Best point and shoot for video, low light? Panasonic?

[Shyatic]

Hey all,

I am looking for any advice you can give on the Panasonic video cameras for video... I want something that's pretty simple and point and shoot and reasonably rugged.

I only want a Panasonic because I get a discount on them from work... any thoughts? I know the apereture has to be big but I'm far from good with understanding the differences

Thanks!

Also if you want to recommend any Canons/etc I am fine with it so if I get them on sale it works out

 

[fralexandr]

Maybe the panasonic lx series? That's panasonics larger sensor point and shoot series. The new ones are pretty pricey compared to the canon s120 or sony rx ii though.
What's your budget?

Most of the ruggedized point and shoots are terrible in low light. You'd probably get similar or better results with an s7 or iphone 7 with HDR.

https://www.dpreview.com/buying-guides

 

[ElFenix]

Maybe the panasonic lx series? That's panasonics larger sensor point and shoot series. The new ones are pretty pricey compared to the canon s120 or sony rx ii though.
What's your budget?

Most of the ruggedized point and shoots are terrible in low light. You'd probably get similar or better results with an s7 or iphone 7 with HDR.

https://www.dpreview.com/buying-guides

looks like LX10 or LX100 are amazing. FZ1000 is too, but its not what most people think of as a "point n' shoot" (which isn't a good term anyway because everything has a green box mode).

 

[NAC]

Choose your size and I think you can't go wrong.

The LX10 is small. The LX100 is pretty small, and the FZ1000 or FZ2500 is quite a bit bigger.

I have the LX100 and love it. This camera has the fastest lens of the bunch by far, and shoots almost full sensor 4k - so if a focal length of 24-75 equivalent is enough for you, it is the best in low light. It has a lot of dials if you want to shoot manual, but you can also just leave it in auto mode. The FZ models have a much longer zoom.

You can also consider a micro 4/3 camera like the GX85 or G85. You can just use the kit lens, and later as you learn more you can consider getting other lenses. In low light with the kit lens one of the video and photos will likely be just below the LX100 in quality, but with a different lens you can get even better quality.

The one warning I would give is: any time you use a camera with a large sensor and "fast" lens in low light, it will use the maximum aperture. This will result in a narrow "depth of field" - not everything will be in focus. This is a trade off to get better quality photos/video. So although you can use the auto settings on the camera, the camera might not focus on what you want it to. So definitely learn how the focus system works and consider manual focus. The LX100 is in this category. The other cameras, or a micro 4/3 with the kit lens will all generally have lower image quality in low light, but with less risk of your subject being out of focus. But, if you manually choose settings on the LX100, you can choose to have more area in focus in low light, just at the expense of image quality.

 

[imported_Irse]

You going to be taking much stills too? Might consider a camcorder if not.

 

[tential]

TheWireCutter recommends the Cannon G9x
The Art of Photography Youtube channel has a LOT of reviews on this. I would check those out. He does quite good reviews.

 

[Shyatic]

I actually went ahead and bought the LX10... with the work discount it was pretty decent, and I love the size.