I recently helped a friend do research and decide on a P&S that worked well for his family's needs. The ability to shoot indoors at the school auditorium for their daughter's school play performances, and to be able to shoot at the "Friday night lights" football games one of his son's was playing in was paramount. A long zoom lens was critical for their needs as well. Their budget precluded any considerations for either DSLR or higher-end P&S's.
Through the process of elimination we got it down to 4 cameras, Canon SX280 and SX50 and the Panasonic ZS30 and FZ200 with the superzooms heavily favored. All four cameras performed well-enough within their budget constraints for their low-light needs. They eventually settled on the FZ200 when I was able to find one used on the B&S board which brought that camera within their price range.
Now, I did have the opportunity to put this camera through its paces before passing it along to them...well, I did have to make sure that a LNIB used camera was not defective, no?! And, I have to tell you, for a P&S camera with the typical small sensor limitations (e.g. good to ISO 400) this little do-it-all with an admirable EFL 25-600mm f/2.8 throughout its zoom-range lens did a fairly nice job with both stills and video. Heck, if they decided that it really wasn't the camera for them I'd have considered keeping this $400 gem for myself!
Anyhoo, if you're considering something on this end of the P&S spectrum you might want to give this one a look. Here's a video of what it can do for you in very low light...
Like I said, not DSLR video performance, but it's no slouch, either. Oh yeah, the 120fps 720P video function is pretty neat for birding or, like this video, with both outdoor and indoor sports...
And, I have to tell you, for a P&S camera with the typical small sensor limitations (e.g. good to ISO 400) this little do-it-all with an admirable EFL 25-600mm f/2.8 throughout its zoom-range lens did a fairly nice job with both stills and video. Heck, if they decided that it really wasn't the camera for them I'd have considered keeping this $400 gem for myself!