Camera Recommendation

Hi all,

I don't know a lot about photography but I am wanting to buy a camera in hopes of picking up a new, fun hobby. I really the idea of getting a compact point and shoot camera just for the ease of use and portability. Can anyone make a recommendation for me?

What are you planning on using it for?

Anything and everything really. I plan on taking it on trips, hikes with the dog, pictures of cool golf holes etc. I'm not too concerned with video my main interest is images.

Fujifilm X-T30 is an outstanding camera. Uses the same mount as the higher end Fuji cameras and the even the kit lens is an excellent starting point. I own its big brother.

You can really ease into it, shooting with auto mode + film simulations then working into shooting RAW and editing your own stuff.

Canon is a terrific platform, especially with their advanced point and shoot models. Canon cameras have several built in capture modes that let the novice focus on capturing a shot while the preprogrammed mode does the adjustments. The Powershot SX530 offers a huge lens for a small body. Keep in mind this is a fixed zoom lens so there is no ability to swap lenses. In this case you really don't need to. One draw back is that night pictures might end up a little grainy due to a small crop sensor. Really not a huge issue. I started with an Olympus digital camera then went to a Powershot S3 years ago. I learned on that platform then went Canon 60D SLR with a standard zoom lens (18-200mm) and an ultra wide zoom lens (10-20mm). I am currently using a Nikon D800 with a 28-300mm general purpose lens. I will add a ultra wide zoom lens in the next year. But that's complicated Go with the Canon SX530.

https://www.usa.canon.com/internet/portal/us/home/products/details/cameras/point-and-shoot-digital-cameras/long-zoom-cameras/powershot-sx530-hs

If images and a variety of uses outdoors is your interest I urge you to get a DSLR. I've had a Nikon D3300 for some time - it does it all and I have some different lenses (but you could get by with a couple of zooms - eventually if you are doing anything serious outdoors, you'll want a wide angle zoom, but could get by with a nice "do all" zoom in the meantime). Nikon replaced it with the D3500 and it is very affordable. You could find the Canon equivalent as well. Zooms on most compact point and shoots generally are not going to give you the quality you eventually will want because they aren't really zooms in the traditional sense. My D3300 is extremely lightweight and easy carry - took it to The Masters, first trip to Scotland, have used it for anything and everything. Great camera. I gave up on compact point and shoots except for fishing trips (and when my phone was eventually just as good) when our first was born many moons ago and before the digital age and got an all manual Minolta film camera and learning with that got me hooked. If you get into photography as I think you will, I think a DSLR is a must - but there are other options short of a point and shoot.

If you want to get on the expensive end of a nice compact camera, the best I've ever owned is the Fuji x100f I bought about 3 years ago. Awesome images, great for "street" photography, available light indoor images, informal people stuff, you name it. Kind of a big learning curve and a little daunting - really need to use it a lot to get comfortable with all the options. Took it along just to force myself to learn more to Scotland (this first pic is via ferry to Belfast) last summer.

True street.

There is a really good website out there by a guy named Ken Rockwell that is chock full of camera and photography knowledge. Some think he's a little out there, but there is a lot of good stuff on his site.

What is your budget?

I've had three iterations of the Sony RX100 and I dont know that there's a better pound for pound point and shoot. You can probably pick up one or two versions ago for a good price.

I have a Canon SX620Hs that I really like. It has a 25x optical zoom and fits into your pocket. I use it on my local hikes a lot. It came in very handy when I went to Peru last year and on a couple of golf vacations.

I'd recommend skipping the point and shoot and pick up an entry level DSLR like a Canon Rebel. While not as compact as a point and shoot, it's much more versatile with how far you can go. My first professional published work was shot with a Rebel. And if you find that photography isn't to your liking, you can always sell it at not a huge loss.

Thanks for all of the info guys. I think eventually I could see myself getting into a DSLR but for now I really like the idea of having just one high quality point and shoot. @dcmidnight I've looked at the Sony a lot and think that might be the ticket.

Best thing to do is look up reviews of the Sony as well as some of the other point and shoot cameras listed. At the end of the day what you get needs to fit what you want out of it. Best of luck.

At what appears to be pricing for the current version of the RX100, you could get the basic Nikon D3500 with its basic lens (or Canon equivalent), a high quality vibration reducing zoom lens and have enough money left over to buy the four versions ago RX100 (which will still cost you as much as a new, basic DSLR). The Fuji X-T30 mentioned above is excellent.

It all comes down to what you are comfortable with and the RX100 is as good as it gets for a point and shoot. The rest comes down to what you expect to get out of photography, how much control you want over your images, what types of photography you are going to get into.

I have an image of the clubhouse at St. Andrews that is my avatar I took on my iPhone I wouldn't trade for any other image of St. Andrews - we had travelled all day from the Highlands, visited two castles via the long route, and were headed south of St. Andrews with a hangry crew to our rental and, of course, I couldn't resist taking the exit and driving in. I took that photo within minutes of getting out of the car and it was my first view of 18, first tee and the clubhouse. So I get that cost or type of camera isn't everything when it comes to photography.

My $.02 --- if you are headed for the top of the line point and shoot, get one of the previous versions as mentioned above and give it a workout. My tastes in photography "should" have driven me to a much more expensive DSLR with a different kind of sensor at the time I picked up the new D3300, but it does everything I want it to do, and was enough of a bargain I got my each of my daughters one for Christmas later that year (one is really into photography when she has the time). Otherwise, and this will drive you nuts believe me, compare the features of an older version of the RX100 to the current version of some other high quality point and shoots and see if there is newer tech to get for the same or a little more money. Don't underestimate lens quality and read up on what "pixels" really mean and digital zooms.

You really can't go wrong and your journey into photography will tell you over time the platform you want

I got pretty deep into the DSLR game for a while and I'll just throw these $.02 out there. I know a lot of people - including myself - who finally decided they just weren't going to lug a bagful of gear around on vacation or trips. Unless you are really getting into a specialty like birding or going on safari or shooting high speed sports - something like that - IMO there is just no reason not to look at a point and shoot. Even the point and shoots now can handle high speed sports so IMO it comes down to things you need a lot of accurate zoom for being where the DSLRs really shine. I'm not saying it was not a great camera - I had a D7000 for years - its just that I got sick of carrying it around on long trips when you compare it to the ease/quality of the point and shoots.

Canon, Sony, Fuji - they all make absolute A+ point and shoots. You can have as much or as little control over the shot as you want. These are not the $100 point and shoots of 10 years ago either.

The best advice I ever got from someone was that the best camera you can buy is the one you are always going to have on you and USE. On golf trips I can carry the Sony in my back pocket while I'm playing and it doesn't bother me in the least. But as Hawkeye said, dont sleep on your cell phone as that option. For normal sized prints, for web use, today's cell phones can do anything. Heck my favorite pics from my trip to Italy last year were from my S10+.

Full disclosure - the other reason I took the compact camera on our second trip to Scotland was portability/weight in the backpack and taking into consideration what my wife and I would be doing. It has a fixed 23mm f/2 (which is a 35mm equivalent - my favorite "standard" lens) so it is even more limiting than the RX100 in the sense of no zoom lens. I enjoyed getting used to and thinking about taking pics in a different way. One advantage of my Fuji and an RX100 is they are a little less intimidating as well and you can take them places and get pics you aren't going to take with a DSLR, while still giving you some similar DSLR advantages in the wide open spaces. You could easily take an available light pic like this with an RX100 and it has the latest video capabilities.

Hi, I bought this bundle at Costco, Nikon D7500 DSLR Camera 2 Lens Bundle, when they had it on sale for $1k last summer, and I've been very pleased with it, unfortunately it is 1200 right now. I've added a couple of lens since and bought a few books, as I try to learn more about photography.

The 7500 is great for action sports if you need that, because it can shoot at 8 frames per second.

GLWSearch.

Eric

Almost all the name cameras are good. I'm partial to Nikon and Cannon. I would suggest paying attention to the lens. A great camera body can be ruined by a cheap lens.