help: which digital camera should I get

Reuben1985 · Dec 28, 2015

hello guys,

( TIP: If you wanna save time, just read the red part!)

i'm new here, glad i found this awesome forum
i am going to italy/germany and austria next month for 24 days, this is a vacation i get one each 2-3 years, and i got sick of taking pictures from my phone

i don't really know much about cameras, never owned one, so i came here seeking for help from you photography geeks

just a note i don't really know what specs you guys look for when buying a camera, but i don't really want a very photographic one, i mostly take long-videos or vlogs that i often share with friends or keep it for memery

so i don't want a camera that has many features i don't need, but here is what I'm looking for
a camera that is very slim, as slim as possible, can fit in my pockets preferably
and has a good video quality , and has a zoom of 30-40x or at least like 25x - and maybe it has a good battery life? and price wise i want the cheapest one with these specs, $300-$600 is my price range, maybe will go for max like $800-$900 if its REALLY worth it

i just watched a few shots by long distance zooms like 30x and its amazing what u can do with it, especially in europe with the great nature

Thanks for reading! and sorry for the long post and my bad english

p.s. i possibly have posted this in the wrong section if so please someone guide me where to repost it and i will delete this one from here!

cherylynne1 · Dec 28, 2015

I'm a little confused as to why you need superzoom for travel photos...most pictures from vacations are of buildings or people, and you don't need superzoom for that. You mention the "great nature" in Europe, does that mean you want zoom to take pictures of birds in flight or something like that? The best camera for you really depends on what exactly you'll be taking pictures of.

My automatic travel camera recommendation is always the Sony RX-100, any of the generations (there are four.) It has outstanding picture and video quality in a tiny package. But the zoom is modest. It will work great for typical travel needs, like buildings or people, and will do better in low light than any other camera that size.

The problem is, most superzooms have pretty poor image quality, and in my opinion, aren't much better than cell phone pics. There are some that do have good image quality (the Panasonic FZ1000 comes to mind) but they aren't pocketable. They're the size of a small DSLR.

Basically, it can either be small with good zoom, small with good image quality, or large with both good zoom and good image quality. But to the best of my knowledge, there aren't any cameras with all three.

cherylynne1 · Dec 28, 2015

This might help:

2015 Roundup: Long Zoom Compacts

The Sony HX90V might be a good compromise for you.

Reuben1985 · Dec 28, 2015

Thanks both of you!

I guess I'm getting the Sony HX90V tomorrow

cherylynne1 · Dec 29, 2015

Actually, it's uh, just me so far.

And I really hope you've read some reviews and preferably have had a chance to hold the camera in your hands before choosing it based on what I said. It sounds to me like a good choice based on your requirements, but you were somewhat vague in what you needed it for and what your expectations of image quality were.

But as long as you've thoroughly researched it and feel confident it's right for you, enjoy it! I hope you have a great trip!