Recommend me a P&S please?

[fokker]

Hi, I am looking for a P&S for my girlfriend, or a 'handbag camera' as she calls it.

Ideally it would be something waterproof but that's not a must.

I want to use it as well, hence would like some manual control available. At the very least it should have the ability to choose a focus point. Image quality is important to me, but isn't the deciding criteria.

Budget is around the NZ$300 mark which is roughly $200-$250 USD.


PS Sorry for being lazy but it's really hard to know where to start as there are so many cameras available, just some recommendations to get me started is all I'm asking.

Thanks in advance

 

[usayit]

I am a big fan of Panasonic Lumix series....

The Lumix cameras I have personally owned (G1, LX3, TZ5) are tad over budget but I am assuming the lower line of their cameras are good performers as well.

 

[pbelarge]

The Panasonic line is very good, as a matter of fact, there are so many good P&S cameras, I can see why you have reached out for assistance.


In the past, all I shot was P&S cameras. Just by circumstance, I shot a lot of different brands. I wound up with Canon, even though at one time I was an avid Olympus fan.
Since you already shoot Canon brands, maybe think of staying with them. In less of course you are looking to see what the other brands have to offer.

Just to add one more item...since you are in NZ, I would lean towards one with a good zoom.




Aren't you glad I provided so much help? :mrgreen:

 

[PJL]

I'm a fan of the Canon Powershot series. Even their more inexpensive cameras can produce really nice images if you know the limitations of the camera. I also find their menus easy to navigate.

 

[fokker]

Yes I'd like to stick with canon for my own benefit but it wouldn't be a deciding factor as it won't be my camera. FWIW I used to have an olympus P&S and really didn't like it, ditto a couple of olympus DLSR's so I'll probably steer clear of olympus.

 

[DTG]

I'm a Nikon girl but I love the Canon Powershots for a P&S....sounds to me like you are buying a backup little camera for yourself

 

[fokker]

Yeah pretty much, she doesn't know it yet but I plan on using it a lot more than she thinks I will.

Grrrr why do you have to pay more to get less features? If I want something that can manual focus and have Av/Tv mode instead a myriad of crappy face-detection type features then it costs like twice as much.

 

[Derrel]

It seems that Panasonic makes the most-reliable point and shoot cameras. Check out this free on-line report from one of the large warranty companies, with data on breakdowns and malfunctions of P&S digitals.

It's probably not surprising that more-costly P&S cameras suffer from a lower breakdown rate than cheaper cameras.

https://www.squaretrade.com/htm/pdf/Camera_failure_study.pdf

from The Online Photographer website
http://theonlinephotographer.typepad.com/.a/6a00df351e888f88340133eca9182a970b-800wi

 

[aadhils]

Ken Rockwell is an expert on P&S camers.

P.S. Sorry I went there

 

[TylerF]

I was going to recommend a panasonic. theres one at work (zs5 i think) which offers the leica lens and full manual control. looks really nice. if you want something waterproof, check out the olympus tough series. though i heard they are kinda crappy indoors

 

[usayit]

I was going to recommend a panasonic. theres one at work (zs5 i think) which offers the leica lens and full manual control.

Well that's a really nice improvement! The TZ series which was later renamed to the ZS series (don't know why.. most people thought the designation meant Travel Zoom which made sense because of long focal range) usually didn't have full manual control and no raw. However, it did have nice optics a nice set of AF modes (face recognition is really nice for when you are drunk... lol). I purchased my TZ5 back when Circuit city went out of business for a low price as my introduction to Panasonic cameras. My other P&S cameras was the Canon G1, G2, and G5 which was just about to be replaced by the G10. I was so impressed that I passed up the G10 for the LX3 and looked back... the build and feel is solid.

I haven't shot with any of the $200-$250 range lumix P&S, but they "feel" solid when I was playing around with them in the store. My cousin just purchased the Pany Lumix TS2 on my recommendation for Panasonic and his need for durability and weather resistance (he likes to go skiing and boating). He seems to like it a lot.

looks really nice. if you want something waterproof, check out the olympus tough series. though i heard they are kinda crappy indoors

My wife has a tough series. I bought it because she has a tendency to drop things. OMG that is one tough camera! Its been dropped, crushed, stepped on, dunked, and thrown across the room (my 3 year old son has claimed the camera as his own) numerous times the past several years. It has yet to skip a beat... and probably survive several more years of abuse. The pictures are .. oh hum.. but my wife doesn't seem to mind (lower expectations for image quality). Its basically my son's camera now and my wife uses the TZ5 most of the time.