focusing). may be i am doing something wrong , too lazy to read the manual

 

[grubyhalo]

Fantastic details and colour balance. I'm not sure if this pic has embedded EXIF but could you tell me what aperture was used? Thanks!

 

[borg]

[/URL] Uploaded with ImageShack.us[/IMG]
gruby

I am totally ignorant/illiterate when it comes to photographic terms.how do i find the aperture
As always the camera is in auto mode. only setting i change is the aspect ratio

edit: ok i got it from properties, i put the screengrab above