Recommend me a point-and-shoot camera

[Pushka]

The tiny lens on a phone will never compete with a decent P&S which in turn will never compete with a full sized DSLR.

The main advantage of the phone is the direct upload to social media.

For many phones now you can get a plugin card reader which lets you use the SD card out of a camera

And yesterday bought an ithing adapter that transfers straight from camera to ithing. And many newer cameras are wifi enabled to transfer straight to android/ithing without any cable.

 

[Legoman]

There are many examples all over the internet of incredible photos taken on iPhones. The problem with DSLR's is that you need to know and understand all the settings to get a decent photograph from them and the learning curve is insurmountable for those without a rabid hobby or professional fascination for photography. The iPhone camera lens can and does compete quite well against cheap P&S cameras which is why the camera salesman even recommended just sticking with the phone. Why carry two separate devices, when you already have one very expensive one you can't do without that does the job of the second one built in?

 

[Pushka]

There are many examples all over the internet of incredible photos taken on iPhones. The problem with DSLR's is that you need to know and understand all the settings to get a decent photograph from them and the learning curve is insurmountable for those without a rabid hobby or professional fascination for photography. The iPhone camera lens can and does compete quite well against cheap P&S cameras which is why the camera salesman even recommended just sticking with the phone. Why carry two separate devices, when you already have one very expensive one you can't do without that does the job of the second one built in?

I faced this dilemma just recently. I’m doing a certificate/diploma in Photography. Loved taking photos with my phone then morphed to an advanced point and shoot with Leica lens. Trying to simplify my life and was determined to stick with that whilst everyone else had their bulky SLR camera in tow. I lasted for four weeks and have now gone back to the SLR clone from years ago and now I know how the aperature, shutter and ISO actually works, the photo opportunities this presents and the ability to manipulate the settings to get quality photos is a whole new world. Tomorrow is my first class with the larger camera and now I will have to wear some stick as I was adamant I would not go larger.

 

[Strategic Aviation]

Seems like a good offer to me. $448 less $100 + $50 voucher makes the camera $298. I have the camera and would certainly say it's worth $298.

But mentally I can't get over the fact that it was cheaper a year ago lol.

Why carry two separate devices, when you already have one very expensive one you can't do without that does the job of the second one built in?

Some smartphones have excellent image quality, but with low or no optical zoom there is a massive range of photographs they simply cannot take. That's an essential consideration for me.

 

[TheRealTMA]

I faced this dilemma just recently. I’m doing a certificate/diploma in Photography. Loved taking photos with my phone then morphed to an advanced point and shoot with Leica lens. Trying to simplify my life and was determined to stick with that whilst everyone else had their bulky SLR camera in tow. I lasted for four weeks and have now gone back to the SLR clone from years ago and now I know how the aperature, shutter and ISO actually works, the photo opportunities this presents and the ability to manipulate the settings to get quality photos is a whole new world. Tomorrow is my first class with the larger camera and now I will have to wear some stick as I was adamant I would not go larger.

It’s not the camera that makes the photo. It’s the photographer.

But you do have the learn techniques.

 

[Pushka]

Seriously, if the sales guy for cameras is telling you to stick with your existing iPhone, then that right there should be telling you something significant!
Save your money on the camera and instead buy a Gorilla Grip tripod for your iPhone from Gearbest or DealExtreme or AliExpress or any of the other Chinese online sellers for no more than $2 in a flash sale. Also buy a Xioami Power Bank 2 and get yourself a silicon case for it too so it doesnt scratch your iPhone. That'll be another $20.

Then jailbreak your iPhone and install PhotoRes app from Cydia. That will open up a whole world of new photo settings within your iPhone you never knew existed that Apple choose to hide from users in line with their walled garden software environment.

I only have an iPhone 4S, but with all the above, I can take photos that are way beyond my former P&S Ricoh R5's capacity. I only tossed my Ricoh in the bin a couple of weeks ago in fact after finally accepting it had no further practical use.

Using Lightroom on the IPhone opens up all kinds of manual settings on the iPhone without jailbreaking.

 

[Strategic Aviation]

Not as good as December, but it's currently possible to get the Sony HX90V for $448 (or the similar but less featured Sony WX500 for $447) with $100 back from Amex (Harvey Norman spend $400 offer) plus $50 EFTPOS gift card via redemption.

For those that still have the Amex HN spend $400 get $100 back offer (by 31 Dec 2017), some end of year digital camera options:-

Sony Cybershot HX90V Digital Camera for $381 (make sure to include another $19 of spend) plus $50 EFTPOS gift card via redemption

(You could also get the less featured Sony WX500 for $381 but why would you.)

Nikon Coolpix A900 Digital Camera for $402 plus $25 cashback

Sony Cybershot HX350 Digital Camera for $407 plus $50 EFTPOS gift card via redemption

Canon Powershot SX730HS for $424 plus $50 cashback

 

[RooFlyer]

Great deal on the Sony

 

[Strategic Aviation]

There are a couple of negative comments about the HX90V in low light and/or "anything less than bright daylight" (also "slow to focus and take a shot"), so I'm going to read up on the Nikon and Canon as well, which aren't much more expensive and offer even greater zoom.

 

[drron]

I haven't had any problems in low light with my HX90V.A lot of inside shots during this current trip without any worries.

 

[Strategic Aviation]

Thanks for the comment.

It's been interesting reading about the HX90V, A900 and SX730.

The HX90V is the oldest and has the lowest optical zoom of the three ('only' 30x), but is the most compact, with the highest battery life (CIPA) and the only one with an electronic viewfinder and built-in GPS.

The A900 is the only one with 4K video while the SX730 has the greatest zoom.

 

[RooFlyer]

Funnily enough, on my most recent trip I had a first experience with poor photos in low light using the HX90V. Got two sets of blurry pics in twilight. Don't know why; I may have had it on a rogue setting without realising it (I nearly always have it on one of the auto settings).

For me, GPS is a must-have. I can't always remember what a particular building or church or mosque etc was when I go to label the pics when I come back. So I simply plot them onto Google Earth and it tells me what I'm looking at!

 

[daft009]

For a pocketable p&s you can't go past the Sony rx100 series.

1" sensor for excellent quality

 

[OZDUCK]

We have just bought a Panasonic Lumix TZ90 - my wife's birthday present. It is about twice as thick and twice as heavy as my old Lumix TZ40. She was never very happy with her old Nikon Coolpix and wanted a more solid one - plus more features of course.