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nathanlake Offline • • • • • Upload & Sell: Off p.1 #1 · Selecting a P&S A friend of mine has asked me to select a P&S for her...max price $600 USD. Never having owned a P&S I did my research, read every review that shows up on the top couple Google pages, and have narrowed it to three possible choices. Panasonic Lumix DMC-FZ150 Canon PowerShot SX40 HS Nikon P500 The last item on my checklist is design and usability. I am planning to play with each of them in the next couple weeks. Does anyone have any input related to these three cameras? Feb 23, 2012 at 03:04 AM

deadwolfbones Offline • • • • Upload & Sell: On p.1 #2 · Selecting a P&S What about those attracted you? Why not one like the Samsung TL500, Olympus XZ-1, or Panasonic LX-5? Feb 23, 2012 at 04:23 AM

ShaneEngelking Offline • • • • Upload & Sell: Off p.1 #3 · Selecting a P&S I really like the Lumix LX-5 a lot. f/2 lens, great ISO, relatively compact, 24mm equiv wide angle, good ISO capabilities, full manual controls, RAW capability. Check it out. http://www.bhphotovideo.com/bnh/controller/home?O=&sku=723288&Q=&is=REG&A=details#costumerReview Feb 23, 2012 at 04:30 AM

millsart Offline • • • • Upload & Sell: Off p.1 #4 · Selecting a P&S Does your friend really need/want 600+mm equiv reach in a rather large camera body that wouldn't be able to be put into a purse ? If she does need a good amount of zoom, would a smaller and pocketable option such as the travel zoom be a viable altrnative ? Canon sx260 with a 25-500mm zoom, or the Panasonic ZS15 with a 24-380mm zoom ? Both a mere $349 and actually sharing the same sensors of the fz150 and sx40HS Feb 23, 2012 at 04:59 AM

daveh6700 Offline • Upload & Sell: Off p.1 #5 · Selecting a P&S I have a Panasonic GH2 (14-140 lens+ some pancakes) as my main camera and TWO Panasonic FZ150 point and shoot cameras that I use from horseback. The FZ150 is am amazing camera. The things I especially like include: Power OIS (one of the best OIS I've seen), 5 shots/second WITH focus in between (great for sports or kids), Easy HDR setup, Easy switch to JPG + RAW when I want that "extra", tilting LCD, Great for movies w/zoom on the lens and on the shutter.(on the lens makes hand held steadier). The Panasonic Travel Zoom ZS15 is due to be available at the end of February and it has the same sensor in a pocket-able form, although w/o RAW. It too has 5 shots/sec w/focus. Good luck, Dave Feb 23, 2012 at 10:09 PM

snowboarder Offline • • • • Upload & Sell: Off p.1 #6 · Selecting a P&S iphone takes better pictures than most p&s cameras. Why would you want one? Get a NEX or m43, a p&s makes no sense anymore... Feb 23, 2012 at 10:47 PM

millsart Offline • • • • Upload & Sell: Off p.1 #7 · Selecting a P&S snowboarder wrote: iphone takes better pictures than most p&s cameras. Why would you want one? Get a NEX or m43, a p&s makes no sense anymore... Depends what you shoot and while I do love my 4s and it can take nice photos and suits my needs, it could be all wrong for someone else's needs. For example, there is no substitute for a good flash and my iphone is awful for taking snapshots out in a bar etc. Not an issue for me because I don't really have any interest in taking a bunch of shots of a night out with friends and posting them on facebook, but a lot of people do Likewise, if one enjoys walks in the woods, shooting birds, zoo trips etc, iphone's 30mm equiv isn't going to cut it. superzooms seem to keep lots of birders on a budget quite happy with the 800+mm equiv reach. Also while the 4s is a great camera, and I love my iPhone in general, not everyone wants to spend $100 a month on a smartphone nor needs ones. I think a better question than "why would you want one" is why are you so thick and arrogant that you can't realize that people may have different needs than yours ? Because a guy on an equipment obsessed internet forum named "snowboarder" doesn't need a compact camera therefore nobody could have a need for one right ? Feb 23, 2012 at 11:43 PM

nathanlake Offline • • • • • Upload & Sell: Off p.1 #8 · Selecting a P&S snowboarder wrote: iphone takes better pictures than most p&s cameras. Why would you want one? Get a NEX or m43, a p&s makes no sense anymore... Not much useful here. I am getting a camera, not a phone. Feb 24, 2012 at 02:02 AM

nathanlake Offline • • • • • Upload & Sell: Off p.1 #9 · Selecting a P&S millsart wrote: Does your friend really need/want 600+mm equiv reach in a rather large camera body that wouldn't be able to be put into a purse ? If she does need a good amount of zoom, would a smaller and pocketable option such as the travel zoom be a viable altrnative ? Canon sx260 with a 25-500mm zoom, or the Panasonic ZS15 with a 24-380mm zoom ? Both a mere $349 and actually sharing the same sensors of the fz150 and sx40HS Since the three I listed have at least a 600mm equiv, doesn't it make sense that would be what I am looking for? Feb 24, 2012 at 02:04 AM

nathanlake Offline • • • • • Upload & Sell: Off p.1 #10 · Selecting a P&S deadwolfbones wrote: What about those attracted you? Why not one like the Samsung TL500, Olympus XZ-1, or Panasonic LX-5? All three: compact rather than SLR-like, only 10MP (12 was my minimum), CCD rather than CMOS, TL500 - It is known to have poor metering and noise reduction is way too aggressive at high ISO (cant be adjusted). Focal length is 24-72... not long enough for multi-purpose shooting. Max shutter speed is 1/1500, not really fast enough IMO. No viewfiender. Shutter lag is hideous, Proprietary USB port. Olympus XZ-1 - I did look at this and the specs are not bad, but the person I am buying for wanted something that could be a bridge between her current compact and a possible future DSLR. The 28-112 lens is too short. Panasonic LX-5 - Wanted something greater than 10MP. Lens is a too short at 24-90. The LCD is fixed rather than articulated. Feb 24, 2012 at 02:21 AM

alexandre Offline • • • • Upload & Sell: On p.1 #11 · Selecting a P&S Bridge camera? For me, meh. For your friend, Canon G12. Feb 24, 2012 at 02:34 AM

elkhornsun Offline • • • Upload & Sell: Off p.1 #12 · Selecting a P&S The only such camera I would recommend is the Olympus E-PL2 with its 4/3 size sensor. The 4/3 sensors are 6x the size of the sensors in bottom level P&S cameras and it shows. Excellent up to ISO 1600 which is important for cameras with f5.6 lenses. This camera with a 14-42mm (film 28-84mm) has scene modes that work much better than any I have seen on other cameras and produce great results automatically. The popup flash is further from the lens axis than ones that stay inside the body and this greatly reduces red-eye in pictures. Total cost is under $450 with the zoom lens and total weight with the lens attached and the lithium battery is 17 ounces. Anything less and the person might as well use their phone camera. Feb 25, 2012 at 02:51 AM

nathanlake Offline • • • • • Upload & Sell: Off p.1 #13 · Selecting a P&S I thought my post was pretty clear, but now I remember why I don't come to FM much any more. My "ask" in this post was, "Does anyone have any input related to these three cameras?" Dave - Thank you. You were the only one that actually gave me anything relating to my ask. Feb 25, 2012 at 03:41 AM

alexandre Offline • • • • Upload & Sell: On p.1 #14 · Selecting a P&S Too bad we weren't able enough to obey your clear instructions. Consider myself fired. :P Feb 25, 2012 at 04:19 AM

deadwolfbones Offline • • • • Upload & Sell: On p.1 #15 · Selecting a P&S Well, I have no opinion on those cameras, so I'll excuse myself. Feb 25, 2012 at 05:50 AM

Bifurcator Offline • • • • • Upload & Sell: On p.1 #16 · Selecting a P&S In popularity and more serious serious user ratings Canon's PowerShot SX40 HS takes serious leads over the other two mentioned. One downside of the Lumix for sure is that there is no actual warrantee. If you read the entire thing it says that if it breaks from you using it (in any way) they won't fix it. And most of the time they site that as an excuse not to do anything. So the Lumix is virtually warranteeless. But if the budget is $500 to $600 I don't understand the selection of a bridge camera. You can get a used pentax K-r in great condition for that price - with the 18-55 WP kit lens - which rocks - and all still with a year or two warrantee left on it! Another $50 to $75 (still probably all under the $600 you quoted) will get you a 55-300 or a 100-300 too - if you can't find them for that I have them for that myself. It doesn't have to be the K-r tho; any of several other APS-C mid-level DSLRs will fit your budget for that matter. I guess you know too well about DSLR body features, and what the new/used market is like - by reading your profile. I don't directly know too much about the models you list - so if they do something that DSLRs don't do I wouldn't know. The lag-factor alone is enough to turn me away tho. <shrug> BTW, you make FM sound like it's the only place were people just blurt out what they're thinking without strictly adhering to the specific topic. Can you name another site that isn't like this? I site-hop quite a lot and the signal to noise ratio here seems better than any other. There's few folks kinda too in-love with themselves here... but that's not always a bad thing either. Just ignore the posts that don't apply, steer the topic a little, relax, and see whatcha get. <shrug> <shrug> Feb 25, 2012 at 02:59 PM

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