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Decent point and shoot under $250?

T

trmiv

Lifer
My wife and I have a Sony A57 with various lenses, speedlite, etc that we use for quality pics. We also use our Galaxy S4's for quick snapshots. But there seems to be a middle ground that neither can cover. We want something nice and portable that can go in my pocket when out with our 1 year old. Something we can take out at the park or a friends birthday party that takes better pics than a smartphone, but doesn't feel like we're doing a photoshoot like the big A57 does. Also we don't own any major zooms for the A57, just prime stuff, so something with a decent zoom would be nice. Would also be used for video. The A57 can do it, but it's just inconvenient to use for that. Smartphones do a nice job, but lack any zoom. Would also like some wifi features to make it easier to get the pics off.

I see a lot of little travel compacts in this range, but are they really worth the purchase? I was looking a the Samsung WB350F (upgrade of WB800F) which seems to meet most of the criteria, but I can't figure out if the quality is even worth spending anything on. Is it pretty much a smartphone camera with a zoom? The Canon SX280 looks nice, but I keep reading nightmares about it shutting down if you even touch the video features. Anything else I should look at?

Or maybe there really isn't anything worth it in this price range, and I should just deal with the A57/smartphone combo?
 
Thanks for the idea, but really don't want anything with an interchangeable lens. The A57 is enough for that, trying to keep it simple with this.
 
IMO, most P&S's in your price range aren't going to give you much better photo quality over your smartphone - zoom non-withstanding.

The Canon S95/100/110 with its 1/1.7" sensor might be another idea.
 
Pulled the trigger on an S110. Older camera, but for $250 I didn't see anything better out there with the features I wanted.
 
trmiv said:
Pulled the trigger on an S110. Older camera, but for $250 I didn't see anything better out there with the features I wanted.
Click to expand...

You don't need to second guess yourself - that's an amazing camera.

My wife has it for a year now, and keeps needling me with some great shots and a 'you think you could match that?' :colbert:
 
Panasonic LF1 is on par with Canon s95/100/110 and has an EVF, and if you are patient you might find a sale on it for around $250. If not so patient, $300. Nice zoom lens, small and light. LX5/7 are other possibilities though bigger. Oly has some stuff in the $200 range as well, perhaps a XZ1 or successor camera.
 
I liked the LF1, but it was a little more than I wanted to spend, and I wasn't patient, so the S110 was it. My daughter's 1st birthday party is this weekend, so we wanted to get something before then to have on hand at the park.
 
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