Point and shoot advice?

Ronisdragon

Ronisdragon

New member
Hi. I've just decided I want a point and shoot for Christmas and with the sales going on I need to make a quick decision. I hope some of you can advise me. I will mostly be taking pictures of family and pets. With a little luck there will be vacation photos too. I want to spend under $200. Manual controls would be a nice bonus as would fireworks mode, night time mode, taking repeat pictures with pushing the shutter button once, action mode, macro, and zoom. So far I am looking at the following models: Canon Powershot Elph 110, Canon Powershot sx260, Canon Powershot sx160, Nikon Coolpix s9050, Nikon Coolpix L810. I know Panasonic Lumix is also supposed to be good but I don't know what models to look at. Does anyone have any of these cameras? What do you like? Dislike? I am leaning toward the Elph because of pice but the optical zoom is only 5x. Do you think I will regret not having more zoom? I'd love any feedback! Thanks so much!
 
My daughter had a Panasonic Lumix for years before a DSLR. Hers is old so couldn't provide model number but she always got the best pictures with it because it had a great optical zoom.
 
My mom has a Sony point and shoot and I was totally shocked with all the things it can do! She can set her aperture or shutter speed, metering, focus, white balance, etc. She didn't even know it did all that! I was seriously impressed with all that little P&S can do compared to my big honking DSLR Nikon.
 
JuliaM said:
We gave my father a Sony HX9V last year for Christmas...and my sister then bought it for herself as well. It's a good little camera. That particular model is no longer available however it looks like this one, http://store.sony.com/webapp/wcs/st...10151&langId=-1&productId=8198552921666424845, is the next generation of it. With the exception of one Canon (I think) I've always owned and used Sony's and have never been disappointed in them.
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This is totally like what my mom has! I would definitely recommend it! And if I was in the market for P&S, I would snap one of these up!
 
I debated for months which point and shoot to get. I ended up buying the Panasonic Lumix (I think maybe a TZ10 model?) because all the reviews said the Intelligent Auto feature was the latest/greatest thing. I intended to make best use of the iA until I learnt how to use the manual functions better.

Well it takes great outdoor photos, but I'm very disappointed in how it processes the indoor shots. Subjects faces are washed out, and you lose all highlight features on cheekbones etc. I've read the manual, and been online, but couldn't find a fix for that. I'm gutted really. I should've spent the money on another brand, because to be honest, most of my photo taking these days is indoors.
 
jacinda said:
I debated for months which point and shoot to get. I ended up buying the Panasonic Lumix (I think maybe a TZ10 model?) because all the reviews said the Intelligent Auto feature was the latest/greatest thing. I intended to make best use of the iA until I learnt how to use the manual functions better.

Well it takes great outdoor photos, but I'm very disappointed in how it processes the indoor shots. Subjects faces are washed out, and you lose all highlight features on cheekbones etc. I've read the manual, and been online, but couldn't find a fix for that. I'm gutted really. I should've spent the money on another brand, because to be honest, most of my photo taking these days is indoors.
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Since most of my photo taking is indoors as well, I wanted a p&s that could handle low light and shoot wide (for small spaces). I ended up with a Canon s95, which has an f/2.0 lens and shoots really well in low-light, no flash needed. It also allows for full manual shooting. The HD video is incredible quality too. Unfortunately, the s95 is discontinued, but there is the newer version, the s100. I can't find it for under $200 though -- I see that Amazon has it at $249. Depending on how much someone shoots inside, it's something to consider.
 
I got the Panasonic Lumix for Mother's Day and I love, love, love it!!!! In fact, we just bought one for my 14 year old as an early birthday present because she likes using mine. We got it on Amazon for right about $200 (maybe a little less). It's the DMC-ZS15

I love that there is a creative mode right on the camera, plus it has the traditional DSLR controls and a great zoom in a pocket size. The display on the back is nice and big and it's easy to see what you've taken quickly. I've used it on 3 vacations since I got it and the pics are always amazing. I would buy another one in a heart beat!!!!

ETA - it also takes really good video and I find it easy and quick to use.
 
The Canon g12 and s100 are just a little too expensive. I feel guilty asking for a $200 camera as it is. I am definitely going to check out the Panasonic Lumix DMC-ZS15. I decided not to get a Nikon. I'm most heavily considering the Canon Powershot Elph 110because it is cheapest, got good reviews, and silly as it sounds, I love two of the colors it comes in. Also considering the Canon Powershot SX260 because of the zoom and manual controls. I need to read more about the Lumix. A bit nervous since I've never used that brand before. Thanks so much for all of your feedback! Any other advice is welcome!
 
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I had a Canon Elph 300hs and upgraded to the S100. I was always pleased with the photos I got from the elph and never thought I needed more zoom. I honestly don't notice a difference in the photos that I now take with the S100. I haven't really played around with the manual controls on it yet, so maybe that would make a difference, but the elph definitely seems as good as it in auto mode, so the elph gets my vote!
 
I've got a little red Canon. The main thing I don't like about it, is that it's heavy. When you try them all out, pick them up and see if you'll like carrying it around in your purse!
 
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