Best point and shoot for HD video under $300?

[plamenv0]

Hi all!
I am new-ish to cameras and am looking to buy a point and shoot or super zoom camera for a trip i am doing this summer. Although I want something that takes great pictures, I was hoping you could tell me, in your opinion, what point and shoot/super zoom camera records the best full HD video for under $300?I am looking for something with the shallowest possible depth of field and manual focus controls would be nice but are not an absolute necessity. From what I have seen so far I really like how the video looks on the Canon Powershot sx260 hs but wanted to ask are there any that are better? I would say a relatively shallow depth of field would be what's most important to me as it gets that professional looking footage

 

[brunerww]

Hi plamenv0 - sadly, the small-sensor $280 Canon SX260 hs (or any small sensor P&S or superzoom) will not easily give you the shallow depth of field 'look' you want. For that, you will need a larger sensor camera such as the Sony RX100, Canon G1X, or a compact micro 4/3 or APS-C interchangeable lens camera such as the Panasonic GF series, Olympus EP series, Samsung NX series, Sony NEX series, Canon EOS-M or Pentax K-01.

Purchased new, most of these cameras are well above $300. The exception is the Samsung NX1000, which is not much larger than the SX260. You can buy it brand new on sale for $348 with lens and flash from BigValue via Amazon or eBay.

Here is what this camera can do: Flickr: The Samsung NX1000 Pool

See especially this stream from "Montresaurus" for the large sensor, shallow depth of field 'look' possible with this camera: Flickr: Montresaurus' Photostream

If $300 is a hard limit, your next best option is something like this used Sony NEX-C3 for $302 with lens, but no flash. Again, about the same size as the SX260. Here is what this camera can do: Flickr: The Sony NEX-C3 Pool

It is a pretty good travel video camera too:

[video=vimeo;59519844]https://vimeo.com/59519844[/video]

Hope this is helpful, and have a great trip!

Bill
Hybrid Camera Revolution

 

[plamenv0]

Hi plamenv0 - sadly, the small-sensor $280 Canon SX260 hs (or any small sensor P&S or superzoom) will not easily give you the shallow depth of field 'look' you want. For that, you will need a larger sensor camera such as the Sony RX100, Canon G1X, or a compact micro 4/3 or APS-C interchangeable lens camera such as the Panasonic GF series, Olympus EP series, Samsung NX series, Sony NEX series, Canon EOS-M or Pentax K-01.

Purchased new, most of these cameras are well above $300. The exception is the Samsung NX1000, which is not much larger than the SX260. You can buy it brand new on sale for $348 with lens and flash from BigValue via Amazon or eBay.

Here is what this camera can do: Flickr: The Samsung NX1000 Pool

See especially this stream from "Montresaurus" for the large sensor, shallow depth of field 'look' possible with this camera: Flickr: Montresaurus' Photostream

If $300 is a hard limit, your next best option is something like this used Sony NEX-C3 for $302 with lens, but no flash. Again, about the same size as the SX260. Here is what this camera can do: Flickr: The Sony NEX-C3 Pool

It is a pretty good travel video camera too:

[video=vimeo;59519844]https://vimeo.com/59519844[/video]

Hope this is helpful, and have a great trip!

Bill
Hybrid Camera Revolution

Thank you so much for the help, Bill! Looking into all of these!